Why does a flashing taskbar result in a fullscreen console returning to windowed mode?

re: Why does a flashing taskbar result in a fullscreen console returning to windowed mode?

John — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 19:45:13 GMT

By "suitably edited" I assume you mean all the profanity was removed.

re: Why does a flashing taskbar result in a fullscreen console returning to windowed mode?

RyanBemrose — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 23:38:15 GMT

The justification is still wrong. The desktop will never belong to the user as long as any app that calls FlashWindow() can forcefully interrupt what the user is doing.

Try the following scenario on for size:

1) Install Windows Live Messenger.

2) Make your taskbar really big and set it to auto-hide.

3) Begin working on Important Stuff (something more important than, say having an inane conversation with an annoying co-worker)

4) Get an IM from said co-worker asking about basketball scores.

5) Involuntarily click on the messenger window and chat with your co-worker about inane garbage, because the taskbar is going to keep popping up on top of your other work until the co-worker shuts up, so you won't be getting any more work done anyway.

re: Why does a flashing taskbar result in a fullscreen console returning to windowed mode?

frymaster — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 23:50:28 GMT

6. Set live messenger to "away" or "offline" :P

re: Why does a flashing taskbar result in a fullscreen console returning to windowed mode?

manicmarc — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 00:04:42 GMT

@RyanBemrose

I never have problem with messenger. It stops flashing after a few flashes. Turn off notifications and you won't get any annoying animated notifications. I can be coding for a long time before I notice someone has messaged me, and they usually walk over and interrupt me if I don't respond(!) anyway.

There is a bug where it will flash for no reason after loosing focus, which is annoying since you think you've got a response and you haven't.

re: Why does a flashing taskbar result in a fullscreen console returning to windowed mode?

Gwyn — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 00:12:08 GMT

7. Uninstall live messenger, and don't make your taskbar so big?

re: Why does a flashing taskbar result in a fullscreen console returning to windowed mode?

Paul Williams — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 01:47:34 GMT

@RyanBemrose

Let's look at an alternative. Assume I am a stock-trading whiz and a programming guru (neither are true in reality). I have 100,000 shares of BIGCO stock. BIGCO is trading at $100 / share, I have a nice nest egg built up.

I have invested heavily in one company, so I carefully monitor my portfolio to ensure I am safe. I run a fancy stock trading program that allows me to configure real-time alerts. If BIGCO drops below $90 / share, it will flash on my taskbar; I'll click it, view the alert, and act accordingly. Seconds could mean the difference between retiring now or working until I am 101 years old.

I also setup my CNN news ticker to alert me if it sees any BIGCO stories. It, too, is supposed to flash on my task bar.

I decide to flex my programming muscles by opening a command window full screen. I merrily ftp/Perl/telnet/bash/Python/su/format c: my way to future glory. Surely this code will make me rich any day now!

Meanwhile, CNN runs a surprising story about BIGCO declaring bankruptcy. The CNN news ticker tries to alert me by flashing the task bar, but it can't-- the command windows is full screen, and YOU decided that it shouldn't disturb me.

BIGCO stock dips immediately to $75, $40, and then below $1. The stock market software is trying to warn me that I'm rapidly becoming destitute, but because YOU decided that I won't get these alerts while I'm working, I am now broke, bankrupt, and actively looking up your address to tell you what I think about your decisions in person!

Long story short (too late), don't make your taskbar so big. :)

re: Why does a flashing taskbar result in a fullscreen console returning to windowed mode?

Aram Hăvărneanu — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 01:50:44 GMT

Well, on 64 bit Windows 7 and Vista there's only Windowed mode. I Wonder why. Don't know anything about 32 bit versions.

re: Why does a flashing taskbar result in a fullscreen console returning to windowed mode?

Alexandre Grigoriev — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 02:05:58 GMT

Aram,

I suspect that switching to text mode requires a callout to real mode BIOS through VDM, which is not supported in x64 OS (it doesn't have VDM anymore).

re: Why does a flashing taskbar result in a fullscreen console returning to windowed mode?

Cheong — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 02:46:13 GMT

RyanBemrose: There's some reason why WLM has a option to block message notifications when you're in full screen mode...

re: Why does a flashing taskbar result in a fullscreen console returning to windowed mode?

Bob — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 03:23:45 GMT

Aram: Full-screen consoles aren't supported under the New Driver Order with Vista, regardless of bitness. You have to be running an XP display driver (including Standard VESA) to go full-screen.

re: Why does a flashing taskbar result in a fullscreen console returning to windowed mode?

steveg — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 03:59:23 GMT

Am I the only one would have hours of entertainment/fascination trawling through the Windows version source control system? Even something seemingly innocuous like the Notepad source code would probably be interesting...

oooooh... 1992 *that's* when the split each message into it's own function... ooooh, obscure bug... really? no way! how did someone find that?

