Main Window

Index

1. General information
2. Description of the menubar of the main window
3. Popup menu of the main window
4. System menu of the main window
5. Mouse and keyboard shortcuts in the main window
5.1 Configurable Mouse shortcuts in the main window
5.2 Reserved Mouse shortcuts in the main window

1. General information

Overview of the main window is presented on fig.1.

Fig. 1. Main window

Main window is the core of proxy32 application interface. It is standard window that has titlebar, menubar, application icon and minimize/maximize/close buttons on the titlebar, it is also present on the Windows taskbar panel.

Main window allows user to work with terminal windows and other windows (script editor and other applications) in 6 separate workspaces.

In the main window one can:

switch between workspaces;
create terminal windows and other application windows in the workspaces;
give names to workspaces and to the windows inside of the workspaces;
move (via drag-and-drop) terminal windows and other windows from one workspace to another;
switch between windows inside of one workspace;
control automatic positioning of terminal windows and other windows inside of the workspace;
control automatic positioning of floating windows relative to the main window;
control behavior of floating windows on moving the main window;
show/hide menubar of the main window;
turn tooltips on and off;
select background of the workspace;
switch between Windows Desktops (if Proxy32 is running on the Dedicated Windows Desktop);
tune many options, related to interface and functionality of Proxy32.

Main window has menubar with buttons that allow quick access to most frequently used functions and commands. Main window also has system menu and popup menu.

2. Description of the menubar of the main window

Fig. 2. Menubar of the main window

Instead of using buttons, one can assign their ACTIONS to HOTKEYS or to MouseClicks as described here.

Some buttons may have secondary actions when clicked while user holds modifier keys (Shift/Ctrl/Alt/Win). Most recent info about button will be shown in the button's tooltip or in the context help page associated with the button.

Names of the buttons in the menubar of the Main Window are shown below (from the left to the right according to the layout of menubar of the main window):

Buttons to switch workspaces
Button "Favorites"
Button to switch between the windows in the current workspace
Button to move windows between workspaces
Button to open dialog to select window to be captured into current workspace
Button to release active window of external process from workspace window back to desktop
Buttons for automatically laying out windows inside of current workspace
Button to close all non-minimized windows in current workspace
Button to change title of the active window
Button to select behavior of the windows
Button "show/hide floating windows"
Buttons to "show and position floating windows"
Button "Popup menu of the main window"
Button of context help "What is this?"
Button to launch Help file
Button to switch user from Dedicated Windows Desktop to Common Windows Desktop
Button for turning on/off tooltips that are built into the program
Button to select COMMAND beforetype delay
Button to select COMMAND "Mouse Move Click" mode
Button to select COMMAND interchar delay
Button to select COMMAND line terminator
Button to select COMMAND focus release mode

Buttons to switch workspaces

Brief description:
Six buttons allows to switch directly to desired workspace. Text of the buttons reflects names of the workspaces. Name of the current workspace can be changed.

Detailed description:
In the main window user can see 6 workspaces one at the time. Each workspace has its own button in the menubar of the main window. This button has the name of the workspace on it. When proxy32 is launched for the first time workspaces named Workspace0 to Workspace5, Workspace0 is active, its button is selected by frame, and title of the main window says Workspace0. Clicking the button of another workspace, user will open that another workspace inside of the main window. The button of newly selected workspace is highlighted by the frame and name of newly selected workspace will be shown in the title of the main window (fig. 3,4).

Fig.3. Switching between workspaces

Fig.4. Workspace1 is selected

User can assign names to workspaces. To change the name of the current workspace, RightClick on the title of the main window. It will start editing of the title "in place". Edited name will appear not only in the title of the main window but also on the button that represents current workspace (fig. 5).

Fig.5. Renaming Workspace1

Usually, user will assign name to the workspace to reflect task that is executed in that workspace. In that case, by switching between workspaces user is actually switching between the tasks that are running in those workspaces.

Button "Favorites"

Brief description:
Button "Favorites" allows to create windows of terminals and Other applications inside of current workspace.

Detailed description:
In each workspace user can create:

terminal windows. That may be windows of built-in proxy32 terminal or, for example, windows of PuTTY or MinTTY terminals;
windows of Other applications (for example, Notepad, Firefox etc.);
windows of the built-in Proxy32 script editor.

To create windows of terminals and Other applications menubar of main window has button "Favorites" , that allows to select and run pre-configured action.

Button "Favorites" opens the menu that has 10 submenus (fig.6-7). During the installation proxy32 creates initial set of favorites in the first two submenus ("Quick Connect" and "Launch Application"), so that they can be used immediately after installation. Later, after learning automation in the proxy32, user will be able to create his/her own terminal, command, script and plugin launchers (in the LauncherTree window) and add them to "Favorites" submenus for quick access.

Fig.6. Favorites in submenu "Quick Connect"

Submenu "Quick Connect" contains favorites to create terminal window (built-in proxy32 terminal, PuTTY, MinTTY) and connect it to CYGWIN bash shell or to SSH, SFTP, TELNET or FTP server.

Fig.7. Favorites in submenu "Launch Application"

Submenu "Launch Application" contains favorites to create windows of Other applications, for example, Notepad or Firefox.

