I had the need to allow a user in a multi-document environment to drag rows between Infragistics UltraGrid instances.  My needs involved grids accessing the same data with a filter that differed only by the specific filter value.

The Infragistics website has a simplistic example of doing the drag and drop operation, but it lacked information and added unnecessary information.  For example, with their example you would no longer be able to drag a column header into the group by box.  I pieced the various elements together and came up with this solution.  I've modified it from my solution to be as generic as possible.

1. Add a field called m_dragging and a corresponding private property Dragging
2. Initialize the Dragging property to false
3. Add an event handler for the MouseDown property
4. Add an event handler for the MouseUp property
5. Add an event handler for the MouseMove property
6. Add an event handler for the DragEnter property
7. Add an event handler for the DragDrop property

Implement the individual event methods as follows:

private void myGrid_MouseDown(object sender, MouseEventArgs e)
{
   if (e.Button != MouseButtons.Left)
      return;

   Point gridPoint = new Point(e.X, e.Y);
   UIElement element = myGrid.DisplayLayout.UIElement.ElementFromPoint(gridPoint);

   if (element != null)
   {
      Type selectedType = element.GetContext().GetType();

      if (selectedType == typeof(UltraGridRow)
        || selectedType == typeof(UltraGridCell)
        || selectedType == typeof(UltraGridColumn))
         Dragging = true;
   }
}

private void myGrid_MouseUp(object sender, MouseEventArgs e)
{
   Dragging = false;
}

private void myGrid_MouseMove(object sender, MouseEventArgs e)
{
   if (e.Button == MouseButtons.Left && Dragging
      && myGrid.Selected.Rows.Count > 0)
   {
      GridRowMoveData moveData = new GridRowMoveData(myGrid);
      myGrid.DoDragDrop(moveData, DragDropEffects.Move);
   }
}

private void myGrid_DragEnter(object sender, DragEventArgs e)
{
   if (e.Data.GetDataPresent(typeof(GridRowMoveData)))
     e.Effect = DragDropEffects.Move;
   else
     e.Effect = DragDropEffects.None;
}

private void myGrid_DragDrop(object sender, DragEventArgs e)
{
   if (e.Effect == DragDropEffects.Move)
   {
      GridRowMoveData moveData = 
         (GridRowMoveData)e.Data.GetData(typeof(GridRowMoveData));
      if(myGrid.Equals(moveData.Source))
         return;   // don't allow drop on same grid

      // perform the specific move operation; in my case I simply
      // changed the foreign key value that was the basis for my
      // filter, because everything was referencing the same
      // data table.
      // TODO:
   }
}

using Infragistics.Win.UltraWinGrid;
using System.Data;

public class GridRowMoveData
{
   private UltraGrid m_source;
   private DataRow[] m_rows;

   public GridRowMoveData(UltraGrid source)
   {
     if (source == null)
        throw new ArgumentNullException("source");

     m_source = source;
     m_rows = GetRowsFromSource();
   }

   public UltraGrid Source {get{return m_source;}}
   public DataRow[] Rows {get{return m_rows;}}

   private DataRow[] GetRowsFromSource()
   {
      DataRow[] selectedRows = new DataRow[Source.Selected.Rows.Count];
      for (int i = 0; i < Source.Selected.Rows.Count; i++)
      {
         Guid myPrimaryKey = (Guid)Source.Selected.Rows[i].Cells["MyKey"].Value;
         DataTable table = ((DataSet)Source.DataSource).Tables["MyTable"];
         selectedRows[i] = table.Rows.Find(myPrimaryKey);
      }

      return selectedRows;
   }
}

This is a continuation of a tutorial, see Silverlight 2.0 In Examples: Part 0. Introduction" and "Silverlight 2.0 In Examples: Part 1. Silverlight Elements: Panels and Controls.

Since recently I've been working on Silverlight Drag and Drop, I decided to break the continuity of this tutorial and skip several parts, writing right away about how to implement Drag and Drop in Silverlight. In addition to information from the previous sections of the tutorial, this part requires some knowledge of DataTemplates and binding (I will give brief explanations of both).

The article that started me on Silverlight 2.0 Drag and Drop can be accessed via the following link: Drag and Drop in Silverlight. At the bottom of the article you can find a link to download the source code.

Here, however, I go over Drag and Drop with more details and examples. A special feature of this article is a Drag and Drop custom control designed to absorb most of the Drag and Drop complexity. Based on this control, I created an example functionally similar to the one described in Drag and Drop in Silverlight.

Silverlight demos, including those corresponding to the samples presented here can be found at AWebPros Demos.

Simple Silverlight Drag and Drop Example

Here is the screen capture of the first example:

One can drag and drop the red circle anywhere within the Silverlight application area.
The source code for this sample can be downloaded from simpledragdropzip.doc. As always, please remove .doc extension, rename the file to simpledragdrop.zip and then open it as a zip file.
Below the code of the sample is explained in detail.
Here are the contents of Page.xaml file:

<UserControl

    x:Class="SimpleDragDrop.Page"

    xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"

    xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"

    Background="Yellow"

    Width="400"

    Height="300">

    <UserControl.Resources>

        <DataTemplate x:Key="Circle">

            <Ellipse Width="20" Height="20" Fill="Red"></Ellipse>

        </DataTemplate>

    </UserControl.Resources>

    <Grid x:Name="LayoutRoot" Background="White">

        <Popup x:Name="MyPopup"IsOpen="False">

            <ContentControl

   ContentTemplate="{StaticResource Circle}"

   Opacity="0.5"/>

        </Popup>

        <ContentControl

            ContentTemplate="{StaticResource Circle}"

            x:Name="MyControlToMove">

        </ContentControl>

    </Grid>

</UserControl>
The object that we are dragging and dropping is ContentControl at the very bottom of the XAML file. Its name is "MyControlToMove".

