Nitemice

As a programmer, it’s often tempting to try and solve your problems by writing programs, rather than hunting for solutions written by others. But that doesn’t mean you don’t want to share them, and hopefully help someone else, like I did with MessagePop, and like I’m doing again with this new program I’ve written called wpTracker.

Well, to be totally accurate, this version is called wpTrackerCS, because it’s a re-write in C#. The original I wrote back in March, in VB.NET, which has been my go-to language for simple Windows-based GUI programs since high school. However, since I recently learnt C# and it uses the .NET framework too, it meant that I could use all the same WYSIWYG Windows form stuff as VB.NET, to write in a new, more powerful language. So I decided I might as well try recreating it, and clean up some of the code along the way.

What exactly is wpTracker?

wpTracker is a really simple, tiny program I wrote that mainly consists of a notification icon which shows a number to tell you on which monitor the wallpaper changed last. If you put your mouse over it, it’ll also give you a tooltip telling you when the wallpaper last changed.

Who is it for?

Basically, if you use Win 8’s built-in wallpaper slideshow feature, then wpTracker should work for you.

Why would I want this?

It’s useful if you have multiple monitors and you want to know which wallpaper changed last, and which will change next. It’s also handy for catching if the wallpaper cycling has gotten stuck.

Can I see the source code?

Sure, as soon as I upload it to Github…

Can I download it now?

Sure, here’s a link:
Download wpTracker

If you want more details, check out wpTracker’s Project page over at Nitemice.net, or have a look through the supplied ReadMe file.
Anyway, I just wanted to quickly share this little app with you, in the hope that it’ll fill the niche group that may have been looking for something like it.
I’d really love to hear any feedback you have on wpTracker, so leave them in comments, or hit me up on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, etc…

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Nitemice