Object Desktop Steps Up





A new release blows the doors off of Warp again.
by: Ken Willard

The Stardock crew has made several enhancements and completed another polishing of their product - Object Desktop. If you are still unfamiliar with Object Desktop, one of the best descriptions was "a face-lift for OS/2's workplace shell." If you are familiar, there are some new features that make it worth your while to upgrade. Initially you notice that Object Desktop 1.5 employs the IBM Software installer. This brings to the table the ability to support CID and Netview/DM, as well as use of the IBM Locked File Device Driver to smoothly replace files in use while you are running the upgrade installation.

New to release 1.5 as well is the concept of an object package. More than just a folder, an object package is a new type of Workplace Shell container which can store any object, with all the object's customized features stored inside. For example, you could package up your complete desktop with all folders and settings inside, and share that with another user, or broadcast it over a LAN. You can also reports, scripts and INI files to be outputted from the package as well.



Control Center and Tab LaunchPad are two tools that work very well as a team, share some configuration options and are the heart and soul of my desktop. Both tools have the ability to "float to the surface" or become visible when you point to an area of your screen. With both configured to surface when I point to the upper left corner, the Control Center is the main interface for all of my programs and the Tab LaunchPad always show current running task. By simply pointing to the top left corner of my screen, you can get access to any program on my system and instantly see all running applications and open objects. New to version 1.5 is the Control Center's ability to "auto-hide" - that is, once you move your mouse to an edge to popup the center, moving the mouse away will hide it automatically.

The Master Setup Object includes new global settings pages for data file defaults and new options have been throughout many of the pages. On the Autostart Pages, you can choose to start the Tab LaunchPad and Control Center upon boot up. Also one of the things that is really addictive about this version is the addition of a Rollup Button on the window title bar. This allows you to "roll up" a window and reduce the clutter on your desktop. This feature can also be used by double-clicking the title bar with mouse button 2. The outstanding star of the package is the new Object Navigator. Originally, a counterpart to the Windows File Manager, Stardock continues to improve on the interface and their commitment to making a PC work more like people work and think, and less like a PC. The default Tree view can now display multiple "root" level objects. For example, the default after installation shows you five "root" folders: Desktop, Drives, System Setup, Templates and Network (if you are connected to a network).

If you are a user of a previous version, you will immediately note performance improvements, especially when opening folders or selecting folder items on the Control Center. There are also tons of other improvements, including new toolbar buttons and keyboard accelerators in the Object Navigator. A "Navigate" option can be added to all folder's popup menus to allow the folder to be instantly opened into the Object Navigator.