ContentControl is a control that has two major properties: Content (which contains some data) and ContentTemplate (which specifies how to present this data).

In our case the presentation of MyControlToMove is not data dependent (Content property does not play any role). This presentation is determined only by the DataTemplate which is defined as a resource called "Circle" within UserControl.Resources section. In this example this ContentControl is always displayed as a red circle.
Another control is used as a drag cursor to show where the circle is dragged. It is represented by a similar red circle with its opacity property set to 0.5, making it semitransparent. This control is of Popup type.

Now, let us deconstruct the C# code. While XAML contains mostly design and static information, C# carries information about actions. There are 3 main actions within the Drag and Drop process:

Correspondingly, we have 3 event handlers for 3 events:

All of the events are registered with the top level panel "LayoutRoot". This is possible because of the event "Bubbling". Even if a child of "LayoutRoot" panel is clicked, the event eventually "bubbles" up to it, unless it is handled before.
Here is how we set the event handlers within the application:

LayoutRoot.MouseLeftButtonDown +=

    new MouseButtonEventHandler(LayoutRoot_MouseLeftButtonDown);

LayoutRoot.MouseMove +=

    new MouseEventHandler(LayoutRoot_MouseMove);

LayoutRoot.MouseLeftButtonUp +=

    new MouseButtonEventHandler(LayoutRoot_MouseLeftButtonUp);

Now let us describe these 3 operations in detail.

Starting the Drag Operation

Starting the drag operation is handled by the function LayoutRoot_MouseLeftButtonDown which in turn calls StartDragDrop.

Here is the code for LayoutRoot_MouseLeftButtonDown function:

void

LayoutRoot_MouseLeftButtonDown(object sender,

                                               MouseButtonEventArgs e)

{

    // obtain all UI elements at the

    // current mouse pointer location

    List<UIElement> elements =

       (List<UIElement>)this.HitTest(e.GetPosition(null));

    // get the first element of type Ellipse and

    // start drag operation on it.

    foreach (UIElement element in elements)

    {

        if (element is Ellipse)

        {

            StartDragDrop(element, e);

            break;

        }

    }

}

First HitTest gets all the elements "pierced" by the current mouse pointer. Then we iterate over each of of the elements, find the "Ellipse" (this is our circle we want to move) and start drag operation on it by calling StartDragDrop function.

Here is the StartDragDrop function code:

private void

StartDragDrop(UIElement element,

              MouseButtonEventArgs e)

{

    // make the popup visible

    MyPopup.IsOpen = true;

    // make the mouse events connected to

    // the popup

    MyPopup.CaptureMouse();

    // figure out the mouse coordinates at the onset

    // of Drag operation.

    _horisontalOffset = e.GetPosition(null).X;

    _verticalOffset = e.GetPosition(null).Y;

    // set _captured flag to true

    // (this is to check later if drag drop

    //  operation is in progress)

    _captured = true;

    // move the popup to the current mouse location.

    MyPopup.HorizontalOffset = _horisontalOffset;

    MyPopup.VerticalOffset = _verticalOffset;

}

The StartDragDrop functionality is explained in the comments within its code.

Drag Operation During the Mouse Move

Here is how we implemented Drag operation when mouse moves:

void

LayoutRoot_MouseMove(object sender,

                     MouseEventArgs e)

{

    // if no drag and drop started,

    // we do not need to do anything.

    if (!_captured)

        return;

    // update the popup location to the

    // current mouse pointer location.

    MyPopup.HorizontalOffset = e.GetPosition(null).X;

    MyPopup.VerticalOffset = e.GetPosition(null).Y;

}

All we need to do is to move the Drag popup to the current location of the mouse pointer. 

Drop Operation

Finally, here is the function in charge of Drop operation:

void

LayoutRoot_MouseLeftButtonUp(object sender,

                             MouseButtonEventArgs e)

{

    // if drag is not started we do not need

    // any drop functionality to execute

    if (!_captured)

        return;

    // mouse capture is released

    MyPopup.ReleaseMouseCapture();

    // popup becomes invisible

    MyPopup.IsOpen = false;

    // set captured flag to false

    // (no drag operation in progress)

    _captured = false;

    // the rest of the code just moves

    // our content control to the new location

    // using TranslateTransform

    GeneralTransform gt =

        this.TransformToVisual(MyControlToMove);

    PointstartPoint = gt.Transform(new Point(0, 0));

    Pointp = e.GetPosition(null);

    TranslateTransformtt = new TranslateTransform();

    tt.X = p.X - _horisontalOffset - startPoint.X;

    tt.Y = p.Y - _verticalOffset - startPoint.Y;

    MyControlToMove.RenderTransform = tt;

}

As you can see, we stop the DragDrop operation by releasing the mouse capture, making the Drag popup invisible and setting _captured flag to false. Then we do the actual drop operation by moving the original dragged control to the new location using TranslateTransform.

Drag and Drop with Forbidden Area

Now, let us consider a more complicated example.
In addition to the previously discussed functionality it has the following:

Here is the screen capture for the example:

The yellow circle signifies the area where the drop is allowed. Outside of it, the drop is forbidden.
Here is the code for the example: dragdropwithforbiddenareazip.doc.
As one can see from the code, the capture process now begins during MouseMove action and only when the distance between the original and current locations of the mouse is greater than _captureRadius:

private void BeginCapture(MouseEventArgs e)

{

    // check if the mouse pointer position

    // within _captureRadius

    double diffX =

        e.GetPosition(null).X - _horisontalOffset;

    double diffY =

        e.GetPosition(null).Y - _verticalOffset;

    // if it is within _captureRadion,

    // do not start capture

    if ((diffX * diffX + diffY * diffY) <

        _captureRaduis * _captureRaduis)

    {

        return;

    }

    // make popup visible

    MyPopup.IsOpen = true;

    // capture mouse

    MyPopup.CaptureMouse();

    // set _captured flag to true.