When using favorites in submenu "Quick Connect" Proxy32 pops up a dialog where user has to enter values for server connection parameters (IP address, port number, user name and password) and press OK. Fig. 8 shows parameter input dialog for connection to SSH server. Fig.9 shows as after pressing OK button in parameter input dialog terminal connects to SSH server.

Fig.8. Sample of parameter input dialog to connect to SSH server

Fig.9. After pressing OK button in parameter input dialog terminal connects to SSH server

Entered parameter values stay in memory until Proxy32 exits. They will be shown in the parameter input dialog next time when this favorite is used and user can edit them before pressing OK button.

For entered parameter values to be shown in the dialog after next start of Proxy32, checkmark "Save on exit" should be selected in parameter input dialog against the parameters that user wants to save on exit.

Some favorites do not need parameters, so parameter input dialog will not popup when they are used.

Note:

To create in the workspace application windows that are not preconfigured in favorites menu, one should show the floating windows, create appropriate launcher on the LauncherTree window and execute this launcher by double-click. (reference link)
User can "suck in" (GRAB) into workspace windows of external processes that were started in Windows outside of Proxy32. (reference link)
Window of built-in proxy32 script editor is created only in the process of script editing and cannot be created via favorites. (reference link)

Button to switch between the windows in the current workspace

Brief description:
Button to switch between the windows in the current workspace allows user to switch between terminal and other application windows inside of the current workspace.

Detailed description:

Pressing the button will show the list of all windows inside of current workspace (fig. 10).

This list can help user to find and reveal needed window, if windows in the workspace cover each other or located outside of visible area of the workspace after reducing size of the main window.

Selected window highlighted in the list by frame around icon (Windows Vista/7/8) or by checkmark (Windows XP). On Fig. 10 Firefox window is selected. By selecting window in the list user switches to this window.

Fig.10. List of windows running in the current workspace

To switch between the windows running in the current workspace one just need to click inside of the window or on its titlebar. That will automaticly select window in the list. In some external processes clicking inside of the window is not always guarantees automatic selection in the list (because external process may try to control its own window in response to users click). Therefore, to guarantee the switch one should explicitely select such window in the list.

When user selects window title from the list or clicks inside of the window or on its titlebar:

window comes to foreground in the workspace, if it was covered;
window receives keyboard focus;
Window of built-in proxy32 terminal or script editor will be highlighted with red frame (fig.11), while window of external process (for example, Notepad, Firefox etc) is highlighted by red label with the word "ACTIVE", that is placed over the top of the window titlebar (fig.12);
window is assigned "active" status: "active" window - it is the window that will receive automation action (commands, scripts, plugins), executed from LauncherTree or from "Favorites" menu. Built-in proxy32 terminal can execute commands, scripts and plugins, while other types of windows can execute only commands.

Fig.11. Active window of the built-in terminal is highlighted by red frame

Fig.12. Active window of the external process (CMD console) is highlighted by red label with the word "ACTIVE" that is placed over the window's titlebar.

Note:

New window becomes active at the time when it is created, so that user can immediately type into it or execute commands/scripts/plugins into it.
If user turns off red frame and red label (in Proxy32 Options Dialog), then list can be used to select and to check which window will receive automation actions.

To get more details about active window and how to send commands into it, please, read here and here.

Button to move windows between workspaces

Brief description:
Button to move windows between workspaces allows to move terminal windows and windows of other applications from one workspace into another.

Detailed description:
Fig. 13-15 show by steps process of moving CMD console window from workspace Workspace0 into workspace Workspace5.

Fig.13. Moving windows from one workspace to another via drag-and-drop. List of windows in the workspace Workspace0 before user moved name/icon of CMD console window by mouse and dropped it onto the name of the workspace Workspace5.

Fig.14. Moving windows from one workspace to another via drag-and-drop. List of windows in the workspace Workspace0 after user moved name/icon of CMD console window by mouse and dropped it onto the name of the workspace Workspace5.

Fig.15. Moving windows from one workspace to another via drag-and-drop. List of windows in the workspace Workspace5 after user moved name/icon of CMD console window by mouse and dropped it onto the name of the workspace Workspace5.

Button to open dialog to select window to be captured into current workspace

This button will open dialog to select window to be captured into current workspace. For each existing "eligible" window that is not yet captured into proxy32 workspace it will show string "window_class : window_title". Highlight row in this dialog and click on "OK" button (or simply DoubleClick on the row. Example of dialog window is shown below.

Button to release active window of external process from workspace window back to desktop

LeftClick on the button:
Release Active Window (if it is External Application Window) from current Proxy32 Workspace back to Desktop. Released application will not be terminated on exit of Proxy32.

Left Click while Control key is pressed:
Release All External Application Windows (captured into all Workspaces via LAUNCH, VIEWER, manual GRAB or AUTOGRAB) from all 6 Proxy32 workspaces back to Desktop. Released applications will not be terminated on exit of Proxy32.

Buttons for automatically laying out windows inside of current workspace

Brief description:
When one of the automatic layout buttons is pressed windows are laid out inside of the workspace according to selected algorithm (tile, cascade etc). After this windows are not being fixed in their positions, so user can move them again as desired.

