Source code?

[scuzball1]

It appears the source code is incomplete and not able to be compiled.

The reason I was looking for the source (it is Open Source now...) is that in the next version of Windows, Microsoft is cutting off VB6. Completely. With this in mind, I would like to look into starting this project as a .NET (C#) version.

http://www.google.com/search?q=windows+8+vb6

One other issue though with moving it to .NET, is that under Windows Vista/7 Defender registers the hooks as unsafe. If someone wants to donate for the Authenticode key, please do. 


-John

[Andrew Langford]

Hi John,

The source code should be complete, but it may involve some tweaking in VB6 to work properly. Are you getting a specific error? I'll be more than willing to help with a C# project. I was thinking of using MonoDevelop and GDK. These are open source and could allow Keybreeze to be a cross-platform application. Before we start something like this, I think we need to make sure the following are supported:

- global hotkey support (you mentioned that Windows registers this hook as unsafe, but I couldn't find anything on it. Do you have a link?)
- automation support for text functions and macros
- window transparency and support for shaped windows (this isn't really crucial, but I think in this day and age, users are going to want something other than box-shaped windows)

The other option I had in mind was coding it in C++ and QT. Do you think it would be more beneficial to use C#?

Thanks,

Andrew

[Andrew Langford]

It's been a while since this has been discussed, so I wanted to provide an update for everyone. I have started working on a complete rewrite of Keybreeze over the past few months using Visual C# 2010. The new version will include all the features that the current version has, as well as several enhancements:

1. Better aesthetics -- the new version will support skins with translucent areas, gradient backgrounds for the main text area, and icon support for the autocomplete list. Despite the extra resources this will require, initial testing has been promising. The response time of typing keywords, navigating the autocomplete, and launching entries is just as fast as the current version of Keybreeze.
2. Your custom keywords will load instantly in the autocomplete as you type them. If you start typing something that Keybreeze does not recognize, it will search an index of files and folders on your machine and show you the results. This is similar to how the Windows start button search works. Naturally, there will be a one or two second delay since it has to search through many files, just like the Windows search does, but you can add a keyword to these files on the fly so they load instantly the next time you type them.
3. More advanced options for letter commands will be available, including character replacement options. In the current version, if you search Google using a letter command and include the # key or any other special characters in your search, they are not passed to the browser properly.
4. The two most common glitches will be fixed -- the "Windows is waiting for Keybreeze to close" message that pops up when you restart or shut down your machine, as well as the sticky note delay that sometimes occurs when they pop up on your screen.

I'm hoping to have a beta version available by February, so I will update this thread once it is ready. I also plan on releasing the source code to SourceForge once most of the features have been implemented.