    _captured = true;

}

There is also a function InAllowedArea that returns true if the mouse pointer is within an area in which we are allowed to drop and false otherwise:

// checks if drop is allowed

// at the current location of the

// mouse pointer.

bool InAllowedArea(MouseEventArgs e)

{

    Point p = e.GetPosition(null);

    IEnumerable<UIElement> hitTestResult =

  AllowedArea.HitTest(p);

    // see if mouse pointer hits AllowedArea

    // if yes, return true,

    // if no, return false.

    return(hitTestResult.Count() != 0);

}

Then, during the Drag process, we check if we are within the area in which we are allowed to drop and set the ContentTemplate of the PopupControl correspondingly:

if(InAllowedArea(e))

{

    // if we are in an area

    // in which we are

    // allowed to drop

    // set the template accordingly

    // to our Circle

    PopupControl.ContentTemplate = CircleTemplate;

}

else

{

    // if we are in an area in which it

    // is forbidden to drop, set

    PopupControl.ContentTemplate = DropForbidden;

}

Generic Drag and Drop Control

Based on the above examples and also taking into account that the Drag popup display can be data driven (as will be shown later) I came up with a generic Drag/Drop control implementation. While it is still rather complex to use, since drag and drop is a complex operation, it also absorbs a lot of complexity into itself, eliminating the need to implement and debug a large chunk of the Drag/Drop functionality over and over again.

Here is the code for generic Drag/Drop control together with a couple of samples showing how to use it: genericdragdropzip.doc.

DragDrop control is defined within GenericDragDropLib project within DragDropControl.cs file. The generic.xaml file contains default control template for DragDropControl.
DragDropControl contains a number of properties and events that allow customization of the Drag/Drop functionality. Here is the list of these properties and events with the explanations as to why they are needed.

// mouse is captured and the popup

// indicating the beginning of Drag

// operation to the user becomes

// visible on when the distance between

// the mouse pointer and the original

// point when the mouse button was pressed

// during the Drag operation is

// greater than CaptureRadius.

public doubleCaptureRadius { get; set; }

// the popup to show during Drag operation

public Popup DragDropPopup { get; set; }

// The content control within the DragDropPopup

// that can assume any shape defined by

// its data template and date content.

public ContentControl PopupContentControl { get; set; }

// default data template for areas in

// which drop is allowed

public DataTemplate DropAllowedTemplate { get; set; }

// data template for areas in which

// drop is forbidden

public DataTemplate DropForbiddenTemplate { get; set; }

// element to be dragged

public UIElementDraggedElement { get; set; }

// dragged business logic object

// (specified by Content property of DraggedElement)

public objectDraggedObject { get; set; }

// DragContainer property is used when DraggedElement is

// one of the items within and ItemsControl e.g. a

// ListBox this property contains the reference to this

// container control of the dragged item

public UIElementDragContainer {get; set;}

// does the drop operation

public event DoDropDelegateDoDrop = null;

// used to filter in the element that can be

// dragged

public event IsDraggableDelegateIsDraggable = null;

// used to filter in the container of the element

// that can be dragged

public event IsContainerDelegate IsDragContainer = null;

// returns true if, during the drag operation,

// the mouse pointer is inside the area

// it which drops are allowed, false otherwise.

public event IsInAllowedAreaDelegateIsInAllowedArea = null;

// returns data template for the case when the drops are

// allowed during the drag operation

public event GetDataTemplateDelegate GetDataTemplate = null;

//used to set the DraggedObject from the

// DraggedElement.

// Most of the times, this is just DraggedElement.Content

public event GetBusinessLogicObjectDelegate

    GetBusinessLogicObject = null;

// used to record the origin of the drag operation

public Point StartDragPoint { get; set; }

DragDropControl also contains three functions that need to be triggered by the Button Down, Mouse Move and Button Up events of the application that uses DragDropControl. These functions are

Below we describe two examples using DragDropControl.

Drag Drop with Forbidden Area Implemented Using DragDropControl

The solution for this test is called GenericDragDropTest.sln and it is located under GenericDragDropTest within genericdragdrop.zip file. It produces exactly the same result as our Drag/Drop with forbidden area example above, but it uses DragDropControl. Below we show how DragDropControl is used.
Here is the code showing how we connect the events of DragDropControl:

MyDragDropControl.DoDrop +=

    new GenericDragDropLib.

        DoDropDelegate(MyDragDropControl_DoDrop);

// we only drag ellipses!

MyDragDropControl.IsDraggable +=

    delegate(UIElement element)

    {

        if (element is Ellipse)

            return true;

        return false;

    };

// data template for the drag popup is

// provided by CircleTemplate resource

MyDragDropControl.GetDataTemplate +=

    delegate(UIElement element)

    {

        return (DataTemplate) this.Resources["CircleTemplate"];

    };

// we are in an area in which are

// are allowed to drop if the

// mouse pointer is

// inside AllowedArea circle.

MyDragDropControl.IsInAllowedArea +=

    delegate(Point p)

    {

        IEnumerable<UIElement> hitTestResult =

            AllowedArea.HitTest(p);

        return(hitTestResult.Count() != 0);

    };

And here is the code that connects the mouse button events to the DragDropControl functions:

// connect the mouse button events to

// the corresponding functions

// of our DragDropControl.