Detailed description:
Buttons for automatically laying out windows inside of current workspace allow:

click on this button will tile all non-minimized windows in the current workspace into single-row from the left to the right
every click on this button will add one extra row to existing tiled layout (until all windows are tiled into single-column from the top to the bottom and then next click will tile into single-row)
cascade all non-minimized windows in the current workspace
minimize all windows in the current workspace
unminimize all windows in the current workspace
make all non-minimized windows in the current workspace the same size and place them into the same position and then add random offset to position (normalize)

Examples of automatic terminal windows layout are shown on fig. 2-5 in the Introduction.

By default, if floating windows are not visible, tile/cascade will arrange windows using all internal space in the workspace (fig.16), and if floating windows are visible, tile/cascade will arrange windows using only part of internal space in the workspace not covered by floating windows, so that there is no overlap with floating windows (fig.17). This default setting can be changed via menu of the button or via Proxy32 Option Dialog (reference).

Fig.16. Layout of windows using all internal space in the workspace

Fig.17. Layout of windows using only part of internal space in the workspace that is not covered by floating windows

By default, minimization with the button in the menubar of the main window (or with the minimization button in the title bar of the window) will cause minimized windows to be automatically placed in the row at the bottom of the workspace (as shown on fig.18). This default setting can be changed, for example, it is possible to have minimized windows automatically placed in the column at the side of the workspace (as shown on fig.19).

Fig.18. Automatic layout of minimized windows at the bottom from left to right (default)

Fig.19. Automatic layout of minmized windows at the left from top to bottom

In the Proxy32 Options Dialog user can choose one of the 8 possible options for automatic layout of the minimized windows inside of the current workspace (as shown on fig. 20).

Fig.20. Settings for tuning minimized windows in Proxy32 Options Dialog

After particular window is minimized user can move it with the mouse. This new position of the minimized window will be remembered and will be used for all consequent minimizations until this window is closed. By default, if the size of the main window is changed minimized windows we'll be rearranged again automatically so that they will not end up outside of the visible part of the workspace when the main window is re-sized.

In the menu of the button or in the Proxy32 Options Dialog one can turn on and off the mode of automatic rearrangement of the minimized windows on resizing of the main window. In addition to this in the Proxy32 Options Dialog one can choose parameters of the automatic layout of the minimized windows and also the size of minimized windows.

Note: Positioning of the minimized windows while they are laid out automatically and the size of minimized windows are both system-wide settings and they will apply to all minimized windows running in the other Windows applications.

Button returns all minimized windows in the current workspace into the state in which they were before the minimization.

When button is pressed all nonminimized windows in the current workspace will be normalized, i.e. they will get the same size and position as newly created windows (fig.21). Normalization as well as minimization can help to put workspace in order when many non-minimized windows ended up having position and size that are not convenient for the user.

Normalization of windows with the help of the button amounts to laying out the windows in a such way that user has control over the size and positioning of the laid out windows. User can use existing terminal window as a template to specify where in the workspace any new window will be placed and which size it should have on creation. To use existing terminal window as a template user have to select menu "File/Save Terminal Settings" in this terminal window. This information will be stored in "Initial Terminal Settings".

Fig.21 Example of the workspace with normalized windows. Default size and position are used.

Button to change title of the active window

Brief description:
Button to change title of the active window allows user to change title of active window.

Detailed description:
When new window is created via favorites menu or via LauncherTree floating window it gets title assigned to it (from tooltips field of the launcher that creates the window).

Button to change title of the active window allows user to change title of any active window. Pressing button pops up the dialog “New Window Title” that allows user to enter new title for the active window (Fig.22).

Fig.22. Dialog to enter new title of active window

In addition, for built-in Proxy32 terminal window the title can be edited "in place" when user makes right click on the titlebar of this window (Fig.23).

Fig.23. Editing title of the terminal window "in place"

New window title automatically appears in the list of windows in the current workspace. List pops up when button is pressed.

Some external processes, for example, PuTTY or MinTTY, may change the window title on command from remote computer. Proxy32 by default will restore the title that is given to the window in the Proxy32 environment. However, in the menu of the button one can allow to external processes to change the title of their own window.

Notes:

Built-in terminal window title can be edited "in place" when user makes right click on the titlebar of this window. By default it will also start new terminal log file. The name of the new terminal log file reflects new title of the terminal window. This behavior can be changed via terminal settings. (reference)
Workspace window title can be edited "in place" when user makes right click on the titlebar of this window

Button to close all non-minimized windows in current workspace

LeftClick on the button:
Close all non-minimized windows in current workspace. Button is particularly helpful to close group of input-sharing terminals connected to the cluster of remote hosts.

Button to select behavior of the windows

Brief description:
Menu of this button helps to tune user working environment. Pressing this button will show popup menu. In that popup menu one can select most convenient type of association between floating windows and the main window (fully dependent, partially dependent or completely independent positioning of floating windows), maximizing main window onto two monitors etc. Functions of this button are duplicated in the Options Dialog on the Page "Windows Behavior"

Detailed description:
It was already said in the Introduction that LauncherTree and Selector floating windows are the main components of the Proxy32 user interface (along with the main window)

When only one out of three windows visible to the user and the other two Proxy32 windows are covered by windows of the other programs, clicking the visible proxy32 window will bring to the front the other two proxy32 windows.

