Kitestack Software

Flashcard Hero Launches Today

2013-07-09T00:00:00+02:00

As of today, Flashcard Hero is available worldwide through the Mac App Store at an introductory price of $6.99. Flashcard Hero is our brand new study app. You can make your own virtual flash cars in a word processor-like environment including numbered lists and text formatting such as bold and italic. Highlight is the ability to group cards into topics and sub-topics (for example to reflect chapters in a text book).

Promo codes for review copies are available. Just get in touch.

More details about the app: http://flashcardhero.com

Download: Mac App Store

Flashcard Hero app preview

2013-06-26T00:00:00+02:00

Flashcard Hero is our brand new study app, available for preview starting today. Make your own flashcards in a easy to use, word processor-like app. We made the app especially for those of you who use flashcards for more than language learning. There's plenty of room on the cards and you can use text formatting and lists to structure your thoughts.

The most loved feature by med students who tested the app is the ability to group cards into topics and sub-topics to reflect chapters in a text book.

Literally hundreds of hours went into polishing the app and making it really easy to use. It's the best app we've ever made!

Download it here: http://flashcardhero.com

Lots of new features in Desktop Groups version 1.3

2012-11-14T00:00:00+01:00

Based on lots and lots of user feedback, this new version of Desktop Groups comes with many new features and improvements. Most notably: two-line file names, auto-updating preview icons, and the ability to rename files from within groups. Thank you for everybody who took the time to get in touch with suggestions!

Here the complete list of changes:

New: Two-line file names
New: Auto-updating groups (when files are added, renamed, moved, etc.)
New: Renaming files and folders by pressing Enter
New: Move files to Trash (via context menu, drag to Trash, Command - Backspace)
New: Command - O now opens the selected file
Improved: Groups now don't overlap desktops in Mission Control
Improved: Esc key clears the selection
Improved: When closing a group, files are moved to Desktop automatically
Improved: group windows now always remain inside the visible area of the screen
Improved: "Desktop Groups" folder can now be moved through Finder

How to update?

You can update via the Mac App Store.

Group related files on your desktop with Desktop Groups

2012-09-04T00:00:00+02:00

If your workflow includes keeping many files on the desktop then Desktop Groups (Mac App Store link) may be an app for you. You can organize files into groups on your desktop that you can move around, resize, and rename.

Each group has a title so that you can organize your files any way you like. For example, you could create separate groups for each project you are working on, or add separate groups for photos and text documents. If you frequently take screenshots, that would be another good fit for a group. The possibilities are endless.

More details:

You can find more information about the app and a large screenshot in the Mac App Store.

Beautiful Desktop Backgrounds with Desktop Pins

2012-06-23T00:00:00+02:00

Turn Pinterest into an endless source for beautiful desktop wallpapers with our latest app Desktop Pins (Mac App Store link).

It's the perfect wallpaper that never gets boring with the latest pins from Pinterest updating automatically. You can use pins from any Pinterest page, categories, boards of your friends and followers, and of course pins from your own boards.

Pins are reshuffled every 10 minutes and refreshed from Pinterest every hour.

Endless possibilities:

For example, you can stay up to date with pins from people you follow (just log in to your Pinterest account and use pins from the main page). To keep up with what’s popular on Pinterest, use the “popular” category. How about some vacation ideas? The “Travel & Places” category is perfect for that.

More ideas:

You could start to collect pins on boards specifically for your desktop background depending on your mood, the season, inspiration, vacation ideas, and so on. Be creative and let us know what you come up with!

Here's how it works:

Get the app from the Mac App Store and open it. Select any Pinterest page you like (category, board, etc.), pick a background style and you're all set.

You don't even need a Pinterest account. You can still use pins from all categories and other Pinterest users.

New app: PinBar for Pinterest

2012-05-16T00:00:00+02:00

Quick: which is the fastest growing website to first reach 10 million users? Google? YouTube? Facebook? Wrong, it's Pinterest.com — the virtual pinboard.

PinBar for Pinterest is a new, free app from Kitestack that brings your Pinterest photo stream to your Mac's menu bar. No need to open another browser window to check what's new on Pinterest.com.

One click to see what's new on Pinterest

One click on the PinBar menu bar icon opens the "mini window" showing the latest pins from people you follow.

Full size previews

A click on the magnifying glass in the toolbar opens a pin in a full size preview.

Free on the Mac App Store

You can download PinBar for free at the Mac App Store. Click here.

