Features
- Displays text labels on the desktop.
- Optional anti-aliased text.
- Specify text colour and optional text shadow.
- Text labels can be vertical.
- Helper plugins to extend functionality - display RSS feeds, Winamp information...
- Quick recycle text labels.
Registry Entries
'Font' (String) :
Specifies the font used to draw the text, e.g. 'Tahoma,12' would specify the Tahoma font at 12 points. If you just specify the font name, then a default point size is used. Intially the font is set to 'standard' which uses the default Geoshell font.
'X Pos' (Dword) and 'Y Pos' (Dword) :
Specifies the position to draw the text to. If the 'X Pos' value is equal to the width of the screen, then the text will be aligned with the rightmost edge of the screen.
These are initially set to 0 which will place your label in the top left corner. If the 'Y Pos' value is equal to the height of the screen, then the text will be aligned with the bottom edge of the screen.
'Text' (String):
Specifies the text to show in your label. Initially set to 'Your message here...'. This text is shown when you don't specify a text helper.
'Max Window Width' (Dword)and 'Max Window Height' (Dword) :
Specifies the size of the label when you display a multi-line label on the desktop.
'Orientation' (String):
Text labels can be drawn vertically. Specify a value of '90' to have the text draw vertically from the bottom to top (90 degress) or '270' to have the text drawn vertically from top to bottom (270 degrees). Default setting is 'normal'.
'Text Colour' (String) :
Specifies the colour to draw the text with. Can be a comma separated RGB value - '255,255,255' or a HTML style colour value '#FFFFFF'.
'Text Shadow Colour' (String) :
As above, however this is the colour of the shadow drawn underneath the text label. Set this string value to 'none' to disable the shadow.
'Anti Aliased' (Dword) :
Set this to '1' to have the text anti-aliased, or '0' to have the text drawn normally. The font may not be anti-aliased if the font doesn't support it or if the specified font is too small or big. This may not work with Windows 95. 
'Update Time' (Dword) :
Specifies in milliseconds how often the label is updated, e.g. 10 seconds is 10000 milliseconds. Set this to 0 if you don't want the label to update.
'Text Plugin' (String) :
Specifies the name of the helper to use to display text in the label. Specify 'none' to use the standard text label mode. If you want Winamp information in the label, then you'd set this to 'gdt_winamp.dll'
If you double right-click a text label and hold down shift, the label will quick recycle and read in any new settings without having to recycle the entire shell.
Helpers
These live in the plugins directory with the main GeoDeskText.dll. They provide extra functionality and information for the labels. You need to create the registry entries for the helpers yourself.
gdt_file.dll
Displays a text file. Specify the file to display in a String value called 'Text Path'.
gdt_quote.dll
Displays a random line from a text file. Specify the file to extract lines from in the String value 'Quotations Path'.
gdt_winamp.dll
Displays info from Winamp. You can specify a format string in the String value 'Winamp Format', e.g. 'Track %t - %n' where %t is the current track number and %n is the name of the song. You need to set 'Update Time' for the label to a value of say, 2000, so that the label keeps in sync with what Winamp is currently up to. It will read from Foobar 2000 too. Just goto http://www.r1ch.net/stuff/foobar/
and get the Winamp API emulator for Foobar.
gdt_rss.dll
Displays info from an RSS feed. Specify a URL to the feed in the String value 'RSS url'. The URL should be in the following format 'http://www.geoshell.com/rss.board.asp'. You can choose whether to view descriptions from the feed by setting the Dword value 'RSS Show Descriptions' to 0 or 1.
gdt_stat.dll
Displays various system statistics. You can format the output of the statistics in the String value 'Stat Format', e.g. 'Cpu c\n Swap Usage %v' would give you 'CPU 1' on one line and 'Swap Usage 4%' on the other. You can use the following in the format string:
%v Swap Usage in %
%c CPU Usage in %
%m Physical Memory usage in %
%b Battery level in % (if we're running off battery power)
%p Number of processes
%ud Uptime in days
%uh Uptime in hours
%um Uptime in minutes
%us Uptime in seconds
%% percentage character
\n embedded new line (to split the string over multiple lines)
The uptime values only work under Windows NT 4/2000/XP.
gdt_shorcut.dll
Displays a clickable label that can execute an application or open a document. Specify the name of the shortcut in the String value 'Shortcut Name' - this is the text that is displayed on screen. You can specify the path to the application or document you want to open in the string value 'Shortcut Path'. You activate the shortcut by left double clicking on it.
gdt_stocks.dll
Displays Yahoo! stock information. GeoDeskText is not responsible for the value of your portfolio. You specify the URL in the String value 'Stock URL', e.g.
'http://finance.yahoo.com/d/quotes.csv?s=GOOG&f=snt1l1c1c2'
You need '&f=snt1l1c1c2' in that order to ensure we get back the full CSV value. You can then format what you want to display below. The output is controlled by the String value 'Stock Format'
You can use the following in the format string:
%s symbol
%n name
%t time of trade
%l price
%c change (+/-)
%v verbose change
So, '%s %n\n%t %l\n%c %v' would give you -
'GOOG GOOGLE
4.00pm 102.31
+0.01 +0.01 - +0.01%"
You can use \n to break the text onto a new line. A postive change value is shown in green, negative in red.
Known Issues
The RSS helper may hold up plugin / shell recycling if it's in the middle of downloading a feed. Hopefully it shouldn't be too noticable.
Requires Geoshell 4.11 or better as it uses new functionality in GeoLib.
Contact and feedback
Bugs? Hopefully not.
No warranty? Certainly.
Questions and suggestions? Possibly.
Best pop over to the Geoshell message board then - Geoshell - Forum
Credits
RSS plugin utilises Winsock code from Adrian Bacaianu's example on CodeProject.
RSS parser adapted and de-MFCed from the iShell module iLCDScroll 0.3 by allelimo.
Thanks to r1ch for updating his Winamp API Foobar Plugin to work with gdt_winamp.