Main window and floating window LauncherTree can be made larger/smaller both by height and by width. Floating window Selector can be made larger/smaller only by width.

User can use the mouse to position any of the three proxy32 windows arbitrarily on the monitor (fig.24). When floating windows overlap with the main window they will be always positioned above it.

Fig.24. Arbitrary positioning of the floating windows

In the menubar of the main window there are buttons that control automatic positioning of the floating windows relative to the main window. They allow to automatically position floating windows into fixed positions inside or outside of the main window in the upper left or bottom right corner (fig.25). Fig. 25 shows windows positioning outside on the left after pressing button . All possible options of automatic window positioning are shown on fig.14-17 in the Introduction.

Fig.25. Floating windows on the left outside

Therefore, floating windows can be laid out on the monitor screen manually in arbitrary fashion, and also automatically into fixed positions relative to main window.

Button in the menubar of the main window allows to control how both floating windows (LauncherTree and Selector) will behave on moving and resizing main window (of course, moving and resizing of the main window is possible only when main window is not maximized). Pressing this button will show menu where user can select one of the three options of the behavior of the floating windows (fig.26):

Fig.26. Menu of the button

In this menu user can select one of the three option of Floating windows behavior (fig.26):

First option of the menu of the button "LauncherTree adjusts size and position when Main Window is moved or resized" is selected by default in Proxy32. When this option is selected, when main window is moved, floating windows will move together with main window, keeping their positions relative to each other (fig. 27). When main window is resized, floating windows adjust their sizes to match size of the main window (fig. 30).
Second option of the menu of the button "LauncherTree moves when Main Window is moved" means that when main window is moved, floating windows are also moved with the main window keeping previous distance from top left corner of the main window (fig. 28); When main window is resized, floating windows will not adjust their sizes to match size of the main window (рис.31).
Third option of the menu of the button "LauncherTree size and position are independent from Main Window" means that when main window is moved floating windows are not moving with the main window and not adjusting their sizes to match size of the main window (fig. 29, 31).

Fig.27. Option "LauncherTree adjusts size and position when Main Window moved or resized" is selected: before and after moving main window

Fig.28. Option "LauncherTree moves when Main Window is moved" is selected: before and after moving main window

Fig.29. Option "LauncherTree size and position are independent from Main Window" is selected: before and after moving main window

Fig.30. Option "LauncherTree adjusts size and position when Main Window moved or resized" is selected: before and after resizing main window

Fig.31. Option "LauncherTree moves when Main Window is moved" or "LauncherTree size and position are independent from Main Window" is selected: before and after resizing main window

In the menu of the button there are 6 additional options that user can select via checkmarks. These options allow to organize work in the main window according to users taste.

Selection of an option "Main Window Maximizes To Cover Current Monitor minus Taskbar" is changing the behavior of the main window on maximization. If it is selected, main window will expand to cover Virtual Desktop (imaginable rectangle that covers all the monitors) on maximization.
Selection of an option "Main Window Maximizes To Cover Virtual Desktop minus Taskbar" is changing the behavior of the main window on maximization. If it is selected, main window will expand to cover Virtual Desktop (imaginable rectangle that covers all the monitors) on maximization.
Selection of an option "Main Window Maximizes To Cover Virtual Desktop" is changing the behavior of the main window on maximization. If it is selected, main window will expand to cover Virtual Desktop (imaginable rectangle that covers all the monitors) on maximization.
Selection of an option "LeftDoubleClick On the Titlebar of the Main Window executes assigned action" enables alternative method (instead of using button in menubar of the main window) to hide/show floating windows. This alternative method can be used when menubar of the main window is hidden and button is not available. (Menubar of the main window can be shown/hidden via both system menu and popup menu of the main window).
Selection of an option "Remove Frame From Selector Window","Remove Frame From LauncherTree Window","Remove Frame From Main Window" removes frame from respective window
Selection of an option "Add Drag Handle to Selector And LauncherTree On Frame Removal" adds small area on the left of Selector and LauncherTree windows when they have their frames removed. Those areas can be used to execute mouse shortcuts and to drag respective window.
Selection of an option "Use Small Font/Icons (16pt instead of 32pt) for Selector and WorkspaceNavigator" decreases size of font/icons in the list in Selector window and in other related menus: (list of windows in current workspace) and (WorkspaceNavigator: move windows between workspaces via drag-n-drop).
Selection of an option "Maximize Application Window on selection from Selector Window List" turns on maximization of terminal window or other application window on selection from Selector (or on selection from list of windows in current workspace that is opened when button is pressed). If this checkmark is not set, selected windows does not maximize as a result of selection.
Selection of an option "Tiled, Cascaded and Maximized Terminal will not overlap with LauncherTree" ensures that on maximization, tile and cascade terminal window and other application windows in the current workspace will not overlap with floating windows (fig. 17). This option is selected by default. If this option is not selected, terminal window and other application windows will fill current workspace on maximization, tile and cascade (fig.16).
Selection of an option "Rearrange Minimized Application Windows on resize of Main Window" will enable automatic re-arrangement of the minimized terminal windows and other application windows when size of the main window is changing. If this option is not selected, minimized windows will keep their positions on main window size changes and may end up outside of the visible part of the workspace. This option can be turned off if user prefers to lay out minimized windows manually inside of the workspace.
Option "Enforce Application Window Title Entered by User" applies to the windows of external processes inside of the workspace. Some external processes can change titles of their own windows. For example, PuTTY and MinTTY can change the title of the window on command from the remote computer. If this option is selected (it is turned on by default) Proxy32 restores the title of the window of the external process to the string that was given by the user (in the field of tooltips of the launcher that created the window or via dialog of changing title of the active window). If this option is not selected, external processes can change title of their windows. Built-in terminal has it own options to control its window title.

