=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= DesktopTweet - Twitter Utility =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= File Name: DesktopTweet Version: 1.0 File Size: 629kb Developer: Timothy 'TiM' Oliver Date Released: 14th February, 2010 Creation Time: About a month (spaced over 8 months XD) Requirements: Windows XP SP2 and above, .NET Framework 2.0 Language: C#, .NET 2.0 Framework Programs Used: Visual Studio 2008, Adobe Photoshop CS4, Adobe Dreamweaver CS4, Inno Setup 5, Axialis IconWorkshop Website: http://www.desktoptweet.com/ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= About: DesktopTweet is a small utility for your PC that lets you take snapshots of your computer screen and then automatically tweet them to Twitter, all within a matter of seconds! Normally, if you wanted to upload a picture of your screen onto Twitter, you'd have to take the picture manually, crop it up in a program like Photoshop, save it out to a file, and then manually upload it to a Twitter picture service. Given the average length/lifespan of a standard tweet, this seems like quite a bit of effort! DesktopTweet makes this process a little easier by automating pretty much everything I said jsut now! All you have to do is draw out a box of the part of the screen you want to snap (or even just grab the whole screen!), and then write out a tweet to accompany it. DesktopTweet will handle the rest. ----------- DesktopTweet was an idea I had while working on a project on my PC. I was building a 3D model in LightWave, and thought it would be cool to post a quick WIP shot onto my Twitter account. However, given I had to fire up Photoshop, and then log into my TwitPic account before I could even start to upload it, by the time it was actually online, I had already completely lost my train of thought with my model! So, since the whole point of Twitter is to quickly and easily post small tidbits of info quickly, I figured that there must be an easier way to upload screencaps than doing all of that stuff manually each and every time. So with that in mind, I laid down the code framework of what eventually became DesktopTweet. :) ----------- Thank you for reading this ReadMe, and thank you for downloading DesktopTweet! DesktopTweet is the first application I've ever fully developed in C# and I had a great time working on it! I hope you have an equal amount of time using it! Thanks!! -Tim =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Features: -Lets you capture portions of the screen using a drag and drop box to define the region. (You can also choose to snap the whole screen) -Conversely, it can also upload any JPEG, GIF or PNG on your hard drive. -Uploads your pictures directly to your account on an online Twitter picture service! (Current services are TweetPhoto, TwitrPix, Twitgoo, TwitPic, yfrog, Pikchur and Posterous) -Saves snapped pictures to either your computer or the clipboard. -Gives the choice of uploading pictures to the service, but not posting a tweet at the same time. -Option to override 'Printscreen' and 'Alt-Printscreen' hotkeys to send their pictures to DesktopTweet. -Uses multithreaded architecture to quickly and quietly upload your pictures in the background (only harassing you when it has to). ;) -Option to save pictures to your computer in the event the upload fails. -Lets you set DesktopTweet to start-up on Windows boot. -An optional automatic update tracker so you can learn of the latest DesktopTweet updates! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Instructions for Use: 1) Follow the steps of the installer file and install DesktopTweet to your PC. 2) Once you open DesktopTweet, you'll be prompted to enter your Twitter login details. (NB: Your login details are saved locally and are only used when you take a picture) 3) After this, to take a picture, simply right-click on the DesktopTweet icon in the Windows System Tray, choose 'Tweet Picture...' and hit 'Snap Screen Region' (Or press Shift-Ctrl-Z) 4) A grey box will appear. Drag/resize this box around the region you want to snap, and hit 'Enter'. 5) A new window will appear where you can write a tweet for the picture, as well as choose the picture service. Write in a tweet to go with your picture, and select your desired image service, then hit 'Submit'. 6) DesktopTweet will then upload the picture in the background on your PC. (The system tray icon will turn into a green arrow while it is working) 7) When the upload is done, a small popup window will appear in the corner of the screen, displaying the URL of the uploaded piture (This can be disabled in the Settings menu) NB: You can also use the following buttons with the picture snapshot box: Arrow Keys: Move box by 1 pixel. Ctrl+Arrow: Resize box by 1 pixel. Escape: Cancel Picture. Dbl Click/Enter: Take Picture. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Got a Suggestion or a seen a bug? Since DesktopTweet is still starting out, I'm sure it has plenty of space to evolve and be improved upon with new features, bug fixes and tighter code revisions. :) If you have a suggestion for DesktopTweet, or do find any bugs, please go to the DesktopTweet UserVoice page, located at http://desktoptweet.uservoice.com/ and post about it there! :D =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Author/Credit/Thanks: Timothy 'TiM' Oliver (@Tim0liver) -Program Designer/Main Coder/Graphic Artist RedTechie (@RedTechie) -For feedback, helping with the server setup, and letting me bounce ideas off him. Dominic 'Phenix' Black (@DomBlack) -For developing the automatic update tracker, and offering feedback. Jason 'Jay' Griffith (@RJay45) -For being very kind, and answering my n00bcake questions on web server configurations. ^_^; Kristina Allen (@allenkristina) -For being tremendously supportive of DesktopTweet, straight from day 1! Thanks Kristina!!! ^_^ Jerry Thompson (@centdev) -One of the main developers of TwitrPix. Helped me out with service integration and helped me get in touch with some of the Twitter API devs for some extra help! :D Sean Callahan (@TweetPhoto) & Guillermo Proano (@guillermop) -The dudes representing TweetPhoto helped out quite a bit with service integration. Thanks! Justin Hart (@onyxraven) -Lead developer of Twitgoo, he helped me out with service integration and the debugging of some funky response code. ---------------------------- I would also like to say thanks to the following people, whose generously posted articles and/or code snippets online helped immensely in solving several HUGE tasks I ran into while building DesktopTweet. Brian Scott - Cropper (Multi-Layered Transparent Windows Form) (http://www.codeplex.com/cropper) I used Cropper's source code as a reference as to which I wrote my own (very watered down!) version of the screen capture box. Pablo Russoniello - "multipart/form-data" Formatted POST Request Method (http://www.codeproject.com/KB/cs/multipart_request_C_.aspx) To send data to the Twitter picture services, the data has to be formatted in an exact, certain way. Pablo's article here shows how to do it in C#. DotNetThis - String Encryption Algorithm (http://www.codeproject.com/KB/security/DotNetCrypto.aspx) Since keeping passwords secret is a pretty huge thing, DesktopTweet encrypts your Twitter's password before saving it to the settings file. The algorithm used to do that is my own variant of this one. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Contact Me: Have you seen a bug? Got a suggestion for the program? Feel like saying hi? I can be reached at: E-Mail: delta224[AT]gmail[DOT]com Twitter: @Tim0liver MSN: timothyoliver@bigpond.com Skype: delta224 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Legal Stuff: I am in no way responsible for any harm this program may cause to your computer (Even though that is highly unlikely!) Feel free to redistribute DesktopTweet, but please only do so with the Installer EXE, and not the DesktopTweet EXE itself when you do. You may not reverse-engineer or decompile the program and/or directly use any code or media assets extracted from it, without my explicit written permission first. DesktopTweet Copyright Timothy Oliver, 2009-2010.