I'd love to be locked away for a week just poking around. I should really get a life.

re: Why does a flashing taskbar result in a fullscreen console returning to windowed mode?

slq — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 05:04:58 GMT

Paul Williams,

this is why God created stop-loss orders ;)

re: Why does a flashing taskbar result in a fullscreen console returning to windowed mode?

Mark Sowul — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 05:08:44 GMT

I wonder why (and how) every IM app I know (which includes Live Messenger, AIM, and Trillian, at least) manages to just flash the taskbar incessantly rather than respecting, "flash, flash, flash, stay highlighted." It's only marginally less annoying than it would be to just pop the UI in my face.

Live Messenger in particular somehow manages also not to work with "Close All Windows" (when multiple chat windows are opened and grouped in the taskbar), and it seems to botch window message processing in some way (the columns on DefWndProc come to mind), because if any of its windows are open, hitting the play/pause/next keys on my keyboard results in Windows Media Player reacting as though I hit the key 10 times. But I digress.

re: Why does a flashing taskbar result in a fullscreen console returning to windowed mode?

Daniel ZY — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 10:26:40 GMT

When you do alt in Vista 32 bit SP1 (regular build) the following message appears: "This system does not support full screen mode", the funny part is the title "Server 2008 DEBUG build Environment).

How this happens?

re: Why does a flashing taskbar result in a fullscreen console returning to windowed mode?

ender — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:51:45 GMT

Speaking of taskbar, I have it set to autohide, but sometimes something will cause it to want my attention and not go away. Usually the culprit is a menu from tray icon that didn't open fast enough (and I went to do other things), but in some cases the taskbar plain and simply won't hide away, with no visible reason (no button flashing, no forgotten menu in sight). Any idea how to find who's responsible?

re: Why does a flashing taskbar result in a fullscreen console returning to windowed mode?

Andrey Shchekin — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:55:35 GMT

@Paul Williams

That's why there are such things as desktop notifications and other similar stuff. Flashing the taskbar is absolutely the least informative way to notify about anything important.

Showing a big message with the stock value and a large button "sell now!" would be more appropriate UI design decision for your situation.

re: Why does a flashing taskbar result in a fullscreen console returning to windowed mode?

Brian Tkatch — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 14:50:42 GMT

I would have thought a flashing full-screen window should have flashed some background color, not go to windowed mode.

But, noone asked me.

re: Why does a flashing taskbar result in a fullscreen console returning to windowed mode?

LionsPhil — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:55:08 GMT

If you want sublety in your full-screen console notifications, you don't want a full-screen console. You probably want a maximized window, so that Windows still has the resolution and colour depth capability to do so. Go rummage around on the Internets for a suitably retro VGA font, if you must.

(Personally, my current taskbar irritation is that Windows 7 seems to have stopped the buttons being a mile-deep, after MS fixed this back in 2000 or so. Gah.)

re: Why does a flashing taskbar result in a fullscreen console returning to windowed mode?

MadQ — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:42:30 GMT

@ender: It's probably a fancy animated icon in the ashtray^H^H^H^H^H^H^H notification area. A colleague of mine was complaining about the same thing last week. I told him to disable "Animated Icon" in Antivirus product X's notification area icon's context menu.

re: Why does a flashing taskbar result in a fullscreen console returning to windowed mode?

Mike Dimmick — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 20:11:40 GMT

@Daniel ZY: because that's the title of your console window, which presumably was created from the "Server 2008 DEBUG build Environment" shortcut installed by the Windows SDK.

As Raymond has mentioned before, if you have multiple shortcuts to the same program, Windows picks a random shortcut to put on the Recently Used part of the Start Menu, because it counts programs, not shortcuts.

re: Why does a flashing taskbar result in a fullscreen console returning to windowed mode?

foxyshadis — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 23:57:36 GMT

@ender: If you have balloon tips (the actual notifications it's named after) disabled, the taskbar will pop up and stay up until the invisible balloon goes away, usually after 30 seconds or whenever you click the right icon to acknowledge.

re: Why does a flashing taskbar result in a fullscreen console returning to windowed mode?

Slackmaster K — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 02:07:29 GMT

Awesome. This is what we mean when we say Windows doesn't take proper advantage of multiple monitors (We can remain full screen while monitoring the taskbar).

re: Why does a flashing taskbar result in a fullscreen console returning to windowed mode?

Aaron — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 23:26:49 GMT

This doesn't always happen.

I've recently been playing MS Flight Sim X (in full screen mode), and when new IM's come in (on any IM service) Flight Sim remains foreground, full-screen. When I eventually switch back to a windowed view, I can see the task bar has been flashing the whole time.