Button "show/hide floating windows"

This button shows/hides floating windows LauncherTree and Selector. "Shown/Hidden" state of the floating windows is set by user and remembered after restart of Proxy32 application. To show floating windows press this button again or press one of the buttons "show and position floating windows".

Buttons to "show and position floating windows"

Brief description:
These four buttons will show floating windows LauncherTree and Selector if they are hidden and place floating windows into preset fixed positions.

Detailed description:
It was already said above that floating windows can laid out on the monitor manually in arbitrary fashion and also automatically into fixed positions relative to main window. For this purpose menubar of the main window has 4 buttons . Those 4 buttons will "show" floating windows LauncherTree and Selector if they are hidden and place floating windows depending on user choice at the top left corner outside, or at the top left corner inside, or at the bottom right corner outside, or at the bottom right corner inside. In addition, floating windows will adjust their size to match dimensions of the main window. Fig. 32 shows positioning of floating windows at the top left corner inside of the main window. In the introduction fig. 14-17 show all possible option for automatic positioning of the floating windows.

Fig.32. Floating windows are located in the top left corner inside after pressing the button

Possible positions of the floating windows are visually presented on the buttons. On those buttons main window is depicted as blue square and floating windows are depicted as red rectangles.

Positioning floating windows outside of the main window, as shown on the buttons is possible only if the main window is not maximized. Positioning floating windows inside of the main window, as shown on the buttons , is possible both when the main window is maximized and when it is not maximized.

If main window is not maximized and floating windows are positioned outside of main window, on maximization of the main window floating window will be automatically positioned inside of main window, as shown on the buttons .

If main window is maximized and floating windows are positioned inside of main window, on attempt to position floating windows outside by pressing one of the buttons main window will be put into non-maximized state and floating windows will be positioned outside.

Note:

Buttons will position floating windows regardless of settings of automatic floating window positioning in the menu of the button . But movement and resizing of the floating windows on movement and resizing of the main window will depend on the settings of automatic floating window positioning in the menu of the button .

Button opens popup menu of the main window (Fig.33).

Fig.33. Popup menu of the main window

When menubar of the main window is hidden, button “Popup menu of the main window” is unavailable. There are following alternative ways to call this menu:

ctrl-RightClick on the titlebar of LauncherTree, Selector or main windows;
ctrl-RightClick on the background of the main window;
RightClick on the button representing main window on the Windows taskbar (shows System menu of the main window);
LeftClick on the icon in the titlebar of the main window (shows System menu of the main window).

This popup menu contains many commands and options that duplicate buttons of the menubar of the main window. Some functions however are only available via this menu. Those commands and options are described in the section 3. Popup menu of the main window.

Button of context help "What is this?"

When this button is pressed, Proxy32 switches into context help mode for the next mouse click. Cusrsor takes shape of an arrow with the question mark. In this mode when pressing button or selecting menu item instead of executing action of the button or menu item proxy32 calls help page that describes that button or menu item. After this context help mode is turned off and cursor reverts to its standard shape.

Button to launch Help file

Pressing this button will open help file. Help file has table of contents and index to help user locate needed subject.

Button to switch user from Dedicated Windows Desktop to Common Windows Desktop

Brief description:
Pressing this button will switch user from Dedicated Windows Desktop to the Common Windows Desktop. Switching works only when Proxy32 is running on Dedicated Windows Desktop.

Detailed description:
Proxy32 can create Separate Windows Desktop and start Proxy32 GUI on it. In this case programs started on Common Windows Desktop will be unable to interact with Proxy32 GUI (manipulate Proxy32 windows and send mouse and keyboard events into them). Running Proxy32 on the Separate Windows Desktop can be used for executing mission-critical tasks when user wants to avoid any interference from the other Windows applications.

Start of Proxy32 on the Separate Windows Desktop is disabled by default but it can be enabled via Proxy32 Options Dialog.

When Proxy32 GUI is started on the Separate Windows Desktop, it allows user to switch back and forth between Separate and Common Windows Desktops:

Key combination to switch back and forth between Separate and Common Windows Desktops is by default Ctrl-Shift-1. It can be changed via Proxy32 Options Dialog.
Switch from Separate to Common Windows Desktop can be done with the button in the menubar of the main window.
Switch from Common to Separate Windows Desktop can be done with left mouse click on the proxy32 icon in the status area of the windows taskbar on Common Windows Desktop.

