Q) How do I add a desktop item?
A) Go to the Sharetops main menu located to the upper right of the desktop and expand it by clicking on it. Select the “Add Item” option then select the type of item that you would like to add from the dialog that popped open. Depending upon what type of item you chose either select a predefined item or enter the details of the new item then click the Create button. An icon representing your new resource will be added to the desktop. Double clicking this icon will open up your new resource for you to view. Alternatively you can use the Search Web option that is also located on Sharetops main menu
Q) What is the Library?
A) As well as supporting external content (content that is located on other web sites), Sharetops also supports content that you upload to your Sharetops library. At the moment we only support the upload of images and photographs. To access the library, go to Sharetops Main Menu and select Library
Q) How do I search for content to add to my desktop?
A) Go to the Sharetops main menu located to the upper right of the desktop and expand it by clicking on it. Select the “Search Web” option which brings up a search dialog. Select the type of resource that you want to search for then type what you are looking for into the search box and press enter. When the search has completed, a list of items will be displayed that you can either view or add to your desktop. When adding content from other web sites please ensure that you do not break any copyright laws before adding the content. You are solely responsible for any content that you add to your Sharetops.
Q) How do I delete a desktop item?
A) Hovering over the desktop item will bring up a number of floating buttons over the icon. Click the cross to the upper right hand corner then confirm the deletion
Q) How do I edit a web items properties?
A) Hover over the icon for the web item then click the Edit Properties button in the upper left corner of the icon. This will open up the Edit Web Item dialog which allows you to change certain properties associated with the web item
Q) How do I change the colour of the text associated with an icon?
A) Hover over the icon for the web item then click the Edit Properties button in the upper left corner of the icon. This will open up the Edit Web Item dialog which allows you to change certain properties associated with the web item including the icons text colour.
Q) Can I change the opacity of a desktop icons name?
A) Yes, to change the opacity of a desktop icons name, edit the icon and change and click the change colour button next in the Icon Text Colour field; a colour selector will pop open. Change the opacity by sliding the bar furthest to the right up and down until you have the required opacity
Q) How do I move icons around the desktop?
A) Place the mouse cursor over an icon, hold down the left mouse button then drag the icon into position. Note that when you drop the icon it will be snapped to the nearest 10 pixel boundary
Q) Can I have different sized icons?
A) The standard icon size is 40x40 so icons are resized to this size. However, you can override this behaviour by un-checking Force 40x40 icons in the icons Edit Properties dialog. The icon will now be displayed at the size of the image that is set in the Icon URL property
Q) How can I change the icons image associated with my content?
A) Click the Edit Properties button to the top left hand corner of the desktop icon to open up the Edit Properties dialog. Enter the URL of the image that you would like to represent your content into the Icon URL box. Note that if you have uploaded your icon to the library then you can click the “Use image from library” button to open up the library. Once opened, select the icon from the library then click the “Use image from library” button again
Q) Is it possible to clone desktop items?
A) Yes, open the items edit properties dialog then click the Clone button located in the tools section
Q) How do I open up the content associated with a desktop icon?
A) Hover the mouse over the icon then double click. Note that if the content is a web page or is marked as not viewed in browser then the content will open in a new browser
Q) How do I move opened content around the desktop?
A) Hold down the left mouse button on the header of the content and drag the window to a new position, release the mouse button to place the window
Q) Can I change the grid snap settings?
A) Yes, you can change the grid snap value in the current desktops settings
Q) How do I stop visitors from borrowing my content?
A) Click the Edit Properties button to the top left hand corner of the desktop icon to open up the Edit Properties dialog. Uncheck the Shared check box to prevent others borrowing items from your desktops
Q) How do I resize opened content?
A) Hover the mouse over the right and / or bottom border, click the left mouse button, drag the window to the required size then let go of the mouse button
Q) How do I set an image or video as my desktops background?
A) Open up the image or video then click the Set Image / media as background button that is located to the top left of the window. The image / video will then be set as your current background. Alternatively you can go to Sharetops main menu->Manage Desktops then select the desktop for which you would like to change the background. Expand the Background options tree and set the URL of the wallpaper in the Wallpaper URL. You can also use the library to set the URL for you
Q) When someone visits my Sharetop they can only access my first desktop. How do I give them access to my other desktops?