LayoutRoot.MouseLeftButtonDown +=

    delegate(object sender, MouseButtonEventArgs e)

    {

        MyDragDropControl.StartDragDrop(this, e);

    };

LayoutRoot.MouseMove +=

    delegate(object sender, MouseEventArgs e)

    {

        MyDragDropControl.OnMove(e);

    };

LayoutRoot.MouseLeftButtonUp +=

    delegate(object sender, MouseButtonEventArgs e)

    {

        MyDragDropControl.OnButtonUp(e);

    };

Drag and Drop between Two ListBox Elements

Here we show an implementation of Drag/Drop analogous to that of Drag and Drop in Silverlight. The ListBoxItem objects are dragged and dropped between two ListBoxes.

The code for this sample can be found under ListBoxDragDropTest directory of genericdragdrop.zip file.
Here is the screen capture for this sample:

This sample also provides an example of having data driven visual presentation of the dragged item (the first and last names of the students provide the data that can change depending on the dragged item).
Here is the code showing setting the event handlers for DragDropControl events:

MyDragDropControl.DoDrop +=

    new GenericDragDropLib.DoDropDelegate(DoDrop);

// we only Drag and Drop ListBoxItem objects!

MyDragDropControl.IsDraggable +=

    delegate(UIElement element)

    {

        if (element is ListBoxItem)

            return true;

        return false;

    };

// our drag container is ListBox

MyDragDropControl.IsDragContainer +=

    delegate(UIElement element)

    {

        if (element is ListBox)

            return true;

        return false;

    };

// we use the same DataTemplate

// to display the drag popup as

// we use to display the items in the list

MyDragDropControl.GetDataTemplate +=

    delegate(UIElement element)

    {

        ListBoxItemlbi = MyDragDropControl.DraggedElement as ListBoxItem;

        if(lbi == null)

            return null;

        return (DataTemplate)lbi.ContentTemplate;

    };

// we are in allowed area if and only if we are

// inside a ListBox

MyDragDropControl.IsInAllowedArea +=

    delegate(Point p)

    {

        ListBoxlb = GetListBox(p);

        if (lb == null)

            return false;

        return true;

    };

// returns Content property of the ListBoxItem

MyDragDropControl.GetBusinessLogicObject +=

    delegate(UIElement element)

    {

        ContentControl cc = element as ContentControl;

        if (cc == null)

            return null;

        return cc.Content;

    };

One can see that the DoDrop function (called during the drop operation) checks if the target ListBox is not the same as the original ListBox from where the item was dragged and if true, removes the item from the original collection and adds it to the collection of the target ListBox.

Conclusion

This article describes the implementation of drag and drop functionality in Silverlight. It starts with a simple example and progresses to more complex ones. It features custom DragDropControl which is used to absorb a lot of complexity of Drag/Drop implementation.

Far too many web designers who hand code, utilize templates or even software programs such as Dreamweaver tend to look down on Homestead’s drag and drop type of program. They look at the site’s code and spout things such as “couldn't produce a well optimized site if it tried.” Granted, Homestead’s code is not the prettiest, but it can certainly hold its own with websites developed using the methods mentioned above. And, as time goes by Homestead will almost certainly improve upon the coding structure of the software. There are many, many Homestead users who have websites that outrank sites developed by web designers who used the so-called conventional methods. 

The average user can create an attractive, user friendly site that is well optimized using Homestead’s SiteBuilder program. Any website, regardless of the method used to build it, will suffer if the webmaster doesn’t also have a working knowledge of usability and search engine optimization. The site can also suffer if the designer doesn’t fully understand the program they use.

Those of us who utilize the Homestead Site Builder and have a working knowledge of website usability and search engine optimization understand the short comings of the SiteBuilder program. We have learned how to work with the program and work around the problems that are intrinsic in using a WYSIWYG or drag and drop site builder software.
 
It is important to learn and understand certain potential road blocks presented by portions of the SiteBuilder program and adjust accordingly to bypass these issues. Items such as Java Script navigation and some of the templates that rely heavily on java-script can be problematic. The Apply-to-All feature for Meta tags, while seemingly a time saver, should never be used. Using the full SiteBuilder program rather than SiteBuilder Lite offers more options for creating a user friendly, well optimized site. Making use of the Homestead Connection Forum, the Homestead Connection Site, and even this Blog will help users of the program learn the do’s and don’ts associated with it.

Designing a site that will succeed is not so much dependent upon the method the site is built with as it is having a basic understanding of Search Engines requirements and usability standards. Every search engine uses different algorithms and knowing the basic requirements of those engines aids in producing an acceptable website. This applies to usability as well. Knowing what is user friendly helps to design a site that visitors will find appealing.

Homestead websites can be optimized to do as well in search rankings as any website regardless of who built it or how it was built. But, sites built with Homestead have something most others don’t and that is the ability for the site owner to either build their own website or to easily take it over once the site is designed. This is not the case with the vast majority of web sites that have been created by design companies. In most instances the owner ends up with a website that they can’t update or make even simple changes to. They have to continue to pay someone for updates, and SEO and link building.

It is no wonder that many web designers and those who are ill-informed or biased take the stance that Homestead sites are lacking…. if everyone were to find out that they are a viable option that can save the site owner time and money and do well in searches, we would see even more people taking the Homestead route.

This is a great way to transfer your files.  Air Sharing will allow you to view  documents in common formats.  I loaded some PDF,MS Word,Xcel,JPG files and they opened just fine.