Button for turning on/off tooltips that are built into the program

This button allows quickly turn on and off built-in Proxy32 tooltips. After installation of Proxy32 those tooltips are enabled by default. When user becomes familiar with all controls of the Proxy32 GUI, user can turn them off.

Button to select COMMAND beforetype delay

COMMAND launcher is designed as simplest form of automation to inject pre-defined (and possible parmetrized text) into keyboard buffer while window of external process has keyboard focus.

COMMAND launcher is also capable to send pre-defined text to the remote host of Proxy32 built-in terminal, but discussion below does not apply to execution of COMMAND launcher to the window of Proxy32 built-in terminal.

COMMAND launcher is executed by DoubleClick-ing on user created COMMAND-launcher node. Such node should be created by user in advance on Proxy32 LauncherTree that is displayed in Proxy32 LauncherTree floating window. COMMAND-launcher node contains text that will be injected to keyboard buffer on its execution.

When COMMAND launcher is executed to the window of external process, there are 5 parameters of execution that can be adjusted on all 5 steps of COMMAND launcher execution. First parameter is BEFORE_TYPE_DELAY:

BEFORE_TYPE_DELAY - When COMMAND launcher is executed to the window of external process, as first step, Proxy32 tries to bring such window of external process to foreground and set focus to that window. Some windows are very slow to react to this change, for example, windows of Remote Desktop to virtual machines that are located on overloaded and oversubscribed remote servers. In addition, pixel-by-pixel image of such window (Remote Desktop window) is passing over very slow network connection. To give slow window some time to react on request to come to foreground and get keyboard focus, Proxy32 will wait amount of time configured as BEFORE_TYPE_DELAY before continue with execution of COMMAND launcher. Possible values are 0,200,400,800,1600 milliseconds.

Button to select COMMAND "Mouse Move Click" mode

COMMAND launcher is designed as simplest form of automation to inject pre-defined (and possible parmetrized text) into keyboard buffer while window of external process has keyboard focus.

When COMMAND launcher is executed to the window of external process, there are 5 parameters of execution that can be adjusted on all 5 steps of COMMAND launcher execution. Second parameter is MOUSEMOVECLICK:

MOUSEMOVECLICK - When COMMAND launcher is executed to the window of external process the target window may represent virtual machine desktop screen (or even virtual machine Desktop screen inside of another virtual machine Desktop screen etc). All Proxy32 has is single virtual desktop window, but such virtual desktop window contains multiple application windows inside of it. Individual application windows inside of virtual desktop screen canot be controlled by Proxy32 Selector of "ACTIVE" window. Therefore, to set focus to some particular application window inside of such virtual desktop window user need to click at certain place inside of virtual desktop window before typing text/commands. Sometimes, moving the mouse to certain position inside of virtual desktop window before typing can be enough to move the keyboard focus (possibly, for some Linux Desktops). MOUSEMOVECLICK is second step of COMMAND launcher execution and has 3 settings - OFF, MOVE and CLICK. OFF does not do anything. MOVE moves mouse pointer to preset point inside of "ACTIVE" window before typing text/command into "ACTIVE" window and then, after COMMAND launcher execution is completed, returns mouse pointer to position where it was before COMMAND launcher execution. CLICK moves mouse pointer to preset point inside of "ACTIVE" window and LeftClick at this preset point inside of "ACTIVE" window before typing text/command into "ACTIVE" window and then, after COMMAND launcher execution is completed, returns mouse pointer to position where it was before COMMAND launcher execution. MOUSEMOVECLICK_MOUSEPOSITION is preset position inside of "ACTIVE" window and relatively to the left top corner of the "ACTIVE" window. This position is just a pair of coordinates (x,y) which are set by capturing mouse position relative to the left top corner of "ACTIVE" window at the moment of execution of SET_COMMAND_LAUNCHER_MOUSEMOVECLICK_MOUSEPOSITION ACTION. That action can only be executed via HOTKEY. I am, typically, assigning it to HOTKEY F4 in my favored configuration. Thare is no other way to set MOUSEMOVECLICK_MOUSEPOSITION coordinates. I am positioning mouse pointer over certain application window inside of Virtual desktop window (which is "ACTIVE" at that time) and pressing F4 to set MOUSEMOVECLICK_MOUSEPOSITION coordinates to the position of mouse pointer inside of "ACTIVE" window. MOUSEMOVECLICK_MOUSEPOSITION coordinates are stored in memory for as long as Proxy32 is running. They are not stored on exit of Proxy32. After they are set, MOUSEMOVECLICK_MOUSEPOSITION coordinates can also be substituted into AHK script that is contained inside of E-SCRIPT launcher. It is done by using substutution parameters <PROXYMOUSEXWITHINACTIVESTICKERWINDOW> and <PROXYMOUSEYWITHINACTIVESTICKERWINDOW>. Doing so allows AHK script to allows AHK script to adjust point of origin when simulating mouse clicks inside of application window that is located inside of the "Virtual Desktop" window.

