Install DesktopX Objects

stardancer555,

After download, are you ending up with a ".zip" file which upon opening you see ".png" images and ".ini" file?

If so, rename the ".zip" extension to ".dxpack" and place the file in "C:\Program Files\Stardock\Object Desktop\DesktopX\Objects" folder, (or "C:\Program Files\Stardock\DesktopX\Objects folder if you don't have the full suite).

If you are running Windows XP, you may need to go to "Tools>Folder Options>View tab" and deselect "hide extensions for known file types", then click "Apply" to have Windows show the files extensions after name.

Then load up DesktopX and right-click the DX icon in the system tray (right end of taskbar in windows) and select "Configure DesktopX", and click "Import an object" button under the "Welcome" tab. This will show a list of objects you can choose from including the one(s) you just placed in the folder.

Select an object and click "Load", that's all there is to it.

I hope this helps.

If it has a .dxpack extension, or a .dxtheme you should be able to just double click and have them automatically install. If you've downloaded a widget then it will have a .exe extension and also will automatically install upon running it. Usually there will be a c:\program files\stardock\object desktop\desktopx directory with dxpacks in the objects directory, themes in the theme directory and widgets in the widget directory.
However, .png and.ini files in the same zip sound more like Object Dock files instead of DesktopX files. Here again you'll usually have a c:\program files\stardock\Object Dock directory and docklets will go (in their own folder) under docklets, Backgrounds (also in their own folder) under backgrounds and seperate icons and pngs into the images directory.
Oh and this assumes you've installed the DesktopX and/or Object Dock programs.

Beat me to it Corky

GUYS I TRIED TO DO WHAT YALL SAID BUT WHEN I CLICK ON IT AFTER I MAKE IT A .dxpack FILE IS SAYS 'THIS FILE DOESENT APPEAR TO BE VALID DESKTOPX PACKAGE'

whats that mean

Shabazz20, read the second part of my post #2

damn i cant figure it out im tryin to get the SpybotSD shortcut for the desktop

Shabazz20,

Leave a link to the item you are talking about and perhaps we can help.

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Someone can then see what it is and offer some help.

Link

its not just this 1 though i cant figure out what to do with the PNG files all these little programs have

every time i click on 1 of the png files it opens up to photoshop?

whats that mean

i think im doin everything right i keep getting this error

'THIS FILE DOESENT APPEAR TO BE VALID DESKTOPX PACKAGE'

I see the problem.

This is an ObjectDock Icon image.

There are 3 ways to use this image:

1) Download and install ObjectDock (free download) if you don't already have it - you can get it here: Link


2) Use DesktopX, create a new shortcut object and use the .png file as the object image.

3) Use IconX (free for Object Desktop owners, $10.00 to buy the stand alone program).

If you use ObjectDock, just place the .png file in the "images" folder found in "C:\Program Files\Stardock\ObjectDock" (where "C" is the drive letter) after installing > create your shortcut on a dock for Spybot by right-clicking the new dock > select "New Shortcut" and a dialog box will appear allowing you to type a text title, browse to the Spybot.exe file, and change the image to whatever .png icon file you want to use.

If you decide to use "DesktopX", or "IconX", the configuration process is a bit more involved, so just post here if you decide to use either one and find you need some help and I would be glad to list the steps.

"IconX" allows you to display desktop icons at much larger sizes as well as add some animation, shadows, and transparency to the icons. It also allows you to set "Mouse away" and "Mouse over" states in both selected and unselected states.


Note - a .png (Portable Network Graphic) is a type of image file similar to .bmp or .jpeg, and is opening up in Photoshop because you have Photoshop set as the default program to open your picture images.

I hope this helps.

shabazz20,

If you want to use DesktopX to create a Spybot shortcut object, here are the steps:

1) Go to "C:\Program Files\Stardock\DesktopX" - or "C:\Program Files\Stardock\Object Desktop\DesktopX" if you have the full suite - (where "C" is the letter drive), and create a new folder called "Image Files" inside this folder.

2) Place the .png file of your downloaded Spybot image in this new folder.

3) Load "DesktopX" > Right-click the DesktopX icon in the system tray (right side of taskbar) > select "Configure DesktopX".

4) In the dialog box that appears - Click the "Theme" tab > Click the "New" button in the "Object" section, this will give you a default object (round button with DX icon in it - which may be hidden behind the dialog boxes at this point). It will also give you the "Object Properties" dialog box.

5) In the "Object Properties" dialog - Click the "Change" button to the right of the "Object Type: Layer" text (top most "Change" button under the "General" tab) > select "Shortcut" from the drop down list > you will now see a number of text boxes appear allowing you to configure your new shortcut > keep the "File shortcut" selected and use the "Browse" button in this section (again the top most button), and navigate to, and select the "SpybotSD.exe" file (should be in "C:\Program Files\Spybot - Search & Destroy" folder), click "Open", then "OK" to accept the file (which should close the selection dialog and leave you with the "Object Properties" dialog again).

6) Now, in the middle of the "Object Properties" dialog under the "General" tab, you should see the "Default Appearance: "Mouse Away" text with a "Change" button to the right of it. Click this "Change" button (second "Change" button down, under "General" tab) > navigate to and open the new "Image Files" folder you created in step #1 > select the .png image for Spybot that you placed there, click "Open" > you should now see this same image at the top left corner under the "General" tab. If you want to add a text label under the object, just type your text in the text box to the right of the image > whether you chose to add text or not, the final step is to click the "Apply" button at lower right of dialog box, then "OK" to close the "Object Properties" dialog.

