VDesk For Linux

VDesk is a xwinwrap frontend written using a bash / zenity script for Nautilus. The use of this script depends on zenity, xwinwrap, mplayer, screensavers and eventually projectM (hopefully in the next release). xwinwrap allows you to place any program that accepts WID assignment in a layer above the desktop wallpaper.

The overall intentions of VDesk are, I believe, beyond the scope of a simple bash / zenity script and are therefore limited in its appearance and ease of use. I hope that you will find VDesk a suitable frontend for xwinwrap, containing all the features that you would hope to find.

We have strived to make VDesk as user friendly and feature rich as possible. If you like the work we have done or would like to see VDesk developed further, please make a donation showing your support: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=RFT2M2ZCEYUJL

Any level of contribution is appreciated and helps to keep us working and helps to keep VDesk free.

A. Play Video - Select a video to use as your Visual Desktop Background from one of the available videos in the list.

B. Screen Saver - Select a Screen Saver to use as your Visual Desktop Background from one of the available screen savers in the list.

C. Stop - Stop VDesk

D. Video Options - These are in-play settings that apply only to video playback. 1. Set Volume - Set in-play volume 2. Mute / Unmute - Mute / Unmute current video playback 3. Pause / Unpause - Pause / Unpause current video playback 4. Change Track - Cycle through available audio tracks for the current video

E. Configuration

1. Video Directory - Select a directory to load videos from. The default directory is ~/Videos 2. Screen Saver Directory - Select a directory to load videos from. The default directory is /usr/lib/xscreensaver 3. Video Transparency - Set the transparency for video playback. The default value is 100, or no transparency. This offers the best picture quality but obfuscates all desktop icons. Be sure to test optimal settings and remember that when you set a tranparency, your desktop wallpaper (image or solid color) will effect the video appearance. - This is not an in-play option 4. Screen Saver Transparency - Set the transparency for screen saver background. The default value is 100, or no transparency. This offers the best picture quality but can obfuscate all desktop icons. Some screen savers have totaly transparent backgrounds and others do not. Be sure to test optimal settings and remember that when you set a tranparency, your desktop wallpaper (image or solid color) will effect the screen saver appearance. Play around with various screen saver / wallpaper combinations as there will undoubtedly be some combinations that work very well together, and some that are aweful. - This is not an in-play option 5. Default Volume - Set a default volume for video playback 6. Reset to Defaults - Reset all configuration settings to default values. This is helpful if something goes wrong. I believe that I have worked out all of the bugs in this release, but it is possible that something was missed.