Window Configuration Application

C#
.NET
Git

INTRODUCTION: The Asus ZenBook Pro Duo is a new paradigm in laptop computing. While having multiple monitors have become common, the idea of having multiple screens on a mobile device such as a laptop is a relatively new idea. The Asus ZenBook Pro Duo is one of the first multi-screen portable devices on the market and as such, faces some interesting challenges. ABOUT THE ZENBOOK PRO DUO: CPU: Intel Core I9-9980HK GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Memory: 16/32GB 2666Mhz DDR4 OS: Windows 10 4K UHD NanoEdge OLED HDR touchscreen display 4K UHD NanoEdge OLED HDR ScreenPad Plus companion display The ZenBook Pro Duo comes with various pre-installed applications and tools to support the companion screen. However, these tools are relatively basic and don’t provide enough utility for users. To combat this issue, the goal of the Duo Tech project is to develop an application to enhance the user experience of the ZenBook companion screen as well as innovate tools that might be used in forthcoming dual screen systems. PROJECT DESCRIPTION: This product originates from the need to develop more software that utilize the capabilities of dual and companion screen systems to enhance the user experience on these new types of devices. While multi-monitor technology has been available for quite some time, the functionality has always been fairly limited. This product will upend the normal use of the second monitor and give the user something truly unique in using the advanced hardware capabilities. The product will rely heavily on the companion monitor technology and focus on the functionality between two touch screen monitors. We developed our application using Visual Studio’s C# .NET Window Forms framework. This product is tailored towards individuals who want to have more freedom in how they manage various windows in their workspace. The application is used by first taking a screenshot of all the currently used screens and displaying the foreground windows that are present within each screenshot. The user then has the ability to save this configuration to their local SQLite database to be used at a later time. When the user loads a custom configuration, all windows that were previously stored in the database will resize and move based on the specified location and size. RESULTS: - Auto-detection of foreground window position and window size. - One click functionality to load a configuration on a system. - DPI awareness allowing the application to adjust the location and size regardless of resolution or zoom percentage. - Reduced storage overhead by utilizing a local SQLite database to store configuration information. - Provided the ability for users to export and import custom window configurations. LOOKING FORWARD: Our main goal throughout the project was to develop a verbose tool that can help accommodate both screens of the ZenBook Pro Duo. We found that creating a window manager was a lot more difficult than we originally thought because of the limitations Microsoft allows for third-party applications. Looking forward, this project can be taken in a variety of different directions and we know that window management applications are a major attraction in the multi-screen market. In the future, we would like to expand this application by adding: - The ability to adjust the aspect ratio of occupied screens to increase visibility of various windows. - Custom window configurations within a single application (Ex: Adobe Photoshop). - A TechDuo website that can host users’ configurations for easier sharing and uploading.

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Artifacts

Name Description
Github Repository This repository holds all of the code, binary files and documentation for the Window Configuration application.   Link
Release This is a link to get the final release of the application which contains all of the repository files.   Link
Project Overview Video Video outlining the various aspects of the application; including: High level walkthrough, technical components, UI and a live demo.   Link
Paper Prototypes A zipped file containing all of the paper prototypes used to develop the final application.   Download
Documentation A zipped file containing all of the documentation developed over the course of the 2019-2020 period.   Download
Engineering Expo Poster Poster originally designed for the Engineering Expo that provides a high level overview of the Window Configuration application.   Download
Help and Guide README.md and HELP.md files that provide installation instructions, overview explanation and an FAQ   Download
Functional Prototype This is the link to the original functional prototype for the application created with Adobe XD and based on our paper prototypes.   Link
Project Archive Contains all documentation, code and videos pertaining to the project   Link