A) Sharetops are designed to be navigable. To give visitors access to your other desktops you should place desktop links to them.
Q) How do I add a link to another one of my desktops?
A) Go to Add Item on the Sharetops main menu, select “Link to Desktop” then click Add. When the Add link to desktop dialog pops up, give the link a name, select the destination desktop then click Create. The new link should now appear on your current desktop.
Q) How do I hide certain desktop items from my visitors?
A) Set the privacy settings of the web item to private in the items properties.
Q) I want to hide a web items icon from my visitors but not the resource that the web item points to. How do I do this?
A) You can hide a web items icon from visitors by setting the “Hide Icon” property in the items properties. If the resource is open when the visitor visits your Sharetop then the user will be able to view it, but the icon will not be visible
Q) I want to hide window headers from my visitors until they hover over the window, how can I do this?
A) To hide window headers whilst a window is not in focus go to the Sharetops main menu. Select the desktop that you would like to change then click the Settings button. Expand Window Options and tick the “Hide Headers” check box.
Q) How do I add a new desktop?
A) Select Manage Desktops from the Sharetops main menu to open up the Manage Desktops dialog. Click the Add button to add a new desktop. Click the name of the desktop to rename the desktop
Q) Can I clone one of my existing desktops?
A) Yes, in the Manage Desktops dialog select the desktop that you want to clone then click the Clone button
Q) How can I make one of my desktops the same size as the image or video that I have assigned to the background?
A) Go to the Sharetops Menu and select Manage Desktops. Select the desktop that you would like to change then click the Settings button. Expand Background Options then enter the width and height of the background image or video into the Design Width and Design Height fields. Note that this may not fit the visitor’s browser exactly depending upon how you set the background Fill Mode; the aspect ratio of the image may not be compatible.
Q) Is it possible to design Sharetops that display on a tall display?
A) Yes, when force scaling is enabled in the desktops settings and the browser window is taller than it is wide Sharetops will switch to use tall displays
Q) Is it possible to have different desktops at different resolutions?
A) Yes, each desktop carries its own separate design dimensions and background scaling settings
Q) Is it possible to customise different desktops?
A) Yes, each desktop carries its own set of customisation settings
Q) My desktop is running slowly, what can I do to speed it up?
A) There are a number of things that you can do to improve the performance of your Sharetop including
- Closing down un-used media such as images, videos and audio
- Playing video back at its native pixel size
Q) Low bandwidth users are complaining that my Sharetops takes a long time to load. What can I do to speed up loading?
A) There are a number of things you can do, such as:
- Assign large images a small thumbnail icon so that Sharetops doesn’t have to load the large version of the image to display a thumbnail for you
- Reduce the resolution or increase the compression of images / video on your Sharetop
- Close down large videos or very large images and allow the user to open them themselves
Q) Can I set any details for my Sharetop so that other users know what kind of content my Sharetops contain?
A) Yes, select Settings from the Sharetops main menu, expand the Sharetops Info tab then enter details about your Sharetop into the place provided. Don’t forget to publish your Sharetops after making changes in this section or the changes will not appear online
Q) What size does my preview image that appears on Sharetops web site need to be?
A) 160x120 pixels, although we may be able to support different sized images for sponsored Sharetops
Q) Can I enter keywords that help others locate my Sharetop?
A) Yes, select Settings from the Sharetops main menu, expand the Sharetops Info tab then enter tags (words that are associated with your content) into the Tags section. When Sharetop users search for Sharetops your tags will be searched. Don’t forget to publish your Sharetops after making changes in this section or the changes will not appear online
Q) Can I use adult or illegal content on my Sharetops?
A) No, although we may be able to support adult content in the future. Any illegal content or other content that breaks our terms of usage policies will be deleted immediately and the account closed permanently.
Q) What frame rate does Sharetops run at?
A) 60 frames per second
Q) How do I make an image or video display in its native size?
A) Open the Edit Properties by clicking the Edit Properties button that appears to the top left of the desktop icon when you hover over it. From the Edit Properties dialog check “Use Native Size”. Using the native size for video in particular will improve its performance considerably.
Q) What image formats does Sharetops support?
A) JPEG, PNG and BMP. Note that the library feature does not support BMP
Q) What media formats does Sharetops support?
