Taskbar Temps Question...

[blubird302]

Hey guys, I have been using Real Temp for a week or so now for my Q8400 and works great!, but I have a question. I have edited the configuration file to show my temps in F instead of C, since I am from the US its what I'm use to, but it seems that the temps in the taskbar only shows 2 characters for each temp; in the picture below the two zeros are suppose to be 100. I was wondering if there is a way to change this so that it will show 3 characters for each core temp in the taskbar instead of just 2?, I didn't see anywhere in the config file that will do this. Please get back with me when you can, thanks

P.S. As you can see my temps vary greatly for cores 2 and 3, I'm not sure why but other temp programs also show the same thing, got any ideas?

 

[unclewebb]

It's not unusual for these sensors to be all over the place. You can calibrate them usually and make an improvement or two.

Unfortunately there is no room in the System Tray for 3 digits unless you go to a tiny font. Instead of that I just ditched the first digit. If it says 95 then it's likely 95 and if it says 35 then it's likely 135. If you want I can try to create a version with a microscopic font so you can see all 3 digits. Just let me know.

 

[blubird302]

It's not unusual for these sensors to be all over the place. You can calibrate them usually and make an improvement or two.

Unfortunately there is no room in the System Tray for 3 digits unless you go to a tiny font. Instead of that I just ditched the first digit. If it says 95 then it's likely 95 and if it says 35 then it's likely 135. If you want I can try to create a version with a microscopic font so you can see all 3 digits. Just let me know.

Thanks^ You mean there is no way that you can increase the width of the individual characters or add one? The main thing that gets me about the "microscopic" font is I think it would be too small to read. Is it possible to increase the width for all 3 digits to include all 3? I understand reading it as only two, meaning 15 would mean "115", but this is a bit inconvenient. By all means you can try the "microscopic" setting and I can see how it is, but I believe it would be too small to really see well. Let me know what you think, thanks.

 

[unclewebb]

That's a limitation of trying to draw something in the System Tray. The area in Windows Vista is 16 by 16 pixels. For two digits, you have 8 pixels each less a pixel or two for spacing. For 3 digits you're down to about 4 pixels wide for each digit so there's just not a lot of room to draw anything that is going to be legible.

Here's an example of 3 digits

That is 15 pixels wide. If you have a quad core then you are going to have 12 digits spaced very closely together. If you were to offset the colors then it might still be readable.

Let me know what you think and I'll try to create a special version of RealTemp so you can test this out.

 

[blubird302]

That's a limitation of trying to draw something in the System Tray. The area in Windows Vista is 16 by 16 pixels. For two digits, you have 8 pixels each less a pixel or two for spacing. For 3 digits you're down to about 4 pixels wide for each digit so there's just not a lot of room to draw anything that is going to be legible.

Here's an example of 3 digits

http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/9029/smallfonttest.png

That is 15 pixels wide. If you have a quad core then you are going to have 12 digits spaced very closely together. If you were to offset the colors then it might still be readable.

Let me know what you think and I'll try to create a special version of RealTemp so you can test this out.

Ok thanks Unclewebb I completely understand it now, it helps a bunch to have it explained in very good details like you have done above The 100 you put in the picture above doesn't look really "too" small and if you willing to do some minor changes to include the 3 digits then I would be happy to try it out for you. I don't know about programming but it doesn't seem that it would be too hard to accomplish, but I am certainly up for it to try out!

 

[unclewebb]

It's just a matter of finding a font that is readable at that size. The above font is a custom job I drew using PhotoShop. I'll play around with this for you as soon as I get a chance.

 

[blubird302]

It's just a matter of finding a font that is readable at that size. The above font is a custom job I drew using PhotoShop. I'll play around with this for you as soon as I get a chance.

Ok unclewebb, just let me know when its ready to try out. FYI, the font I like to use the most is the 3rd from the left in settings, with bold being selected, again thanks

 

[blubird302]

It's just a matter of finding a font that is readable at that size. The above font is a custom job I drew using PhotoShop. I'll play around with this for you as soon as I get a chance.

