The Warped Site - Styler/2 Review

Enhancing the OS/2 Desktop
The graphical user interface of OS/2, also known as the Workplace Shell (WPS), is already a few years old, but in terms of features and flexibility it is still the most advanced GUI available today. Thanks to the object model on which it is based, the WPS is also remarkably extendible. It has a truly top-to-bottom object oriented design, which makes it relatively easy for a programmer to add new features or extend the existing ones. So, while an out-of-the-box copy of OS/2 might not have all the Desktop features that you would want, it is extendible in a way that offers virtually unlimited possibilities. This ability will allow us to enjoy the pleasure of using the OS/2 Desktop for many years to come.

Lots of options
If you want to install a so-called Desktop Enhancer or WPS add-on to upgrade your OS/2 system both cosmetically and in terms of functionality, you will easily find dozens of alternative solutions to choose from. Styler/2, formerly known as SmartWindows, is a new addition to the already extensive list of available products. The problem is that few of them offer a feature set that exactly matches your needs. In many cases you will have to install more than one product to assemble the desired combination of features yourself. Unfortunately some of these tools don't always work well together, which can result in different kinds of problems caused by program conflicts.

So if you're like me, you want to keep your base OS/2 system as clean as possible. You'll try to minimize the number of installed utilities, without making any concessions about the features you really want. Before I installed Styler/2 on my system, I was using no less than four different products, the combination of which gave me the stuff that I wanted on my Desktop. With Styler/2 I was able to remove three of those programs and still have all of my favorite tools to work with.

Introducing Styler/2
Styler/2 upgrades your Desktop with a large set of cosmetical and functional enhancements. Some of its features are new, while others already exist in products such as X-it, NPSWPS, Object Desktop, CandyBarz, Deskman/2, Xfolder, etc. Actually, I would describe Styler/2 as the highest common denominator for all these different products, because it offers a well balanced combination of some of the more popular features that are separately available in each of them.

The way Styler/2 presents its options and settings in a clear and easy to use notebook interface deserves special mention, as it indicates to me that the developer is sensitive to what buyers of this type of software like and dislike. Looking at the Styler/2 Properties window, it becomes clear that product is being developed with a sharp sense for detail and accuracy. Very nice looking icons, no clipped text anywhere, context sensitive help in the status bar, all add to the attraction of this product.

The installation program ran smoothly and completed without problems, putting a new folder on my Desktop. I was pleasantly surprised that the developer thought of putting a copy of the Styler/2 program object in the System folder, exactly where I like it. Maybe it would be even nicer if the Styler/2 Properties would actually be incorporated into the OS/2 System Object, similar to what DevTech has done with their great Deskman/2 product. This way the user would have one central object to access all interface related settings for his system.

Feature set
This product has far too many features to be covered all in detail here. A complete list is available on the Styler/2 web page. I'll go over some of the features I like most. The enhanced titlebars are probably the most eye-catching cosmetical feature in this product. Styler/2 comes with a collection of cool bitmaps to be used as a background for your titlebars. Of course you can opt for a color shade instead of a bitmap. 3D text and borders are available as options as well. In addition to the background, Styler/2 also replaces the buttons on the titlebar. Again, it comes with a collection of very nice looking buttons to start experimenting with.



A feature I absolutely wouldn't want to miss anymore is the window rolling (roll-up). I've been using it with some other products in the past, but Styler/2 adds more fine tuning options which increases usability. As far as I know, titlebar hiding is a completely new feature for this type of product. It really comes in handy if you want to maximize the usable area on your Desktop.

In addition, Styler/2 has the ability to define a new, customized size and position for maximized windows. I've started using this functionality more and more as it allows me to leave some open space on my Desktop. This way I am able to reach some often used objects on the left side of my Desktop more quickly without having to move or resize the application I'm working in.

Features like "border drag" and "snap windows to screen edge" make moving windows around on the Desktop a lot easier than it was before. The latter function lets you move a window to a screen edge by simply clicking on the titlebar. Many more features are available to enhance your use of the mouse and your keyboard, work in command prompt windows or input data in text fields.

Every feature in Styler/2 can be disabled globally for the whole system, or only for a specific application. And even if an application conflicts with a certain feature, you will only have to disable that feature alone for the application in question, while keeping everything else active.

Conclusion
After a week of using Styler/2, I've decided to register it and keep it on my system. It has allowed me to remove three other applications, because their functionality is covered completely in this one product. It also is a very well behaving program and in case of problems, it's a snap to bypass Styler/2 for the applications that require it. Although it has many settings, it is still very easy to use because of the well designed Properties window. I don't know about you, but with Warp 4, Fixpak 11, Deskman/2 and Styler/2, OS/2 is ready to take me into the next millennium.

This product has met all my expectations and I would recommend it to anyone who uses E-mail to save some time, not to waste it.