Link Radar version 1.0.1 with bookmarklet

2012-04-10T00:00:00+02:00

A new version of Link Radar is available as of today. You can now delete links from the list and you can add links yourself from any browser via a bookmarklet. That's useful if you discover a new link to your website before it gets reported in Google Analytics and you want to make sure to keep it.

To install the bookmarklet, go to the Link Radar Help menu and select "Install Browser Bookmarklet". A web page with the bookmarklet opens. Then simply drag it to your bookmarks bar. Done.

How to update Link Radar:

Launch Link Radar and select "Check for Updates..." from the Link Radar menu.

Watch a Mac app being made: Part 1 - Mockups

2012-04-03T00:00:00+02:00

Developing a Mac app from scratch is a major undertaking. During the past couple of months, while working on Link Radar, I captured my screen every 3 seconds of activity to document the process of Link Radar coming to life.

About Link Radar

Link Radar is a Mac app to discover new inbound links to your website or blog to see what people around the web are saying about you, your site, or blog. It does this based on your Google Analytics data. More details on the Link Radar main page.

Time-lapse video of sketching the user interface

Below is part 1 showing me sketch out the details of the user interface. You can see how I add more and more details until, around 1:30 min, I start to simplify the interface again.

The following video was created out of 800 individual screenshots recorded over the course of 5 days.

Tools used to create the movie:

Custom screen capture utility
Custom utility to align and crop screen shots
Balsamiq Mockups for sketching the UI - it's awesome
Time-Lapse to create a continuous movie out of the still frames
ScreenFlow to produce the final video including text, transitions, and music

Download Link Radar demo:

You can download a fully functional demo of the app over here.

Link Radar: Monitor the web for new links to your site

2012-03-20T00:00:00+01:00

Link Radar is the latest addition to the Kitestack app family. It tells you who is linking to your website or blog and what people are saying about you.

Imagine somebody writes about one of your products on their site, one of your apps gets featured on a major review-site, or a blogger responds to one of your posts with a follow-up post on his own blog. Wouldn't you want to know about that?

That's what Link Radar is for. The app tells you about new inbound links from other websites to your own site(s) based on your Google Analytics data. When another website sends a visitor to your site (and has not done so previously) it gets listed in Link Radar and a single click on the link takes you to the page that mentioned your site.

Below is a screenshot of Link Radar in action.

Feel free to also download the demo version.

Download Link Radar

DesktopShelves 2.0

2012-01-23T00:00:00+01:00

Let's start the new year with a new version of DesktopShelves! Version 2.0 comes with a huge number of new features (12), improvements (9), and bug fixes (3). Let's talk about the big ones first:

Item scrolling

When not all files fit on the shelf and you move the cursor over a shelf you'll notice a new icon on the right edge of the shelf. Clicking on that icon reveals a menu to browse all shelf items. The shelf label shows the index of the item section that is currently shown.

Separate shelves per workspace.

Finally you can have separate shelves for each workspace. This new features is a bit rough around the edges due to the lack of a proper programming interface (see notes in the Preferences).

Browse folders from a shelf

Clicking on the shelf label brings up a menu to select a parent folder. In addition, you can press Command + Up Arrow to change to the parent folder. A single click on a folder that is on the shelf opens that folder.

Flat, dock-like layout

You can now adjust the angle of files on your shelves in the Preferences all the way to a flat, dock-like view.

Support for Finder label colors.

The preview images on the shelves now also show the label color (if you have set one in Finder).

Drag items from a shelf to the Trash

Another popular feature request: you can now drag files from a shelf to the Trash.

Configurable hotkey to temporarily hide all shelves.

Nothing to see here, but that's the point. You can now set a separate hotkey in the Preferences to quickly hide all shelves.

Last but not least...

For completeness, the remaining features, improvements, and fixes:

Respect Finder preference: "Show all filename extensions".
Added option to disable sounds.
A Help menu
Skip shelves for non-existing folders when launching the app.
Added info message when refusing to move an item on the shelf, because it already is on the shelf.
Label for active shelf is now highlighted showing that is responds to keyboard events.
File/folder names are now truncated in the middle, just like Finder.
File/folder names are now localized, just like Finder.
Reduced memory footprint.
File thumbnail images are now automatically updated once a file changes.
Moving shelf by dragging shelf label now works even when label is not above the board.
Changed default item angle to 65 degrees (looks better).
Solved crash when closing shelf (by using custom Open Recent menu implementation (built-in version would crash at times)).
Shelves sorted by modification date would not always update/resort immediately after a file was changed.
Occasional crash when clicking a link in the About dialog (thanks Saul for reporting this).