Hey unclewebb, just wondering how the new fonts are coming along?, haven't heard anything from you in a while now, just curious, thanks!

 

[unclewebb]

I tried quite a few different fonts but I didn't find any I like. At a small size like this, creating a font by hand is usually the best option. I've got sidetracked recently with the Dell ThrottleGate issues. Do a Google search and you'll find out all about that. I tend to concentrate on the big problems and then come back to the smaller issues as time permits. I had to write a new program called ThrottleStop to keep the Dell guys happy. I might have time next week to resume work on various RealTemp issues and features.

 

[cloudHalonFire]

I would like to use Segoe UI as my font. Is this possible?

 

[logik]

I would also like a mini font. Is it possible to make the font an option in the INI?

There some fonts on this website that might work:

http://www.miniml.com/

 

[unclewebb]

I would also like a mini font. Is it possible to make the font an option in the INI?

There's a good idea. I always like 101 INI file options to keep everyone happy.

I've always avoided a font picker but I'll look into that or an INI option when I have the time. I'm looking for something new to work on so this might happen in the near future.

 

[unclewebb]

RealTemp 3.59.4
http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/3/3/1794507/RealTempBeta.zip

7+ months to think about it and one long day to actually do it.

I finally added a font picker to the Settings window so you'll have a larger variety of system tray / notification area fonts to choose from.

I've only tested this on Windows Vista so far. If there are any major problems in XP or W7, let me know.

 

[logik]

Thanks for the update. You mentioned above that you are ditching the first digit in a 3-digit number. I think you're still doing that because even with a very tiny font, I still only get 2 numbers:

 

[unclewebb]

By default, RealTemp only reports the last 2 digits of a 3 digit number. Now that it's possible to select a tiny font, I'll add an option for you so you can see 3 digit numbers in the system tray. Remind me in a few days in case I forget.

 

[logik]

Reminder

 

[unclewebb]

Thanks, I needed that.

Just send me a PM message everyday. Bug the hell out of me until I get this done. As always, I got a little side tracked this week.

 

[W1zzard]

after font selection you could use drawtext() DT_CALCRECT (or whatever you use to draw the text) to determine whether 2 or 3 characters fit into the tray icon and select accordingly

 

[unclewebb]

That's a great idea that I knew about but never considered. I'll probably just add a quick option to keep the microscopic font crowd happy.

Microsoft is pretty cheap with the number of pixels they have available for system tray icons. In Windows 7 they finally fixed their code so small fonts don't get butchered any more when trying to use anti-aliasing or clear type on them. I guess I'll have to wait for Windows 8 or 9 before there is ever an option for a wide body system tray icon.

 

[unclewebb]

RealTemp 3.59.5
http://www.mediafire.com/?vc6w5frn1gclpu9

There's finally an option for 3 digit system tray fonts hiding in the Settings window as well as a couple of other new options. If you see any major problems, let me know.



As long as you are using a small enough font, this will let you see 3 digits in the system tray for your core temperatures. When using Celsius, you won't have a need for this option but if you are using Fahrenheit then this might be useful. I also added a F/C option in the Settings window so you can easily switch back and forth between Celsius and Fahrenheit.

 

[logik]

Looks great - thanks!

 

[cloudHalonFire]

Is this normal? The rendering is noticeably different then the system clock, even though they are both ClearType and Segoe UI 11pt.

 

[unclewebb]

The number of pixels available for a system tray icon is limited so some fonts get butchered when using the anti-alias option or the clear type option. I apologize for this issue in the Windows DrawText function but at the moment, that's the best I can do.

There must be one font that you can find that looks OK. The Segoe UI 10pt Semi-Bold or the Segoe UI symbol 10pt Bold with clear aren't too bad.

 

[greyguru]

Just a quick thought - the first digit will be either a 1 or 1 zero until the temp reaches 199 Fahrenheit (94 Celsius) You could present a "1" in very few pixels, and a "0" in even less (i.e. all blank), leaving far more for the remaining two digits. If it goes higher than that, maybe it's time to re-open the main window!