60+ Free Password Managers and Form Fillers

http://mashable.com/2007/09/17/password-managers/

I tried some of these. In my opinion, the following ones are worth trying.

Password Managers (Online)

PassPack

http://www.passpack.com/

This is an online and offline password generator and manager with many features like 1-click logins, Anti-Phishing, Rapid Sign In, disposable logins, import and export, etc.

Password Managers (Desktop applications)

Absolute Privacy

http://www.cryptobase.com/

Stores your contacts, calendar, task list, diary, memos, passwords, and financial information.

Access Manager

http://www.accessmanager.co.uk/

Drag and drop passwords from user list to websites.

Keepass Password Safe

http://keepass.info/

Open source application to store all your passwords in a encrypted form.

Era Password Manager

http://www.dheone.com/

Install the Era Password Manager on your USB drive and carry your passwords securely.

Scarabay

http://www.alnichas.info/

Password manager application from where you can drag and drop your login information.

Form fillers / Browser Add-ons

inFormEnter

http://ife.elza.ru/

A nice Firefox extension that puts image markers beside input fields on websites which can be selected for auto filling forms.

Roboform

http://www.roboform.com/

Browser toolbar that helps automate online form filling and logins. You can only store ten passwords in its free edition though.

There are some Miscellaneous password tools but I didn't try any of these.

The basic requirements for password storing and filling

Everybody has different requirements. My logic in whittling down the options was based on the following requirements.

(1) It shouldn't be an online service because of privacy concerns. Although according to Tara Kelly of PassPack, the passwords are encrypted in the browser itself before being stored at their server.

Tara Kelly (PassPack)
2008-06-15 03:43:19

Denny, the nice part about Host-Proof Hosting is that it runs using Javascript in the browser.

If you want to watch what is getting sent back and forth to the server, you can trace the Javascript in action. Tools like Firebug do this very well.

Also, since it's javascript, you can simply download the .js files and have a look if you'd like. Passpack optimizes the files to be faster online, but you can use the depacker here: http://www.passpack.com/info/thanks/

You're welcome to study the code. We don't release it as open source because we don't want copy-cat products popping up, that's all.

(2) It shouldn't be browser based. This is because I may choose to use IE, Firefox 2 Portable or Firefox 3 Portable based on the extensions I need.

(3) It shouldn't be a gigantic application installing lots of stuff on my PC.

(4) It should ideally be portable so it can be taken along with the portable browsers.

(5) It should offer drag and drop. And should be able to automatically distinguish between dragging to browser (clipboard) and dragging to email client (keystrokes). Most apps in this list offer just "copy to clipboard" which is too slow and awkward. On the other hand, apps that offer auto filling are too fast and you need to trust the app to recognise the fields. Having said that, one must say that if one needs to fill in complicated forms on an almost daily basis, then these are a boon. Since I just need to fill in simple login forms, for me auto fill is a somewhat overkill.

(6) It needs to have a tree structure to organise data.

I finally settled for Filler and Scarabay. If you find Access Manager, KeePass or Era password Manager better, please let me know. I must admit I didn't test these as thoroughly as I should have.

Paul Scott's Filler is the simplest solution

http://www3.sympatico.ca/paulscott/filler.htm

If you don't care about security and if all your password data can fit in a text file of 5 KB, then use Filler. Filler is not mentioned in the Mashable list. And I am sure that there are other fillers like this. As of now, this is all I could find. If you find something along these lines, do let me know. Apart from the measly 5 KB limit, another problem with Filler is that you have to go into options everytime you need to drag to a email client instead of browser.

Just Drag n Drop the URL. Once the page loads, drag and drop the login name and password.

To switch between dragging to Browser and dragging to Email Client, one needs to go into Options.

Nick Kalmykov's SCARABAY is the best solution

http://www.alnichas.info/

In my opinion, SCARABAY is the overall winner. It is not online. It is not browser based. It is a simple app (1.8 MB download, 2.8 MB installed). It is not portable (sigh!). It offers drag n drop to both email client and browser and also has auto fill. It provides a tree structure.

SCARABAY Login Screen: Create a profile by providing a name and password. This secures your passwords from other users.

SCARABAY starts with some folders thrown in. Delete these folders and create your own.

SCARABAY Create Folder is the third button in the footer.

SCARABAY Add New button would add an entry to the folder we created.

SCARABAY Add New and Edit buttons let us add and edit the various entries.

SCARABAY Email Field is useful if you need to supply your email address. You can also create a contacts list.

SCARABAY Tree Structure allows you to neatly organise all your passwords.

SCARABAY automatically integrates in installed browsers. If you use portable browsers as I do, then you need to specify their location.

SCARABAY can mirror the password file of your account to a backup location on either the same drive or on a USB drive. The problem is that because it does not timestamp the backups, as in scdata_20080905135023.pwd, the newer backup file will overwrite the older one leaving no room for rollbacks. If you want to be extra sure, you must timestamp the backups manually.

SCARABAY Webpage (Drag-and-Drop) is the killer feature. Drag n Drop the globe into the browser to load the URL, then drag and drop the login name and password into the respective fields.

Some other features are the ability to Generate Passwords, the ability to fetch data from Past URLs and the ability to Change the Icons associated with any folder or entry. For instance, you can change the white icon for entries to some red colored one if you think that Entry needs to be checked on a daily basis.

