No code or package available yet. I have been trying to work around some vulnerabilities in the enlightenment toolkit on my laptop. If I create linked lists before initialising the enlightenment window, then some of the memory I have allocated is corrupted. I have worked around this by statically allocating arrays for the time being.

The standard SHR desktop gets cluttered after a while with icons and it is difficult to navigate between them because scrolling is so slow. I noticed that Illume will refresh the desktop if files are changes in /usr/share/applications so I have written an application which tracks categories for selected applications and renames desktop files which are not in the current category.

I am releasing this version for comment and feedback. Files available are:

1. Screenshot
2. Package: deskcat_0.3_arm.ipk
3. Source code

Installing the package will create two DeskCat icons. The icon called DeskCat opens an application which will create categories and associate applications with the categories. The association between the two is stored in $HOME/.deskcat and is saved when the application exits.

To create a new category click the New button. You will get a dialog where you can enter the name of the category.

To assign an application to a category select the application from the list and then select the button at the top of the window for the category. The list item will change to identify the category. When a category gets its first application a desktop icon is created wich will select that category.

When you have finished assigning applications to categories close the DeskCat application.

In the screenshot I have three categories: Util, Core and System. I also have three extra desktop icons by the same name. Selecting the System icon will rename any applications which have a category but are not in the System category to $APP.desktop.ignore (where $APP is the name of the application) and any applications which have the name $APP.desktop.ignore and are in the System category to $APP.desktop.

Applications which do not have categories are ignored. The package also installs a desktop icon which will make all hidden applications visible.

Please note this is an early release and should be used with caution. I suggest you make a backup of /usr/share/applications before using it, though I am not aware of any problems with managing files you need to be aware that it does mess around with important files.

To help reduce clutter I have changed deskcat so that when a category is selected the launcher for that category is hidden. This works both for user defined categories and the built in category "All".

Package: deskcat_0.4_arm.ipk

This is a picture of my Illume desktop when it is configured to display my category for Core applications. The All, System and Util icons invoke deskcat to select a different category. The Core icon is hidden because the core category is displayed. The DeskCat icon is hidden because it is in a different category. The DeskCat application is used to put applications into categories.

The 0.4 release is stable enough now to be tagged as 1.0. I have released and tested a new package.

deskcat_1.0_arm.ipk

A new version 1.2 is available for testing. This is version starts with a new window which allows you to select a category by pressing a button. Another button opens the existing list window which lets you create categories and assign applications to them.

The advantage of this new approach is that you can hide the category icons if you wish and just select categories using the deskcat application.

This is not a release. It is a beta and should be treated with caution.