Echographia

making things better, making better things

Sunday, February 8, 2009

dynamic Dock menus, HotCocoa version

Here’s a simpler version of that last post using Rich Kilmer’s HotCocoa library. I also use the approach I suggested at the end of the last post: Build a menu each time it’s requested, instead of trying to keep one at the ready.
(more…)

posted by erik at 6:48 pm  

Sunday, February 8, 2009

dynamic Dock menus in MacRuby

I’ve been wanting to write a Mac application since I got this computer a year or so ago. Still haven’t, but today I ran through a MacRuby/Cocoa tutorial, and I’m hoping to find the time to code the app I have in mind soon, before I forget whatever I just learned. More about that if it happens.

My original plan was to make the app accessible from the global menu bar, but then I learned that Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines discourage it, and you know how I love guidelines. And humans. So instead I’m going to use a Dock menu. The main advantage of both, for my purposes, is that after you take some action, control returns immediately to whatever application you were using; perfect for programs you use for a moment now and then, but don’t really spend time in.

Anyway, I thought I’d share what I learned about implementing Dock menus in MacRuby. (more…)

posted by erik at 2:48 am  

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