Some Problems I noticed in SCARABAY

1. There is no export facility, the most crucial feature. This means either you agree to get locked into this application and its upgrades, or you don't store too much data in it.
2. The scrolling behavior is very wonky. The work around has been described above.
3. It does not timestamp the Backups.
4. There are only two skins. They should've included a No Skin option (Windows default). Luckily, they do have a saturation feature in Options which allows us to desaturate it to zero like I have done here.
5. The Open Web Page functionality starts a new browser window. There should have been an option to load the new page in the current window. Although this functionality is available using the "globe" drag and drop. In fact I would have liked if the entries could directly be dragged and dropped instead of click on entry then drag the "globe".
6. The drag and drop mouse cursor resembles the pair of gloves worn by Mickey Mouse.
7. The Automatic Filling feature works only in IE. If Firefox is installed, will it work in that, too. I don't have Firefox installed (shoot!). Can anyone confirm this?
8. The scrolling behavior is a bit wonky. For instance, we can be in the middle of the tree, but the scroll bar would show that it has reached the end. I got around this by clicking on the collapse all (so called Curtail All), expand all (so called Develop All) buttons. Sometimes things get so bad that one has to log off (File > Change User) and then log back in.
9. The Magnifying Glass functionality is on only till the mouse click is released. Ideally it should have had a toggle behavior. Click on Magnifying Glass and it stays depressed and shows details of the entries we click on. Then click again and is stop showing the details.
10. When you right click to Change the Name of a folder or entry, you are presented with a blank field. Ideally it should allow in place editing much like when we rename (F2) a filename in Windows Explorer.

Najmniejszy i najlżejszy 2,5-calowy zewnętrzny dysk twardy - Freecom Mobile Drive XXS

Freecom, za pośrednictwem dystrybutora Veracomp, zaoferował najmniejszy i najlżejszy spośród dostępnych na rynku 2,5-calowy zewnętrzny dysk twardy - Freecom Mobile Drive XXS. Dysk jest dostępny w Polsce w pojemności do 320 GB i kosztuje już od 284 zł brutto.

Miniaturowy Freecom Mobile Drive XXS jest mniejszy od paszportu (109,8 x 79,5 x 13,5 mm) i lżejszy od niejednego telefonu komórkowego (155 g). Oferuje szybkość transmisji danych 480 Mbit/sek. gwarantując jednocześnie cichą pracę (brak wentylatora). Dostępny jest w wersjach z pojemnością 160GB, 250GB i 320GB, w cenie od 284 zł brutto za model o najmniejszej pojemności.

Oprócz kompaktowych rozmiarów, dysk jest prosty w obsłudze, umożliwiając backup danych w technologii „przeciągnij i upuść” („drag and drop”). Urządzenie jest zasilane bezpośrednio przez USB (bus powered) i tym samym dołączanym osobno kablem USB 2.0 (jest kompatybilny także z portem USB 1.1) komunikuje się z komputerem.

„Nowy przenośny dysk Freecoma umożliwia przechowanie danych, ich wymianę, ochronę i archiwizację. Jest wygodnym nośnikiem multimediów i idealnym narzędziem pracy podczas podróży,” - wylicza zalety nowego dysku Przemysław Romański, menadżer produktów Freecom w Veracomp SA. „Przeliczając oferowane przez dysk gigabity na złotówki, urządzenie nie ma konkurencji, w zbliżonej cenie oferuje nieporównywalnie więcej niż np. popularne dyski w technologii flash”).

Ceny i gwarancja:

Freecom Mobile Driver XXS jest objęty w Veraocmp dwuletnią gwarancją. Sugerowana cena detaliczna Freecom Mobile Drive XXS 160GB wynosi 284 zł brutto, Freecom Mobile Drive XXS 250GB - 355 zł brutto, a Freecom Mobile Drive XXS 320GB - 439 zł brutto.

Specyfikacja:

• Pojemność: 160GB, 250GB, 320GB
• Interfejs: USB 2.0, kompatybilność z portem USB 1.1
• Rodzaj dysku twardego: 2.5”, cicha praca, niski pobór mocy
• Prędkość transmisji danych: do 480 Mbit/s (USB 2.0)
• Waga: 155g
• Wymiary: 109.8 x 79.5 x 13.5 mm
• Środowisko pracy: 10º C / 35º C (temp. pracy), -20º C / 70º C (temp. składowania danych)
• Zasilanie: USB (bus powered), brak konieczności użycia adaptera
• Minimalne wymagania systemowe:
• PC: Intel Pentium III / AMD Duron 900 MHz lub wyżej, 256MB RAM (Vista: 512MB RAM)
• lub wyżej, USB 2.0 lub USB 1.1 port, Windows 2000 / XP / Vista
• MAC: PowerPC G3/G4/G5, Power Book G3/G4 lub Intel Mac, 256MB RAM lub wyżej, USB 2.0 lub USB 1.1 port, Mac OS X v10.3 lub wyżej

Galeria:

[gallery]

Informacje o Freecom

Freecom - producent elektroniki użytkowej oraz multimedialnych rozwiązań do magazynowania danych - jest specjalizuje się w profesjonalnych rozwiązaniach dla mobilnych użytkowników. Oferta Freecom zawiera zewnętrzne dyski twarde (od 1’’ i 1,8’’ kwintesencji mobilności, poprzez dyski 2,5’’ oraz stacjonarne 3,5’’), miniaturowe nagrywarki DVD, profesjonalne oraz unikalne rozwiązania Flash czy wreszcie najnowsze rozwiązania archiwizacji danych w oparciu o systemy taśmowe. Firma zatrudnia ponad 200 osób zlokalizowanych w 12 krajach Europy, z centrami koordynacji w Berlinie oraz Delft, a także centrami rozwoju na Tajwanie i USA. Więcej pod adresem: www.freecom.com.

