Back to work, also docking library for AIR/AS3!

Exams over, and so are the semester vacations. My RSI has gone, thankfully (although it comes back every now and then, but it's not too much of a problem)

I've been developing a docking window library for Adobe AIR for some time now, inspired by WeiFen Luo's DockPanelSuite for C# WinForms, but created from the ground up (not just a direct port). It uses the NativeWindow class, so only AIR projects can make use of it.

One thing I've been trying to get to work was the dragging and dropping of tabs / panels onto others and making them join into one; how do you do that across multiple NativeWindows (especially when your Stage's MouseEvent only provides enough info about the mouse within the bounds of the stage?)

Yesterday, it occurred to me that using the NativeDragManager class to initiate and handle drag-and-drops could be performed! (I was already using it in an earlier part of HitShaper, but had failed to make the link then, because in that case I was only dragging from the filesystem into the application, and not within the application itself) It turned out that I could indeed do that, by transferring object references! (Fun fact: I got this "epiphany" during a fever...who said fevers were entirely bad? :P)

However, I guess poor design has caught up to me and I will have to redesign the classes, putting more priority on containers rather than the panels instead, and that is another headache...for another day.

Update 001 - see video description for more details (click the YouTube icon)

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VicariousE 2018-01-16 15:27:56

Hm, considering most of my physical life included shoveling, mopping, cleaning, bending over, there's room for a little jazz in the movements. KB's and mouses, sitting in front of a static device... ever try those hand spring exercisers? Anyway, hope the pain don't come back.

Sounds like you're at the point where custom OLE's come into play.. so nativedragmaster might just fill the bill eh? Cool beans. Good thing NG has been full of nerds since day one, lots of arcane info in the forums, if you should need another perspective. Almost at the 10 year mark huh? Wish there was a badge or medal for that

Gimmick 2018-01-16 15:27:56

Nope, not tried it, but I have found something that works. One problem is that my posture's all wrong, it puts too much pressure on the elbows, but it feels good to be in that position :<

Yep. Funny to think time passes by so quickly, My NG account's about 50% of my age now haha

VicariousE 2018-01-19 14:44:59

Took a bit of searching (wouldn't recommend this one, as it's got slippy wheels) but something like this is perfect for not leaning on elbows, JohnnyUtah uses one at the office if he's on a long stretch.
https://www.amazon.com/Flash-Furniture-Ergonomic-Kneeling-WL-SB-101-GG/dp/B000TMFSQK/ref=br_lf_m_xoobxvky9j4n7y4_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&s=furniture
Keeps your butt pitched forward, making it easier to sit up straight, worth testing out... though I doubt you'll find one at Staples or Office Depot.. maybe

Gimmick 2018-01-19 14:44:59

Thanks, I'll look into it - I never really thought about ergonomic chairs before. (My problem's kinda different in that I lie down on the bed while using my laptop and so there's no option but to put pressure on my elbows, but I think I lie down because sitting is too uncomfortable.)

Also, maybe it's because I'm not a carpenter, but furniture seems expensive, even for something as simple as a chair.

VicariousE 2018-01-21 01:41:25

Oh I know, the simple things always have a premium attached, gotta pay twice as much for a pre-broken looking chair (was under the assumption you took standard geek position at a desk). Think there was a time I'd read while lying belly down over the corner of the bed, was tiny then, legs were almost completely on mattress at that angle.

Gimmick 2018-01-21 01:41:25

Haha yeah :P

About reading on the bed, I still do that! Even though my feet now hang out the bed when I use the laptop, when I read I just place the book on the floor and rest my head on the bar of the bed (well, my bed's actually in reverse - the elevated "back" of the bed faces the wall, and it's a wireframe so I can put my feet through it; there's a bar at the back joining the posts together, and I rest my head on that when reading)

Much as people say that sleeping on your stomach is bad for the back, I don't think I'd want to sleep on my back after reading about sleep paralysis being 60% (or more) common when you sleep on your back than when sleeping on your stomach. I've never gotten sleep paralysis before (I think? Maybe I might have had one a loong time ago which may have sparked off a brief 'omg ghosts at night' phase, but I've never really thought about it) but suffice to say I don't think I want to experience that.

VicariousE 2018-01-22 18:58:13

Could string yourself up like Catherine the Great, hump your workhorse laptop that way; work at a desk, use an elevated weight bench. Guess I'm making a fuss cause I never had issues w/ my elbows, sure wouldn't want that. Plus you're hustling food, women and cash, so I'm sure the discomfort is not too inconvenient

Carpentry is ez if you got wood, cutting tools and a ruler, little common sense goes a long way... might be a market for such furniture (hm, thinking of The Jerk, old flick)

Gimmick 2018-01-22 18:58:13

Not too sure about the hustling part haha. But you're right, there are a ton of things I should / could do >.> Although it seems like the only effect of all this is the mild trigger finger in my right hand, it never seems to happen in my left for some reason. Tennis elbow's not really a thing since it's more than 90* angled when I lie down.

Acquiring wood's the hard part (insert ED joke here...)