NOTE: To pre-set position for MOVE or CLICK assign ACTION SET_COMMAND_LAUNCHER_MOUSEMOVECLICK_MOUSEPOSITION to some HOTKEY key combination and use this key/action to capture current cursor position relative to left top corner of currently active window. After position is captured, MOUSEMOVECLICK step of COMMAND execution will use captured coordinates to execute MOVE or CLICK.

ACTION NAME ACTION DESCRIPTION

SET_COMMAND_LAUNCHER_MOUSEMOVECLICK_MOUSEPOSITION

Applies to execution of COMMAND launcher to the window of external process and to execution of E-SCRIPT launcher that uses substutution parameters <PROXYMOUSEXWITHINACTIVESTICKERWINDOW> and <PROXYMOUSEYWITHINACTIVESTICKERWINDOW>.

Sets MOUSEMOVECLICK_MOUSEPOSITION coordinates to the position of mouse pointer inside of "ACTIVE" window and stores those coordinates in memory till exit of Proxy32 or till new coordinates will be set. Set coordinates are used by MOUSEMOVECLICK step of COMMAND launcher execution and also can be passed to E-SCRIPT AHK program via substutution parameters <PROXYMOUSEXWITHINACTIVESTICKERWINDOW> and <PROXYMOUSEYWITHINACTIVESTICKERWINDOW>. AHK script can use those coordinates to set origin for simulating mouse clicks into application window that is itself located inside of "Virtual Desktop" window.

Button to select COMMAND interchar delay

COMMAND launcher is designed as simplest form of automation to inject pre-defined (and possible parmetrized text) into keyboard buffer while window of external process has keyboard focus.

When COMMAND launcher is executed to the window of external process, there are 5 parameters of execution that can be adjusted on all 5 steps of COMMAND launcher execution. Third parameter is INTERCHARDELAY:

INTERCHARDELAY - "Virtual Desktop" windows (especially, nested/cascaded via multiple virtual machines) can be really slow and not able to process batch of text injected into keyboard buffer by COMMAND launcher. Sometimes, such windows are able to process only slow key by key typing, and even slower than would be typed by the human. To accommodate for such slow input processing INTERCHARDELAY parameter was introduced. Possible values are 0,25,50,100,200 milliseconds. At the point when text is injected into keyboard buffer, non-zero values of INTERCHARDELAY means that single key presses are simulated one at the time and INTERCHARDELAY delay value is delay between single simulated key presses.

Button to select COMMAND line terminator

COMMAND launcher is designed as simplest form of automation to inject pre-defined (and possible parmetrized text) into keyboard buffer while window of external process has keyboard focus.

When COMMAND launcher is executed to the window of external process, there are 5 parameters of execution that can be adjusted on all 5 steps of COMMAND launcher execution. Fourth parameter is LINETERMINATOR:

LINETERMINATOR - After text of command was sent, it can be terminated by simulating some equivalent of pressing Enter key. There are 4 possible values for LINETERMINATOR: NONE, CR, NL and CRNL. For example, working with Windows Console would require CRNL and woring with LINUX terminal would require NL. When the text is injected into some text fields in the web-page shown in the browser, user may opt to use NONE as line LINETERMINATOR.

Button to select COMMAND focus release mode

COMMAND launcher is designed as simplest form of automation to inject pre-defined (and possible parmetrized text) into keyboard buffer while window of external process has keyboard focus.

When COMMAND launcher is executed to the window of external process, there are 5 parameters of execution that can be adjusted on all 5 steps of COMMAND launcher execution. Fifth parameter is FOCUSRELEASE:

FOCUSRELEASE - To execute COMMAND into active VMWARE console window one has to gain console keyboard focus by executing MouseClick into VMWARE before typing Command text into active VMWARE console window. After COMMAND is executed keyboard focus has to be released from VMWARE console window by pressing Ctrl-Alt. FOCUSRELEASE=CTRLALT simulates Ctrl-Alt automatically at the end of every COMMAND that uses MOUSEMOVECLICK=CLICK.

Fig. 33 shows popup menu of the main window. It opens when button is pressed.

When menubar of the main window is hidden, button “Popup menu of the main window” is not available. There are following alternative ways to call this menu:

To open Popup menu of main window:

RightClick on the titlebar of LauncherTree or Selector (shows Popup menu of the main window for default mapping of mouse shortcuts to Actions);
RightClick on the background of the main window (shows Popup menu of the main window for default mapping of mouse shortcuts to Actions);

To open System menu of main window:

RightClick on the button representing main window on the MS-Windows taskbar;
LeftClick on the icon in the titlebar of the main window.

This popup menu contains many commands and options that duplicate buttons of the menubar of the main window. Some functions however are only available via this menu:

Submenu "Arrange windows in the current workspace" of the popup menu in addition to commands available via buttons of the menubar of the main window, contains additional options:

"ARRANGE all minimized windows" (Fig. 34) - this command will lay out all minimized windows according to settings selected in Option Dialog (fig.20);

Fig.34. Popup menu of the main window, command "ARRANGE all minimized windows"

Submenu "UNMINIMIZE all and Arrange" contains commands that allow to unminimize all minimized windows and then lay all windows out using tile, cascade or normalize (fig.35).