How to update DesktopShelves

Mac App Store users: launch the App Store and check the toolbar under "Updates" (link)
If you downloaded DesktopShelves from the website: click on the DesktopShelves icon in the menubar (or bring up the shelf context menu) and select Check for Updates...

If you do not have the app installed, you can download DesktopShelves here.

Web Remote arrived at the Mac App Store

2011-11-09T00:00:00+01:00

Web Remote, the app to control YouTube videos and music on Grooveshark.com with your Apple Remote, arrived at the Mac App Store today.

This new version comes with a completely redesigned on-screen menu for browsing related videos and navigating your playlists.

Click on the image below for a large scale preview:

Web Remote still supports the three websites: youtube.com, grooveshark.com, and audiobox.fm.

Head over to the Mac App Store for more details.

Shelf Design Contest Winners

2011-11-09T00:00:00+01:00

Drum-roll please! It has been a very close call. The winning design of the DesktopShelves Shelf Design Contest with a one-vote lead is the Apple Fan Mug design.

Congratulations to Sérgio Alves from Portugal. He wins the main price, an iPod shuffle (he already took a snapshot of it).

On an excellent and very close second place came in the design Woodwork by Raphael from Germany. Raphael submitted a total of 4 beautiful designs.

Because of the final decision being so close and for submitting so many great designs I spontaneously decided to award a second price for Raphael. He wins a 25 EUR iTunes gift card.

Congratulations to both of you and a BIG thank you for everybody who participated!

You can see and download all designs in the design gallery.

Shelf Design Contest and a New DesktopShelves Release

2011-10-13T00:00:00+02:00

If you know your way around an image editor such as Pixelmator, Photoshop, or Gimp here's a challenge for you:

Design a shelf for DesktopShelves and submit it to the Shelf Design Contest for a chance to win an iPod shuffle (best design) or one of 10 free licenses for DesktopShelves (random drawing).

Submissions are accepted until Sunday, Oct. 23rd. BIG Thank you! to iconpaper.org for helping organizate the contest.

What's new in DesktopShelves version 1.4?

This version comes withe top three requested features:

Adjustable shelf sizes
Adjustable space between shelf items
Sortable shelves
Bonus: drag and drop between shelves

A few people had reported problems where DesktopShelves once in a while would stop responding ("beach ball syndrome"). This should be fixed now, too.

Below are a few impressions of the new features.

How to update DesktopShelves

Mac App Store users: launch the App Store and check the toolbar under "Updates".
If you downloaded DesktopShelves from the website: click on the DesktopShelves icon in the menubar (or bring up the shelf context menu) and select Check for Updates...

If you do not have the app installed, you can download DesktopShelves here.

Sortable shelves

Adjustable space between shelf items

Adjustable shelf sizes

New TaskBadges version: access your todo lists from the menubar

2011-09-27T00:00:00+02:00

"Towards more usefulness" is the theme for TaskBadges v0.3 beta (download link). With this version you can now access your todo lists right from the new menubar icon:

TaskBadges also got a fancy On/Off switch so you'll always know when your task list icons are being updated. Also, if you activate TaskBadges it will launch automatically when you log in to your Mac.

Last but not least, at the bottom of the main window you will find a small notification area that occasionally shows updates from the blog or news about other Kitestack apps (such as the awesome DesktopShelves).

Download TaskBadges 0.3

The DesktopShelves 1.3.4 Beta is out!

2011-09-22T00:00:00+02:00

The number one feature request for DesktopShelves was adjustable shelf sizes. This version of DesktopShelves brings you exactly that along the with second most requested feature: sortable shelves.

While we're at it, how about drag and drop between shelves and adjustable space between shelf items? You got it. Those are the four major changes in the new version, but there's actually quite a lot that has changed deep inside the application to make it work better.

A few people had reported problems where DesktopShelves once in a while would stop responding ("beach ball syndrome"). This should be fixed now, too.

If you'd like to try out the new features, you can download the beta below. Please let me know if the smaller sizes work for you (especially if you use a MacBook Air).

DesktopShelves 1.3.4 beta

One thing: after you've downloaded the beta, make sure you move the old version of DesktopShelves to the Trash before you launch the new version. Otherwise you may end up with two "Open as Shelf" Finder menu entries.