A) WMV, WMA, MP4 and MP3 (H.264, VC-1, AAC)
Q) How do I customise the look of a text document or RSS feed?
A) Open up the text document or RSS feed then click the Change Look button that is located to the top left hand corner of the windows header. This will open up the Edit Look dialog which you can use to change the look of the window.
Q) How do I add a friend to my friends list?
A) There are a number of ways to add a friend to your friends list, including
- Visit the users Sharetop and select the Add as Friend option from the Sharetops main menu
- Open up the Friends window by selecting the Friend option from the Sharetops main menu. Now click the Add Friend button in the Friends window. This opens up a dialog where you can enter your friends name or email address
Q) How do I add friends to my friends list that are not members of Sharetops?
A) Open up the Friends window by selecting the Friend option from the Sharetops main menu. Now click the Add Friend button in the Friends window. This opens up a dialog where you can enter your friends email address. After you hit the Invite button, your friend will be sent an email asking them to join Sharetops. Your friend will be listed in the pending section of your friends list by their email address. Once your friend joins Sharetops the email address will be replaced with your friend’s user name
Q) How do I confirm someone as a friend?
A) Open up the Friend window by selecting Friends from the Sharetops main menu. Click the Pending tab to view all pending friend requests. Now click the confirm smiley button to confirm the friend
Q) How do I view a friend’s profile?
A) The easiest way is to open up the Friends window, locate your friend and click the small view profile button next to their name. Alternatively, you can visit their Sharetop and click “My Profile”
Q) How do I send a message to a friend?
A) Open up the Friend window by selecting Friends from the Sharetops main menu. Click the “Send Message” button located to the left of your friends name. A chat window will open where you can type messages to your friend
Q) How do I send a desktop item to a friend?
A) Open up the Friend window by selecting Friends from the Sharetops main menu. Select a friend that you would like to send a link to. Now hover over the link you want to send and click the central “Send To Friend” button. A chat window will open showing the link you sent to your friend.
Q) How do I clear the chat history?
A) To the upper right hand corner of the chat window you will see a number of buttons. Click the “Clear the chat window” button to clear the chat history
Q) How do I save the chat history?
A) To the upper right hand corner of the chat window you will see a number of buttons. Click the “Save the chat to disk” button to save the chat history to your hard drive
Q) I received a message with an attachment, how do I open it?
A) When you receive an attachment a red message will appear saying “Attachment: Click here to see”. Click the grey area to expand the attachment box, this will show the attachment that was sent to you. If you click on the attachment then you will be asked if you want to add the attachment to your desktop.
Q) How do I add a Sharetop to my favourites?
A) There are two ways to add a Sharetop to your favourites list:
- Visit the Sharetop that you want to add and select the “Add to Favourites” option from the Sharetops main menu
- Open up the Favourites window by selecting Favourites from the Sharetops main menu then click the “Add favourite” button. A dialog will pop open asking you to enter the name of the Sharetop that you want to add (this is the Sharetop’s owner name). Enter the name then click Add, the Sharetop will now be added to your favourites
Q) What is the History window for?
A) The history window keeps track of most of the things you do whilst in your Sharetop. It also displays warnings and errors
Q) Is it possible to submit my Sharetops to a search engine such as Google?
A) Yes, when Sharetops generates your page it fills in the Meta information of the page with the information you provided in the Sharetops info section of the Sharetops settings. The URL that you need submit to the search engine will be http://www.sharetops.com/Desktop.aspx?MyUserName. Simply replace “MyUserName” with your user name
Q) What is Silverlight and why do I need it?
A) Silverlight is a cross-browser, cross-platform and cross-device browser plug-in that helps companies design, develop and deliver applications and experiences on the Web. A free download that installs in seconds, Silverlight enables a new class of rich, secure and scalable cross-platform experiences. You can find out more about
Silverlight hereQ) Who can see my profile?
A) All users on the web can potentially see your profile, so you should only add information that you don’t mind other users knowing
Q) Who can see my profile?
A) All users on the web can potentially see your profile, so you should only add information that you don’t mind other users knowing
Q) What does the Greet option in my profile do?
A) if you have this option enabled then visitors to your Sharetop will be shown your profile when they visit