DeskTools/README.md

DeskTools

Four small Windows desktop tools in one tray program (about 190 KB, no installer).

Run DeskTools.exe. It lives in the system tray. Right-click the icon for each tool's menu, "Start with Windows" and a help screen. Each tool can be turned off from its own submenu. Exiting DeskTools puts every window back to normal.

DeskIcons: send a window to the desktop

Shift+click a window's minimize button, or press Ctrl+Alt+I. The window leaves the taskbar and shows up on the desktop as a label with its title. Drag the label anywhere, double-click it to bring the window back, or right-click it to restore or close the window.

SeeThru: make a window see-through

Hold Ctrl+Shift and scroll over any window to change its opacity in 5% steps, down to 5%. On the active window, Ctrl+Alt+Page Down makes it more see-through, Ctrl+Alt+Page Up more solid, and Ctrl+Alt+Home fully solid again. Ctrl+Alt+End turns on ghost mode: the window stays on top and clicks pass straight through it.

QuickNote: type on the desktop

Double-click any empty spot on the wallpaper and start typing. The text stays on the desktop with no box or border, behind your windows like desktop icons. Drag across text to select it and press Ctrl+C to copy. Drag the small gray square beside a note's first line to move it. Right-click a note to copy, paste, change its color or delete it. Notes save automatically.

Pin a Window: keep a window on top

Press Ctrl+Alt+P to pin or unpin the active window, or choose "Pin a window..." from the tray menu and click any window. A small blue box with a plus sign appears on the pinned window's title bar. Click the box to unpin it.

Notes

• Windows from programs running as administrator can only be changed if DeskTools also runs as administrator.
• The exe is unsigned, so Windows SmartScreen may warn the first time. Choose "More info" and then "Run anyway."
• DeskTools replaces the separate DeskIcons, SeeThru and QuickNote apps. Exit those before starting it.

Building

Plain Win32 C, no dependencies beyond the standard Windows DLLs.

sh build.sh

Requires MinGW-w64 (x86_64-w64-mingw32-gcc and windres).

File	What it is
desktools.c	Tray icon, menu, shared mouse hook, start-up
desktools.h	Shared declarations
di.c	DeskIcons
st.c	SeeThru
qn.c	QuickNote
pw.c	Pin a Window