We’re continuing to work on the TopDesk 1.5.5, and had expected to release it at the beginning of March. The release has been delayed, however, as we’ve found new ways to improve and optimize existing features and have added features that increase compatibility with Vista and Vista x64. Therefore, as a stop-gap, we’ve released TopDesk 1.5.4.1, which fixes the main complaint with TopDesk 1.5.4.

We expect the TopDesk 1.5.5 to go into beta within the next week or two. The main features include:

• A new window detection algorithm that is compatible with more non-standard applications.
• A window exclusion/compatibility list that gives users the ability to manage which windows TopDesk displays and how it displays them.
• An application compatibility list that lets users specify that TopDesk should disable itself when certain applications are running.
• Better support for Vista and Vista x64, including the ability to tile/hide Administrator application windows when running under a standard user account on Vista, and improved handling of the Win+Tab hot key.

TopDesk 1.5.4.1 has been released.

This release fixes a bug that occurred when using a stretched desktop wallpaper image on a computer with a video card that didn’t support non-power-of-two textures.

Visit the What’s New page for more information on what’s changed in this version, visit the TopDesk page to find out more about TopDesk, and visit the Online Store to buy TopDesk 1.5.4.1.

TopDesk 1.5.4 has been released.

This release adds 32-bit image support and improved compatibility with non-standard applications. It also includes the following bug fixes:

• TopDesk no longer remains disabled after the computer unlocks, resumes, or a screen saver exits.
• The Windows hot key no longer becomes “stuck” on/off after TopDesk restarts.
• TopDesk now correctly disables itself when a fullscreen 3D accelerated game runs at a different resolution than the Desktop.
• TopDesk no longer consumes CPU while detecting desktop wallpaper changes.
• Windows minimized while tiled now restore correctly.
• TopDesk now displays the Flip view correctly on multi-monitor systems where one or monitors have a negative position.
• Window tiling and title colors in the Options dialog are now reset properly when the “Restore Defaults” button is clicked.

Visit the What’s New page for more information on what’s changed in this version, visit the TopDesk page to find out more about TopDesk, and visit the Online Store to buy TopDesk 1.5.4.

It’s possible to tile multiple Excel files in TopDesk, but a bit of configuration is required. The steps are:

Step 1

In Excel, go to Tools->Options->General and tick Ignore Other Applications.

Step 2

1. In Explorer, go to Tools->Folder Options->File Types
2. Select the XLS file type and click the Advanced button
3. Select the Open action from the list and click the Edit button.
4. Uncheck the Use DDE option.
5. Change the Application used to perform action text to:

“C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\EXCEL.EXE” /e “%1″

Step 3

Repeat Step 2 for any other file types you want to use (e.g. XLT files) that have Excel as their default application.