Informacja o Veracomp SA

Veracomp jest specjalizowanym dystrybutorem rozwiązań teleinformatycznych. Skupia się na sześciu obszarach technologicznych: sieci, telekomunikacja, bezpieczeństwo, serwery i pamięci masowe, zarządzanie infrastrukturą IT, multimedia i peryferia. Realizuje strategię dystrybucji z wartością dodaną (VAD - Value Added Distributor). Oprócz standardowych w dystrybucji usług logistyki i finansowania, Veracomp prowadzi doradztwo techniczne, świadczy usługi, udziela konsultacji oraz oferuje pomoc marketingową i edukacyjną. Spółka działa w 16 krajach Europy Środkowowschodniej. W 2007 roku przychody Veracomp przekroczyły 255 milionów złotych. Więcej informacji jest na stronie: www.veracomp.pl.

Here is a video I took of myself using the browser for those who haven't decided whether or not to test it for themselves:

As you can see the browser has a lot of cool features, some new, some that Internet Explorer and Firefox both have. I will cover a few of the main features and write my view on each one.

1. The Address bar. The address bar (known as the omnibox) may look very usual bit it implements several things at once, it allows you to type in your URL as normal but as you type it shows you your web history (what you've visited before that uses the same characters as you are currently typing in the bar). It allows you to type just words into the bar and you can google search the words, it removes the need to install a google search add on. It also suggests completely new sites that you may like to take a look at.




2. Tabs. Like both Internet explorer and Firefox, Google Chrome uses tabs so you do not have to keep opening separate windows. Whats cool about these tabs is that you can drag and drop them into other windows! Also, if you have just made Chrome your default browser you can still open a new tab with the famous "CTRL+T" shortcut. If you look at the task manager you will notice several "chrome.exe" processes depending on the amount of tabs that are open, this is to help you keep the rest of your tabs running if one was to fail. I find this very handy.




3. Incognito mode. Internet Explorer has this but either way its still a handy thing for Chrome to have! If you are using a computer that is used by many other people then you may want to use this, this mode allows no recognition of what you have viewed or searched. So if you are buying a present for someone and you are afraid that when they use the computer next, they'll see your web history and ruin the surprise, then Incognito mode is the special feature for you!




4. Developer tools. If you click the page button next to the Address bar you will find the developer tools under "Developer". When you usually view sources of pages it opens up a little notepad file, but if you got to Developer > View Source it opens it in a new tab instead of a notepad file. You can also find a javascript console here.




5. Application shortcuts. There are many web applications out there that I love such as the Google Reader. Instead of using the browser to locate them you can click the Page button next to the address bar > Create application shortcuts. You can send the application shortcut to your desktop, start menu or quick launch. And when you want to open the application just double click the shortcut.

I've been keeping tabs on the development of Adobe AIR over the past months. Readers of this blog will know that I’m an ardent believer that the user experience needs to be got right first, and only then should be enhanced with something whizzy. But for sure we all want to have a range of whizzy tools available to us to use judiciously.

So I thought I’d have a look at how easy it is with Adobe AIR to do some drag and drop.

A few points before I start. You can develop AIR applications in a number of languages, e.g. Flex or HTML/JS. The documentation isn’t all that clear but from what I can figure so far:

• If you use HTML/JS then you are limited to the usual drag and drop of items within a web page. But you can’t drag to/from the desktop
• If you want to be able to drag items to/from the desktop you need to use something like Flex.
• Flex apparently also supports limited dragging of certain items from the application to the desktop. From what I can figure in practice this means dragging a data table into a spreadsheet.

So I’m using Flex in this example. There is some sample code out there (e.g. http://www.mikechambers.com/blog/2007/11/07/air-example-native-drag-and-drop/) but when I checked it out it hadn’t been updated for Flex 3. The example below is an updated version based on the code at http://blog.everythingflex.com/2007/06/18/simple-drag-and-drop-air/
I’m on Windows so I’m using the mighty FlashDevelop. The example below is using 3.0.0 Beta 8.

1. Fire up FlashDevelop
2. Select Project -> New Project
3. Select an AIR MXML Project and give it a sensible name (e.g. dnd)

4. Expand the src directory and delete the Main.as file
5. Replace the contents of the Main.mxml file with the following code (WP isn't keen on pasting in the indents - so no indents today).

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<mx:WindowedApplication xmlns:mx="http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml"
layout="vertical"
creationComplete="init()">
<mx:Script>
<![CDATA[
import flash.desktop.NativeDragActions;
import mx.controls.Alert;
import mx.controls.Image;
import flash.filesystem.File;
import flash.desktop.ClipboardFormats;
import flash.events.NativeDragEvent;
import flash.desktop.NativeDragManager;

private function init():void{
this.addEventListener(NativeDragEvent.NATIVE_DRAG_ENTER,onDragIn);
this.addEventListener(NativeDragEvent.NATIVE_DRAG_DROP,onDrop);
this.addEventListener(NativeDragEvent.NATIVE_DRAG_EXIT,onDragExit);
}

public function onDragIn(event:NativeDragEvent):void{
NativeDragManager.acceptDragDrop(this);
}

public function onDrop(event:NativeDragEvent):void{
NativeDragManager.dropAction = NativeDragActions.COPY;
var dropfiles:Array = event.clipboard.getData(ClipboardFormats.FILE_LIST_FORMAT) as Array;
for each (var file:File in dropfiles) {

//NB The following is case sensitive - so Image.JPG will produce "unmapped extension"
//but Image.jpg will work fine
trace("Adding file with extension [" + file.extension + "]");
switch (file.extension){
case "png" :
addImage(file.nativePath);
break;
case "jpg" :
addImage(file.nativePath);
break;
case "gif" :
addImage(file.nativePath);
break;
default:
Alert.show("Unmapped Extension");
}
}
}

public function onDragExit(event:NativeDragEvent):void{
trace("Drag exit event.");
}

private function addImage(nativePath:String):void{
var i:Image = new Image();
if(Capabilities.os.search("Mac") >= 0){
i.source = "file://" + nativePath;
} else {
i.source = nativePath;
}
this.addChild(i);
}

]]>
</mx:Script>

</mx:WindowedApplication>

 

6. Hit F5 to test the application
7. Drag images into the big empty window to see them shown there

Simple as that. You will notice inside the code that the app is looking for .png, .jpg, .gif files only. Turns out these suffixes are case sensitive inside Flex so make sure your file extensions are lower case. Or change the code.

