Iconizer

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Sample Image - iconizer.gif

Summary

Iconizer is a small utility that installs a system-wide hook to provide an extra caption button next to the minimize/maximize/close buttons on exsiting applications.

This button minimizes an application, removes the icon window out of the taskbar and puts an icon in the systemtray, freeing up more space on the taskbar this way.

A left mouse click on the icon will restore the window, while a right mouse click will popup the system menu of the corresponding window.

The project includes full working binaries that can be used as-is. All source code is included which can be useful as example or reference on how to implement a system wide hook in general.

File List

Files you need

All files you need are contained in iconizer_Install.zip

You will need following files to run Iconizer:

iconizer.exe	system wide hook loader
iconizer.dll	system wide hook provider
iconizer.ini	list of applications to exclude from hook, this file must reside in the Windows directory

Following files manipulate the registry to start/stop the automatic loading of Iconizer after login:

Remark: The default path in the .reg files is c:\utils\iconizer. Change this path if iconizer.exe is located somewhere else.

Other files:

install_nt4.reg	NT4 install file to start Iconizer at startup
install_w2k.reg	Win2000 install file to start Iconizer at startup
uninstall_nt4.reg	NT4 unistall file to stop loading Iconizer at startup
uninstall_w2k.reg	Win2000 uninstall file to stop loading Iconizer at startup

readme.txt

short introduction

Source code

System wide hook loader

All source code is zipped into Source.zip in the IconizerApp folder.
This application is actually a tiny MFC application that runs in stealth mode and loads the system wide hook.

System wide hook provider

All source code is zipped into Source.zip in the IconizerDll folder.
This application is actually a Windows Win32 DLL that implements the system wide hook.

Requirements

Iconizer requires Windows NT SP3 (or higher) or Windows 2000. Iconizer is not fully tested on Windows 95/98/Me, but will probably run on these platforms.

Other

The author is not, and will not be, responsible for any damage caused by using iconizer.
Bugs and comments can be reported at bgysens@tijd.com.

Thanks

Many thanks to the people who helped in the realisation of Iconizer, in special to Henk De Vos (henk@dzine.be), and colleagues at ERG Transit Systems for beta testing and feedback.

History

3 May 2001 - Fixed install problems with Windows 2000.

Discussions and Feedback

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Last Updated: 2 May 2001
Editor: Chris Maunder