Here a few impressions of the new features in action.

Sortable shelves

Adjustable space between shelf items

Adjustable shelf sizes

DesktopShelves 1.3.1 released

2011-09-03T00:00:00+02:00

The DesktopShelves sale on MacUpdate promo was a huge success and I've taken a little bit of time to make some usability improvements, fix one case where the app could crash (thanks Chuck for the crash log!) and added a new feature: opening recently closed shelves.

Here is the full list of changes:

Re-open recently closed shelves from the menubar icon
Renamed menu "Reveal in Finder" to "Show in Finder"
Renamed preference "Activate/deactivate" to "Shelves in foreground/background"
Lion only: no need to log out/log in to activate Finder integration
Lion only: shelves don't participate in Mission Control anymore
Added error messages when dropping a file on a shelf is not allowed
Warning if web and Mac App Store versions are installed at the same time
Launching the app a second time in Finder or the Dock toggles the shelves
Renamed menu "Remove Shelf" to "Close Shelf"
Now accepting license keys with accidental spaces
Addressed issue that could lead to a crash when opening a very large folder as shelf

How do I update DesktopShelves?

If you purchased DesktopShelves through the Mac App Store: launch the App Store and check the toolbar under "Updates".

If you downloaded DesktopShelves from the website: click on the DesktopShelves icon in the menubar (or bring up the shelf context menu) and select Check for Updates...

If you do not have the app installed, you can download DesktopShelves here.

Create your own shelf designs + 1 day 47% discount on MacUpdate.com

2011-08-16T00:00:00+02:00

DesktopShelves 1.3 has arrived and with it the ability to design and use your own shelves! A few people have already done so and shared their designs in the Shelf Design Gallery. Below are a few examples of shelves designed by users that you can download and use.

If you'd like to get started creating your own, take a look at the Custom Shelf Designs Tutorial.

Today only: DesktopShelves featured on MacUpdate - save 47%

DesktopShelves is featured on MacUpdate Promo today with a 47% discount on the regular price. Head over to mupromo.com to not miss out on this offer.

How do I update DesktopShelves?

Click on the DesktopShelves icon in the menubar (or bring up the shelf context menu) and select Check for Updates...

If you do not have the app installed, you can download DesktopShelves here.

TaskBadges v0.2 works with todotxt.com and TaskPaper style todo lists

2011-08-15T00:00:00+02:00

A new version of the free utility app TaskBadges is available. In addition to the square brackets style, you can now add Finder badges with the number of open tasks to files generated by these two plain-text task management apps:

todotxt.com - (website) - Collection of shell scripts to manage your tasks from the command line
TaskPaper - (website) - Did this one start it all? No idea, but its a pleasure to use!

Below are examples of the new task list styles.

todotxt.com style

An open task is simply a line of text x Completed tasks start with 'x' or 'X' x That simple

TaskPaper style

Can include notes like this. - Open tasks start with a single dash - Completed tasks contain the @done tag

Square brackets style (since v0.1)

- [ ] An open task - [x] A completed task

You can download TaskBadges here.

New version with Quick Look integration

2011-07-14T00:00:00+02:00

Quick Look integration is finally here! Regina, Rémi, Christophe, Barry, Joao, Yohmi, and Jon, this one's for you.

Quick Look in DesktopShelves 1.2

To activate Quick Look click once on any item on a shelf. Clicking a second time will close the Quick Look window. Just like in Finder you can also press Space or ⌘-Y.

A double clicking still launches the file, no change there.

Hyperactive shelf items? No more!

This version also comes with a usability improvement that you probably won't notice right away unless I point it out. However, once you are aware of it, you will love it!

Up until now shelf items were very eager to please. As soon as you moved the mouse cursor across a shelf the item under the cursor would jump up, ready for you to click it. Once the cursor left the shelf the items would minimize again.

However, if all you wanted to do was move the cursor from one end of the screen to the other only accidentally crossing a shelf, the items would still jump up and minimize right away resulting in flickering on the screen.

This version solves that problem. Give it a try! Move you mouse quickly across a shelf – the items won't jump up and down.

Short demo video

How do I update DesktopShelves?

Click on the DesktopShelves icon in the menubar (or bring up the shelf context menu) and select Check for Updates...

If you do not have the app installed, you can download DesktopShelves here.