Conclusion from this:

1. If it's correct that HTML/JS can't be used to support drag and drop between the application and the desktop then this is not desperately surprising when you think about browser architecture, security, sandboxes and so forth.
2. If using Flash/Flex is the only way to address this challenge then so be it. My initial worry was that in order to use Flex in anger I'd have to hire a whole cadre of Flash/Flex developer/designers. But it turns out that Flex is very reminiscent of HTML and JavaScript/Java so there isn't going to be much of a learning curve for developers already familiar with web apps.
3. I'm glad this exercise forced me to have a look at Flex because it has a lot going for it as far as aspects of RIAs are concerned.
4. But. I have a concern about how maintainable Flex code is in the long run. Check the example here about the use of View States, in particular the example of how to maintain three different-sized windows. To be fair there are some MVC frameworks out there for Flex but even so I would be tempted to keep AIR usage to the fringes of my applications for now.

The below commented code can be achieved through the single line: event.target.parent.addChild(event.target);

private var _dragIcon:MovieClip;
dragIcon.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_UP,onMouseUp, false, 0, true);
dragIcon.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN,onMouseDown, false, 0, true);

/*
private var oldSwapDepth:int = 0;
private var tempSwapDepth:int = 0;
private function onMouseDown(event:MouseEvent):void
{
dragIcon.startDrag(false)
tempSwapDepth = dragIcon.parent.getChildIndex(dragIcon);
var newSwapDepth:int = dragIcon.parent.getChildIndex(swapDepthMc);
newSwapDepth>oldSwapDepth ? newSwapDepth = newSwapDepth : newSwapDepth =  oldSwapDepth;
dragIcon.parent.setChildIndex(dragIcon,newSwapDepth)
oldSwapDepth = dragIcon.parent.getChildIndex(dragIcon);
}
private function onMouseUp(event:MouseEvent):void         {
dragIcon.stopDrag();
dragIcon.parent.setChildIndex(dragIcon,tempSwapDepth);
} */
private function onMouseDown(event:MouseEvent):void
{
event.target.parent.addChild(event.target);
}

Creating A Downloader For YouTube with Air

Create a To-do List in Five Minutes

Building a Flash game on Adobe AIR

Creating an Image Viewer in AIR With Drag and Drop

Build A Web 2.0 Voting Widget With Flex - Part I

Build A Web 2.0 Voting Widget With Flex - Part II

Recreating MapCache on Adobe AIR

How to build a contact manager in AIR using XML

Create a Memory Game

]]> http://rmbernardes.wordpress.com/?p=202 Wed, 13 Aug 2008 18:27:28 +0000 rmbernardes http://rmbernardes.wordpress.com/2008/08/13/como-habilitar-o-%e2%80%9carrasta-e-solta%e2%80%9d-no-amsn-ubuntu-804/

Uma das “in”funcionalidades mais chatas do amsn é o envio de arquivos.Ter que clicar em várias pastas até achar o arquivo acaba sendo uma tarefa meio chata.
Por isso criei este pequeno tutorial, que explica como habilitar o envio de arquivos apenas o arrastando para a janela de conversação.

1.Antes de iniciar, execute
apt-get install cvs

2.Execute cvs -z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@tkdnd.cvs.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/tkdnd login
Logging in to :pserver:anonymous@tkdnd.cvs.sourceforge.net:2401/cvsroot/tkdnd
para criar o arquivo .cvspass
Na linha CVS password: apenas dê enter.

3.Agora você fará o download da lib tkdnd com o comando
cvs -z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@tkdnd.cvs.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/tkdnd co -P tkdnd

4.Feito o download, entre no diretório tkdn e copie os arquivos listados abaixo para a pasta utils do amsn.No meu caso ela fica em /usr/local/share/amsn.É preciso também criar a pasta tkdnd dentro da pasta utils:

mkdir /usr/local/share/amsn/utils/tkdnd
cd tkdnd/lib
cp *tcl /usr/local/share/amsn/utils/tkdnd/
cd Linux
cp libtkdnd1.0.so /usr/local/share/amsn/utils/tkdnd/

5.Restarte seu amsn e pronto!

You just don't hear about Dell users welcoming Sony users to the wonderful world of Windows Vista. But we Mac users consider it something of duty, to make new users feel welcome - and what better way to say Hi, than a list of stuff to try out, once the excitement of taking your shiny new Mac from its box has given way to the joy of using the best operating system money can buy.

I've tried to list mostly tips which I find useful, but which it took me a while to find out about - rather than taking the time to verbosely list all of the immediately obvious functions which OS X is famed for and which are documented in the user guide, included with every new Mac.

Keyboard shortcuts

The list of undocumented key commands in OS X is seemingly endless. I've been a Mac user for years and there's barely a month goes by when I'm not either reminded of a key combination I'd for