Reviewed by:
Jason Hambly
Date: August 22, 2006
Manufacturer: Stardock
Application: WindowFX 3.0
Supplied by: Stardock
Price: $19.95(Standalone) $49.95(Object Desktop)
Grammatical and Spelling Editor: Sean May
The guys at Stardock are constantly working on ways to change, modify,
tweak, and hopefully improve the way you look at your Windows desktop. Best known for their Windows skinning program,
WindowBlinds, Stardock has a long line of applications that help
to enhance the visual part of your computing experience. The latest
release from Stardock is WindowFX 3.0. WindowFX 3.0 tries to
improve upon the previous generation by streamlining the program and
adding some new features.
{mospagebreak title=Features}
Features:
-True, alpha blended shadows under windows
-Ability to morph windows when minimizing and maximizing
-Several different morphing effects available.
-A set of window opening and closing animations
-Ability to have large icons on the desktop while having normal sized icons everywhere else
-Wide range of semi-transparency options such as making windows, the start bar, menus, and more semi-transparent
-Various special effects for Windows desktop icons and their labels
-A set of special effects for menus when opened and closed
-User defined size for windows to maximize to.
-Able to add more transition special effects and shadows created by users
{mospagebreak title=System Requirements}
System Requirements:
-Windows XP or 2003
-256MB RAM
-2 MB Hard drive spaces
-Internet access is required to activate copies purchased online.
System Recommendations:
-DirectX 9 compatible video card with updated drivers
With system requirements as minimal as these, there shouldn’t be too many people that cannot afford the resources to run such a small application. WindowFX is also fully functional in Windows XP x64 Edition.
{mospagebreak title=Installation/Operation}
Installation/Operation:
WindowFX is available in two forms: it is included with the Object Desktop, or can be picked up on its own, directly from Stardock. Both versions are fully functional and perform the same tasks. The software installation was straight forward and easily understood. After installation was complete, WindowFX went into
a setup wizard and allowed you to choose the options that you want to
apply.
The wizard offers a small window with an example of what each feature does. The window is a little small and makes it hard to see the difference between some options but is definitely better than no preview at all. WindowFX only modifies the windows that are open on your screen and icons on the desktop, it does not affect the Windows skin or layout of any other objects.
WindowFX Options:
Shadows ? WindowFX allows you to add shadows to your desktop windows. There are a number of different styles included with WindowFX and you can create your own and share them with others. Additional options include the taskbar having a shadow and shadows expanding from under windows on new windows.
Window Animations ? WindowFX allows windows to animate when they first appear and when they finally close. These range from simple fades and slides to blind like effects and zooming. Additional options include the length of the animation from very short to long. In the Advanced menu you can choose the maximum size for windows that will be animated or decide whether animations will only be used on open or close.
Menu Animations ? Just like with Windows, WindowFX allows menus to animate when they then first appear and when they finally close. These range from simple fades and slides to blind like effects and zooming. Additional options include the length of the animation from very short to long.
Taskbar Previews ? Taskbar previews show you a picture of the window in handy tooltip form when you mouse over the windows taskbar button. The options allow you to turn this feature on or off as well as deciding on the size of the preview. Sizes range from very small to large.
Task Switching – Enable this feature to be able to switch tasks using a graphical taskswitcher complete with previews of the windows to switch to. Additional options include choosing the hotkey used to perform the operation.
Window Transitions ? Window transitions happen when you minimize and restore windows from the taskbar. WindowFX includes a number of built in transitions and you can download more. Transitions require a more powerful graphics card. In the Advanced menu you can choose the maximum size for windows that will be animated and to prevent maximized windows from being animated. You can also decide to run the transitions in quality mode or fall back mode, depending upon your graphics card.
Window Dragging ? WindowFX has a number of special effects for window dragging. You can chose to have the window turn semi-transparent, or have a window dragging animation. Depending upon the option chosen, additional options pop up, including the window transparency. Advanced options include setting the maximum size for windows to be animated, moving a ‘ghost’ copy and leave the original in place, or to ‘pulse’ windows while dragging.
Desktop Icons ? WindowFX allows you to change how your desktop icons look. You can make them 48x48px, or smaller icons, or put the desktop into tiles mode where the description is to the right of the icons. The advanced menu will allow you to: make desktop icon backgrounds transparent, make desktop labels 3D, make desktop icons semi-transparent when not selected, add a shadow to the desktop icon text, allow the desktop to scroll, set desktop icon text foreground color, hide icon text, and when wallpapers are changed the change will be animated.
Application Transparency ? WindowFX can make application windows semi-transparent, enabling you to see through the windows. You can adjust the level of transparency for each individual application.
Window Tiles ? WindowFX tiles are small square tiles which show you the contents of an application in miniature form. There are a number of ways you can turn a window into a tile, including when minimized, hold shift and minimize, and on right click. Tile size can be adjusted from very small to large. The advanced menu allows tiles to be semi-transparent when inactive, always on top, update their contents, interacted with using keyboard and mouse, use middle mouse button to create a file, allow tiles to have shadows.
Maximize to Size ? Sometimes you do not want a window to maximize to full screen. This feature allows you to decide how large a maximized window will be. You can even have different sizes when CTRL or Shift are held down.
Transparency Effects ? These options let you make your taskbar and menus semi-transparent. They can also optionally be set to fade back to full visibility, when the mouse cursor is over the window. Options include making the taskbar and menus semi-transparent along with the visibility of each.
Popup Task Switching ? This feature lets you task switch without pressing any keys on your keyboard. Pressing the defined mouse button will make a popup menu of currently running applications appear. Scroll using your mouse wheel and select using the left mouse button.
{mospagebreak title=Price}
Price:
WindowFX as previously mentioned is available in two forms. The first is part of Object Desktop which is available from Stardock for $49.95US. Object Desktop is a full suite of applications from Stardock. WindowFX is also available in a standalone form, directly from Stardock for $19.95. WindowFX is a neat program but on its own I don?t feel it is worth the almost $20 price tag, atleast not for me personally. However, included in the Object Desktop package it is definitely worth the download. Any current owners of previous versions of WindowFX can update for free to version 3.0.
{mospagebreak title=Conclusion}
Conclusion:
After using WindowFX for a few weeks I am impressed with how well it works and how few resources it seems to use. According to task manager, wfxload.exe only uses about 2.5-3MB of memory. There are many transitions to pick from, most are what you will see in any video editing application. The feature that I liked the most was having windows become transparent when being dragged across the screen. The next best feature… according to me, is the preview window that appears when the mouse cursor hovers over the items in the taskbar. This allowed me to very easily pick the window that I was looking for, especially when you have several windows open at once. Anyone that really wants to customize their desktop will probably get even more involved then I got during my time with WindowFX. With so many options to play with, you can get your windows animating and transitioning just the way you like them. The only negative point is the $20 price tag for the standalone version of the software, when for another $30 you can have the full Object Desktop. Even still, WindowFX is a great little app for the person that wants to have the most unique desktop.
Acknowledgements:
We would like to thank Larry and Kristin at Stardock for sending us WindowFX for evaluation.