DesktopShelves v1.1 adds compatibility with Mac OS X Lion

2011-07-06T00:00:00+02:00

Mac OS X Lion is almost here and just in time this new version of DesktopShelves adds compatibility with the soon-to-be-released Mac OS X 10.7 Lion.

If you plan to be one of the first people to upgrade to Lion, make sure you also update DesktopShelves to the latest version.

How do I update DesktopShelves?

Click on the DesktopShelves icon in the menubar (or bring up the shelf context menu) and select Check for Updates...

If you do not have the app installed, you can download DesktopShelves here.

DesktopShelves leaves Beta - Custom shelf designs and new app icon

2011-06-29T00:00:00+02:00

It is my great pleasure to announce that DesktopShelves is now officially out of Beta. Version 1.0 comes with a brand new app icon and, among others, three of the most requested features:

The ability to drop multiple files on a shelf at once
Adjustable shelf width by dragging either end of a shelf
Custom shelf designs

But that's not all. DesktopShelves comes with a total of 7 new features, 4 usability improvements, and 3 addressed issues (full details below).

Download DesktopShelves v1.0

Starting with this version, DesktopShelves comes as a 14-day demo version with all new features activated. At any time you can purchase the full license in the store. For those of you who took advantage of the pre-order discount you are all set – your license will be recognized just fine.

Your chance to win a free license: show off the new shelf designs

To celebrate the new release we are giving away 10 free licenses to the first people (one per person) who submit a screenshot of their desktop organized with DesktopShelves! Head over to the DesktopShelves User Gallery for the full details on how to participate.

Full list of changes

Adjust shelf width by dragging left or right end of shelf
You can now select multiple files and drop them onto a shelf
Choose from 5 built-in shelf designs
You can now drop more items on the shelf even if the shelf is full
Visual feedback if dropping on shelf is not allowed
All shelf items are now aligned with the shelf (no more floating items)
Beautiful new application icon
First and last shelf item won't minimize while cursor is still over them
Disallowed dropping of system folders on a shelf (you don't want to move those)
Removed the shelf label action button
Shelf label now of same size as Finder labels
Addressed possible crash when removing shelf with not all thumbnails created
Right-click on shelf label now also opens shelf context menu
Shelf can now be dragged by label on first click

How do I upgrade?

Click on the DesktopShelves icon in the menubar (or bring up the shelf context menu) and select Check for Updates...

If you do not have the app installed, you can download DesktopShelves here.

Text Selection Drag & Drop in DesktopShelves 0.9

2011-06-01T00:00:00+02:00

A new week, a new release of DesktopShelves. This one is a follow-up for the "drag file contents" feature from last release completing the drag & drop cycle. Let's jump right in.

Text Selection Drag & Drop

Last time I showed you how you could drag and drop the contents of a file on your shelf into other applications. But what about the other way? Is it possible to drag text from an application like Mail.app, Safari, or TextEdit and drop it on a shelf? Well, now it is!

Just select text in any application, start dragging it and then drop it on one of your shelves. A new file named something like "text selection 1.txt" or "text selection 1.rtf" is then created with the contents of the text selection. This works for plain text and formatted text (including text with images).

This should make it even easier for you to organize frequently used text blocks, Mail signatures & templates, etc. on your shelves. Here's a short demo video.

Align Shelves with the new Snap-to-Shelf Feature

Having one shelf is nice, but many shelves are even better if only they would line up nicely on the Desktop. Here comes the Snap-to-Shelf feature. When you move a shelf around, it will now snap to the horizontal and vertical position of other shelves on the same screen.

Reveal the Shelf Folder in Finder

Another popular request: you can now reveal the shelf folder in Finder from the shelf context menu. Mike, Karim-Pierre, this one is for you.

Other Changes

Renaming the shelf folder? Not a problem. The shelf will update itself automatically even if you move the shelf folder.

Moving the shelf folder to the Trash? Say Goodbye to the shelf. It will go away automatically when you move the shelf folder to the Trash.

Oops. Removing a shelf when not all file thumbnails had been generated could cause DesktopShelves to crash. Not anymore. Thanks to "anonymous" for the crash report!

One more thing: Version 1.0 is almost here

This release will be the last version before the "official" 1.0. Again, big thank you to everybody who submitted feedback and suggestions and to those of you who showed your support by ordering a license through the pre-ordering process. The final price for DesktopShelves version 1.0 will be $15 USD (plus tax, if applicable). DesktopShelves is a small utility aiming to increase your productivity, but not getting in your way. $15 sounds like a fair price for such a tool.

