ZBar is a utility for those who use multiple monitors. If you have a single screen, then there's nothing to see here. Move on.

If you have two or more monitors, then Windows only puts the task bar at the bottom of one of those monitors, and although you can move windows to the second monitor, the task bar button for those windows still lives at the bottom of the primary monitor. This doesn't "feel" right to me, so ZBar was born.

Functionality

ZBar will:

• Put a taskbar across the top or bottom of all non-primary screens with one or two rows of buttons, in six styles, with an optional clock
• Provide keyboard shortcuts to move windows one screen along
• Organise your desktop wallpaper one image per screen or one image across all screens
• Display a six month calendar, last month, this month, and four months ahead

Restrictions

I had to learn a lot to get ZBar running, and it's taught me that although Windows clearly defines how applications should create windows and use the task bar, there are a number which don't use these conventions. Yes, I'm talking to you WinAMP, Office and Skype. As I use those apps myself, I've been able to make a special case for them within the ZBar code, but there will no doubt be more.

I spent a long while trying to get the wallpaper code to work every time. My virtual desktop is 3200x1200, and it works every time. However, when I added a third monitor to make the wallpaper 4800x1200 in size, it would work once or twice before failing. Rebooting means it would work again.

Alternatives

Does this sound all a little ... alpha release ... to you? There are a few alternatives you could try, like MultiMon, DisplayFusion, Desktop Wallpaper Tool, but the daddy of them all is Ultramon. However, ZBar is the only one which provides multiple taskbars, manages wallpaper, and is free.

Versions

v0.2 - First release

v0.3 - 5th December 2008

• The keyboard shortcuts to move windows between monitors are now optional

v0.4 - 17th December 2008

• Checkbox to spot when moving a window between monitors with the mouse at the cost of some CPU
• Control-alt-arrow keys can be used instead of z / x / c

v0.5 - 3rd February 2009

• Bug: Arrow keys moving window trap passing arrow to app with focus bug fixed
• Bug: "Improved" mode now always on, and bug with closed windows not disappearing fixed
• Bug: alt-F4 keypress no longer closes a bar
• Bug: WinAMP special case handled a little better
• New: Drag and hover files over a button to bring to the foregound
• New: Windows 7 shadow windows ignored correctly
• New: mouseover highlight added to buttons
• New: time and date formats taken from Windows preferences
• New: Six month calendar (click the clock or choose the menu item)
• New: put a file "zbar.ico" next to the exe to use that as the tray icon
• New: three visual styles - Zune, Windows 7 small, and Windows 7 large

v0.6 - 10th May 2009

• Bug: Clicking anywhere in the Options dialog no longer closes it
• Bug: Calendar no longer shows when clicking the RHS of a bar with the clock off
• Bug: Bars no longer cover the MS RDP client when used in full-screen mode
• Bug: Icons are more reliably retrieved from applications
• New: cross added to the calendar close button
• New: Right-clicking a bar shows a menu to open Task Manager
• New: Bars can be made double-height for two rows of buttons
• New: No error is thrown when solhook11.dll can't be found (in case you don't like keyboard hooks)
• New: Clicking the button for a window which has focus minimises it, as with the main task bar

v0.7 - 18th July 2009

• A screen is selected when you first open the wallpaper dialog better show how to use it
• Works a little better with the Windows 7 RC
• New: The bar can now be positioned at the top of monitors as well as the bottom
• The "zbartitle" entry has been removed from the Task Manager applications list
• The shortcut keys to move windows between monitors can no longer move ZBars!
• ZBar now has a decent icon, thanks to Frode Aarebrot

v0.8 - 25th April 2010

• New "Royale" style
• Using "maximise to virtual screen" a second time restores the window to its original size
• Windows 7 support improvements
• Wallpaper "zoom" function to fill the screen with images with a different ratio
• Icons drawn better
• App improvements: WinAMP, terminal services client
• Buttons now show tooltips when hovered over
• 'Mirror mode' to display all buttons on all bars
• -wallpaperonly command line option which opens the wallpaper setting screen, and then exits
• Transparency, and auto-hide options
• Improved visual style of the calendar
• Screen Exceptions, to tell ZBar not to create a bar on certain screens
• Display bug fixed with second line of buttons when using the Zune style

zbar.zip (127k)