Fig.35. Popup menu of the main window, Submenu "UNMINIMIZE all and Arrange"

Submenu "Put external windows into workspace" allows to tune automatic "suck-in/capture" mode (AUTOGRAB) for windows of external processes (Notepad, Wordpad, Putty, Firefox etc) to place them inside of the workspace, perform manual window "capture" (GRAB) and reverse operation (RELEASE) (fig.36). This submenu will be described in more detail in the section dedicated to external processes (reference).

Fig.36. Popup menu of the main window, Submenu "Put external windows into workspace"

Submenu "Set background of the current workspace" allows to select background color or background image for each of the 6 workspaces (fig.37).

Fig.37. Popup menu of the main window, Submenu "Set background of the current workspace"

Command "Show menu bar in the Main Window" allows to show/hide menubar of the main window (fig.33).
Command "Options Dialog" calls dialog that contains setting for the whole proxy32 application (fig.38). Fig.39 shows Options Dialog window. "Option Dialog" is described in more details here.

Fig.38. Popup menu of the main window, Command "Options Dialog"

Fig.39. Options Dialog window

Proxy32 System menu of the main window is practically identical to Popup menu of the main window that shows on pressing button “Popup menu of the main window” in the menubar of the main window and that was described above in detail. As can be seen from fig.40, comparing to “Popup menu of the main window” system menu contains additional options to close, maximize and minimize main window. Those options are standard for window's system menu for majority of MS Windows applications.

Ways to open System menu of main window:

RightClick on the button representing main window on the MS-Windows taskbar;
LeftClick on the icon in the titlebar of the main window.

Fig.40. System menu of the main window

5. Mouse and keyboard shortcuts in the main window

5.1 Configurable Mouse shortcuts in the main window

While most operations in the main window can be performed via large buttons of the menubar of the main window, sometimes one may prefer to hide menubar of the main window to make more space in the workspace. In such case one can access functions of all buttons via the Popup/System menu of the main window. Functions of some most frequently used buttons are assigned (as Actions) to individual mouse shortcuts for direct access (without need to go through Popup/System menu of the main window). Mouse shortcuts will work not only on the background of the main window but also on the title of the main window (RightClick is reserved for workspace title change and double-click can be configured to preserve its MS-Windows "default" action of "toggle between zoom and restore window") and even on the title of the floating windows. This helps when background of the main window is covered with terminal windows.

Default mapping of mouse shortcuts to Actions can be changed via "Mouse Actions" Dialog. Dialog can be opened by pressing button in the menubar of the main window. Dialog can also be opened via Popup/System menu of the main window:

Fig.41. How to call "Mouse Actions" Dialog from popup menu of the main window

When opened for the first time this dialog will show default mapping of mouse shortcuts to Actions:

Fig.42. Default mapping of mouse shortcuts to Actions

Default mapping of mouse shortcuts to Actions can be changed via "Mouse Actions" Dialog. Changes are stored in Settings.xml file in proxy32 startup directory.

To call Popup/System menu of the main window (equivalent to button and covers almost all main window functionality):

RightClick on the titlebar of LauncherTree or Selector (shows Popup menu of the main window for default mapping of mouse shortcuts to Actions);
RightClick on the background of the main window (shows Popup menu of the main window for default mapping of mouse shortcuts to Actions);
RightClick on the button representing main window on the MS-Windows taskbar (shows System menu of the main window);
LeftClick on the icon in the titlebar of the main window (shows System menu of the main window).

Button "show/hide floating windows"

LeftDoubleClick on the titlebar of LauncherTree, Selector or main windows (works for default mapping of mouse shortcuts to Actions);
LeftDoubleClick on the background of the main window (works for default mapping of mouse shortcuts to Actions);
via Popup menu of the main window;
via System menu of the main window.

Button to move windows between workspaces

LeftShift+LeftControl+LeftDoubleClick on the titlebar of LauncherTree, Selector windows (works for default mapping of mouse shortcuts to Actions);
LeftShift+LeftControl+LeftDoubleClick on the background of the main window (works for default mapping of mouse shortcuts to Actions);
via Popup menu of the main window;
via System menu of the main window.

5.2 Reserved Mouse shortcuts in the main window

Open System menu of main window:

RightClick on the button representing main window on the MS-Windows taskbar;
LeftClick on the icon in the titlebar of the main window.

If configured in Proxy32 option dialog to preserve its MS-Windows "default" action of "toggle between zoom and restore window":

LeftDoubleClick on the titlebar of the main window

Rename Workspace:

RightClick on the titlebar of the main window;

Rename window of the built-in terminal:

RightClick on the titlebar of window of the built-in terminal;

Capture/Release window of external process inside of workspace window (Manual GRAB):

Position mouse pointer on the title of the window of external process. Position of mouse pointer should also be within internal area of the main window. When both conditions are satisfied, press and hold LeftCtrl and then press and hold left mouse button on the title of the external window for more than one second. Window of external process will be "sucked" into workspace (if it is not inside of the workspace) or "released" out of the workspace (if it is inside of the workspace)

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