How to I update?

Click on the status menu icon and select the "Check For Updates..." menu item.

New Drag and Drop Features in DesktopShelves 0.8

2011-05-27T00:00:00+02:00

DesktopShelves 0.8 came with quite a few changes and a couple of new features. One of those new features is the ability to drag and drop files from the shelves directly into other applications such as Mail.app, TextEdit, and Pages. This works exactly the same way as if you would drag and drop the file from Finder so it works across applications.

Templating made easy with Content Drag & Drop

The second new feature is the ability to drag and drop the contents of a file into another application. Imagine this: you have a text file on your shelf and you drag and drop it into a new email. Mail.app will insert the file as message attachment.

However, if you use the right mouse button (or hold use the left mouse button and hold the Control key) to initiate dragging the file from the shelf, you will drag the contents. If you drop those into an email, Mail.app will insert the contents of the text file.

This works for images, all text files (including source code files such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, etc.), rich text files (.rtf + .rtfd), and images.

Below is a short demo of the new features in action.

Let me know what you think of the new drag and drop features, or even better, record a video how you use them and reply to the demo video on YouTube.com.

By the way, the raspberry ones where the most delicious ;)

Pre-Order DesktopShelves during Beta for $10

2011-05-16T00:00:00+02:00

Thanks to the awesome guys at FastSpring.com the DesktopShelves store is now open and ready for your orders.

As I promised, you can buy DesktopShelves during the Beta for $10. The price for the official release will be $15. You can save a few $s and show your support for DesktopShelves: pre-order now.

EDIT: The first 5 orders arrived! Country of first order ever: Canada. Followed closely (11 min) by the U.S., then Russia, Switzerland, and the UK. You guys rock!

Finder Integration and Auto-Updating Shelves

2011-05-14T00:00:00+02:00

I promised you big steps towards the official Version 1.0 of DesktopShelves and here is the next big step: DesktopShelves 0.7.

The biggest additions are Finder integration and auto-updating shelves. Again, BIG Thank You! to everybody who submitted feedback and shared their ideas. I love reading your emails and usually respond within minutes to every one of them. Try it!

Here is a demo video of all the recent additions to DesktopShelves.

Finder Integration

Creating new shelves is easier than ever. You can now open any folder as a shelf right from the Finder context menu! When you right or control click on a folder in Finder or on the Desktop, you'll notice a new menu entry at the bottom of the context menu: Open as Shelf on Desktop.

To activate the Finder integration you have to launch the latest version of Desktop shelves once, then log out and back in again. That step is necessary for Finder to add the new menu item to the context menu.

Auto-Updating Shelves

Another important feature on the way to version 1.0: If something in the shelf folder changes, if you create a new folder, copy over some files, or move others to the Trash, the shelf updates itself automatically.

As a side effect, all items on the shelf are now always sorted by name. That's also done automatically. You can test this by dragging a file away from the shelf and then dropping it back on. It will appear at the end of the shelf for a fraction of a second and then move back to its correct position.

Selecting Adjacent Shelf Items

A lot of you have sent me feedback saying that it is too hard to select adjacent shelf items. I heard you! Try the new version and let me know if the new behavior works for you.

Accepting Pre-Orders Soon

With the official release so close, I will open up DesktopShelves for pre-order in a few days from now. That means that for the remaining time of the Beta you will be able to purchase DesktopShelves for $10 instead of the soon-to-be official price of $15.

For now, you can sign up to the Pre-Release mailing list to get notified when the store opens.

Full List of Changes

New: Finder context menu entry to open folders as shelf.
New: Shelves automatcially update when the shelf folder is changed (e.g. if you add or remove files).
New: Items on shelf are sorted by name automatically even after dropping more files on a shelf.
Improved: Selecting adjacent items made easier (special thanks to Mark, Ken, John, and yohmi for your feedback).
Improved: Selected item animations are a bit smoother now.

How do I update?

Right/control click on any shelf to open the shelf context menu
Select Check for Updates...

With big steps towards the official release: DesktopShelves 0.6.3 beta now available

2011-05-08T00:00:00+02:00

It has been a while since the last DesktopShelves update. The new version comes with a lot of improvements and is a big step towards the first official release.

Before I get into the details about what is new in this version, let me first say a big Thank You! to everybody who submitted their feedback so far. So many people have contributed their ideas and suggestions. You're awesome!

