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MSN 7 Countdown

Asked by parad0x,

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parad0x

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Well, I was bored this afternoon, so I threw together this stupid little program after a request from one of my friends. Basically, it just counts down the time until a specific event, updating your personal message at the specified interval. You can include a message before the counter, or just use the counter by itself. It also allows you to choose from 3 different icon types (Games, Office, Music).

The Format field uses variables, which are replaced by their respective values. See the program's Help dialog for information on the specific variables. You can also insert variables by right-clicking in the Format field, and selecting any of the values in the menu. The Frequency determines how often the counter will be updated, in milliseconds. This value seems to be limited by MSN to about 6 seconds (6000ms).

msn.jpg

interface.jpg

Get it here: http://sack.ath.cx:8080/drop/MSNCount.zip (right-click, save target as)

Disclaimer: This program is provided as-is, and I cannot be held responsible if it decides to ruin your computer, light your house on fire and/or run away with your spouse.

NOTE: This program requires the .NET Framework Version 1.1. If it tells you it failed to initialize, that's probably why. It also requires that the "What I'm Listening To" feature be enabled in MSN. Credit for the Personal Message code goes to doggie from the mess.be forums - thanks for your work :)

Edited by parad0x
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parad0x

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New version!

Changes:

- Settings are now stored in the registry (HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\MSN Countdown)

- Preview bar at the bottom of the window so you can see what the counter will look like

- Right-click menu in the Format box, so variables can be inserted easily

- Minimal help dialog (it's not much, but it should help)

interface.jpg

New download link: http://sack.ath.cx:8080/drop/msncount.exe

(Make sure you right-click, save target as, or it won't work)

i also have a few more features for you.. i think this will turn out to be a project instead:

- can you disable icons?  or does it always need to have something there?

- remember previous settings

- add a quick panel, or a check box, to display times.. like the %D, %H options.. incase people get confused

great work so far :)  im really liking this, and gonna keep using this

BTW: can anyone get these icons for download?  i'd like to use them in conversations

585889119[/snapback]

I looked into disabling icons.. there is a string for "Empty", but it doesn't seem to work. If you set the icon to empty, it simply won't update your message.

If you want to extract the icons for other uses, they're in msnmsgr.exe:

PNG 825 = Games

PNG 2044 = Music

PNG 2061 = Office

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parad0x

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doesn't do anything for me!

585895241[/snapback]

I've now had reports from a couple other people that it simply doesn't do anything. If you could provide more details, such as the exact settings you were using, where you were running the program from, and your computer config (Windows version, exact MSN version, .NET Framework version), I might be able to track down the problem. Has anyone else been experiencing problems?

NOTE: I've changed the link to point to a .ZIP file instead of just the executable to hopefully clear up security issues people were having with Internet Explorer. From now on, please use this link: http://sack.ath.cx:8080/drop/MSNCount.zip

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kernatch

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I've now had reports from a couple other people that it simply doesn't do anything. If you could provide more details, such as the exact settings you were using, where you were running the program from, and your computer config (Windows version, exact MSN version, .NET Framework version), I might be able to track down the problem. Has anyone else been experiencing problems?

Right, I figured out what was wrong. I didn't have "What I'm listening to" on. I guess it makes sense and I see how the program works now (interacts with MSN like a media player), but I don't think this was mentioned earlier. If it was, I'm sorry for being thick!

btw, good little program ;)

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parad0x

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i think you need to resize the window a tiny bit, see below

do you plan on making it possible to choosing your own icons?

585901638[/snapback]

I updated the link to a new version with a wider window, and I also added tooltips to both the format box and the status bar, so if it's past the visible area, you can still see all the text if you hold your mouse over it for a second.

hmm this source wouldnt happen to be from mess.be? especially when my example was in vb.net :p clever way of using it though

585903757[/snapback]

My apologies, doggie.. you were credited in the source, but I neglected to put your name in the Help dialog and my original post. Proper credits have been included in the newest version :)

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