7) You should now have your new Spybot shortcut object on your desktop. I happen to know that if you are using the image with a hat and magnifying glass with spiderlegs, that this image is 256x256 and may be rather large on your desktop. If it is too large, you will have to open the image in Photoshop (or similar program) and adjust it's size to your liking - see step #8 for this one.

8) Open the Spybot .png image in Photoshop and use "Image>Image size" to change the size (perhaps 128x128 pixels), then save to the "Image Files" folder you made in step #1 above (you may want to do this before steps #3 through #7 and name it "Spybot_Icon128", or similar so that you can have both sizes to choose from in the folder before starting to create the object).

These are the basic steps for creating a shortcut object in DesktopX. There are many things you can do to add to the settings if you like, just play around with it. After creating a number of objects, you can of course save the set-up as a "Theme" by using the "Save as..." button in the Theme section of the DX configure dialog.

I hope this helps in some way and feel free to copy and paste these instructions to notepad on your computer for easy access if you want.

Peace.

How do you make it appear only one icon....
when i changed the extension....it worked....but came with all icons
i only need one...
how do you that
here is the link
Link

Greg GtO - i downloaded it, got 3 = 3 sizes. right click the ones you don't want and choose remove.

when i do that....it remove all the icons....not just one...no matter what

do them 'zoom' when you mouse over?
Are running IconX?

1.) desktop X widget or ObjectDock object? (im confused...)

Visitor Bichur....yes each of them zoom when my mouse over
i am not running iconx

and CP...it is desktopx object

I had the same problem, i tried D/L a theme, during the install I changed the extension for the theme to ".dxtheme" then I saved it in the stardock program file inside the destop x pro theme folder, but when i click on it to install, only the wallpaper of the theme loaded & it locked up/froze my pc up everytime I ran it.

1. Downloading themes: DX themes do not install automatically from the site like WB skins do. When you click the download button for a theme, take a look at the extension before deciding where to put it. If the theme ends in .dxtheme (i.e. Gridscape.dxtheme) then you can download it straight to C:\Program Files\ Object Desktop\DesktopX\Themes. Simple! The theme will then appear in your list of themes, which I will get to later.
If the theme has a .zip extension (i.e. Gridscape.zip) then that means the author has zipped up the theme, (which is pointless really as they are already zipped when you save them in DX) and it's best to download it to a folder first. I have a folder called "Web Downloads" that I use for this, it might be a good idea to create one for yourself. So if the file ends in .zip, download it to "Web Downloads" and then double click it to start Winzip. When it opens, you will see inside the zip "name.dxtheme" (or whatever the theme is called) just extract this to C:\Program Files\Object Desktop\DesktopX\Themes. The theme will now appear in your list of themes.

2. Loading Themes: There are two ways to do this. The first and simplest way is to RIGHT click the DX icon in the SYSTEM TRAY, and from the pop-up menu choose "Load Theme". A window will appear that shows all the themes in your theme folder with a small thumbnail picture of each one. Just highlight the theme you want to use and hit "Load". The theme should then start up on your desktop. The second way is to right click the desktop and choose "Load Theme" from the menu that appears, but here is the twist..... the DX menu will only show when you right click the desktop IF the theme is configured to "Hide Desktop Icons". ALL my themes are configured this way. The icons that you would normally have on your desktop are replaced by DX OBJECTS.You don't need those horrible old icons anymore, your links to your applications can be anything you want! like......a text link......or an animation......or a zoomer icon. Remember, with DX, everything on the desktop is an Object, if you don't like that Object, just right click on it and choose "Delete Object".

3. Some Things To Remember: Some themes are set to "Hide Explorer Taskbar". This is because theme makers can use an Object as a taskbar if they want. Gridscape is a good example of this. I made a taskbar that is an object, and a start button, and a start menu! They are all just objects and I made them so that people who don't have WBlinds can still have a matching taskbar and start menu etc. Now, If you WANT to use the Explorer taskbar, (which you will if you have WBlinds) just right click the DX icon in the system tray again, and this time choose "Configure DesktopX". When the config window opens, click on "Theme Settings" on the left, and then uncheck the box called "Hide Explorer Taskbar", click "close" and you will now have your windows taskbar back. Easy eh?

4. Loading New Objects: DX comes with a quite a few Objects that you can use on your desktop if you want, and as you know, you can download lots of them from WinCustomize. Just right click the DX icon in the System tray and choose "Import Object". This will now open your Object folder, which is just like the theme folder, but full of single objects. just click on one that you want, and hit "Load". The Object will then appear on your desktop, and you can drag it around and put it where you want.
(HINT: If the object doesn't want to move when drag it with your mouse, hold down the shift key as you drag.)
Remember, everything is an Object, and an Object can be anything you want it to be.

I hope this is of some use to some of you

hi can enyone help please ,i have just installed desktop gadjets,but no documentation of how to use ,of how to install new gadjets ,bit confusing ,do i use widjets or objects or both ?into gadjet foulder to use ?apreciate any help as to how to do ,thanks

Gadgets are not widgets, they're just stand alone mini programs.