Here's what's new:

Shelves are now always active

From this version on you can always hover over files and folders on your shelves, drag & drop items, no matter if the shelves are in the background or in the foreground. There is no need anymore for pressing the hotkey to activate the shelves before you can access the items on a shelf although you can still use the hotkey to have the shelves float above all other open windows. That's useful if you quickly want to open something on a shelf when you can't see your desktop.

This change is yet another step towards making the shelves "behave" like real shelves. Below is a screenshot that shows a selected item on a shelf that is in the background.

Shelf names are always visible by default

Another noticeable change: the shelf name (i.e. the name of the folder being displayed as a shelf) is now always visible. This makes it easy to tell you shelves apart. If you prefer to not show the shelf names while the shelves are in the background, you can configure this in the preferences window.

Refreshing a shelf when folder contents change

There's now a new context menu entry for each shelf that lets you refresh the shelf contents. This is useful if you add or remove files of a shelf folder directly in Finder. This is only a temporary feature until the official release which will detect changes automatically.

Release discount

Speaking of the official release: if you like DesktopShelves so far and you are considering to buy a license (once available), you can save a few $s by signing up to the Pre-Release Discount Mailing list here. Everybody on that list will receive an email with a discount coupon to buy DesktopShelves for $10 instead of $15 as soon as the official version of DesktopShelves is ready for purchase.

Full list of changes

New: Shelves are now always active, even when in background (thanks Mark, Regina, Reberhar).
New: You can now add new shelves directly from the status menu icon in the menubar (thanks Regina).
New: Added option to manually refresh shelf contents from shelf context menu (thanks Japh; eventually this will happen automatically).
New: Now shelf names are always visible by default when in foreground and in background (can be configured in preferences)
Improved: When moving the shelf, the currently selected item on the shelf is minimized.
Improved: Shelf highlight color now uses the system color for highlighted controls.
Improved: It is no longer possible to open the Desktop itself as shelf (thanks ignatz).
Fixed: Addressed scenario where selected item could be covered partially by another shelf.

How to I update DesktopShelves?

Right/control click on any shelf to open the shelf context menu
Select Check for Updates...

Huge Usability Improvements in DesktopShelves 0.6.2

2011-04-07T00:00:00+02:00

Big changes in this new version of DesktopShelves! You won't see them from just looking at your shelves, but you will notice right away once you try to drop a file from your desktop on a shelf. All the "dead" space around the shelves (the semi-transparent area visible when you click above the shelf) is gone! It is hard to describe with words, below is a video to demonstrate the change.

Here the full list of changes in version 0.6.2 beta:

New: Realistic shelves: shelves now only intercept mouse clicks on visible areas (removed the "dead" space above shelf board that wouldn't let you click on Finder icons)
New: Play sound when moving a file to a shelf fails
Improved: Name of selected file/folder is now always visible (thanks Terry and Reberhar)
Improved: The button in the "Open Folder as Shelf" dialog is now labeled "Open as Shelf" for more clarity
Fixed: Removed file/folder would reappear as white icon after changing shelf size
Fixed: Now shows info message when shelf source folder was renamed/moved/deleted

How do I update?

Bring the shelves to the front (with the control+minus hotkey or from the status menu icon)
Select Check for Updates...

As always, comments and feature requests are highly welcome!

DesktopShelves Version 0.6.1 Beta Released

2011-03-03T00:00:00+01:00

A new version of DesktopShelves is available. The biggest change is in how to add new shelves. As it turns out, the old way of adding a new shelf (creating a new, empty shelf and dropping a folder on it) was too confusing for people. The problem was that the action of dropping a folder on a shelf had two different meanings: for an empty shelf it would display the contents of that folder otherwise it would move the folder into the folder previously dropped on the shelf. Hard to explain, hard to figure out without reading a manual -- hence it had to change.

With the new version, you can add a new shelf by selecting the folder to display as a shelf using the familiar File-Open Dialog. Big Thank You! to Tod for the inspiration for a new tagline:

Display any folder as a shelf on your Mac's Desktop.

Let me know what you think of the new tagline!

Here the complete list of changes.

New: New shelves are now added by selecting an existing folder via the standard File-Open dialog
New: Added status icon to menubar
Improved: Adjusted shelf window level to "floating window"
Fixed: Show error dialog when moving file on a shelf that is on a different volume
Fixed: Shelves now properly displayed behind icons on desktop when sending shelf to background