LiteStep v. 0.24.6 documentation

written by the LiteStep Documentation Effort, August 2000
Changes.TXT

  .: introduction   .: configuration   .: installation   .: theme installation   .: theme creation   .: development   .: glossary   .: links  
  .: command   .: desktop   .: hotkey   .: litestep   .: lstime   .: popup   .: shortcut   .: systray   .: taskbar   .: vwm   .: wharf  

How do I find out more about LiteStep?
Since LiteStep has been around so long, there are thousands of people who use the shell today. This huge amount of users have helped to create a community which involves several web sites, a couple mailing lists, and a few IRC channels. This page is intended to point you in the right direction when you're looking to expand your LS knowledge or become more involved in the community.
LiteStep and News
LiteStep.net This is the home to the largest collection of LiteStep themes and screenshots. You will also find some of the most frequently updated news on this site.
LiteStep.com LiteStep.com is a great resource for various LiteStep-related material mostly related to help and documentation.

NOTE: This site is currently WAAAAAAAAAAY out-dated. Expect a come-back soon though

LiteStep2000 LiteStep2000, or LS2k, is one of the best places to get your daily feeding of LiteStep and shell related news.
ShellFront.org ShellFront is a great place to find all those up-to-date news post on all the newest shells.
Desktopian.org This is a top-notch shell/Win32/alt OS/industry news site. This site has been around for a long time. When updated it has some of the best news available, as well as a nicely sized utility and module archive.
Floach.Pimpin.Net Commonly known as FPN, Floach.Pimpin.Net is the original dev site for LiteStep. It has slowly migrated over to a complete news and resource site for many shells.
Mindjunction Although the main focus of this site is to have the most ideas and resources for coders, it also has a nice round-up of coding/shell specific news.
builds.LSDev.org This is the homepage for all Development Builds and is your source for the newest Official LiteStep Releases, both Development and Stable Release.
LSdev@SF This is a page run by rootrider to release all builds that have changes committed to the changes.txt. These builds are EXTREMELY bleading edge and are not approved by the Development Team. However for those wanting only the newest of builds, this is your place.
LiteStep Themes
Think of the most useful and intuitive interface imaginable, and you can probably use LiteStep to create it. These theme sites will help get you started.
LiteStep.net Unquestionably the best place to get LiteStep themes, LS.net has thousands of LiteStep themes and screenshots.
LiteStep.com LiteStep.com has quite a few LiteStep themes as well that go as far back as b24 originals and b23 ports.
Dev Art Deviant Art has come up with a decent sized skin archive in the loss of skinz.org and deskmod. This site does seem to have bandwidth issues almost daily however.
Lots of Skins In the wake of skin site disappearances Lots of Skins has come out of the ground pushing other skin sites around. This site has a large resource base and skinner following and can be the place to find that theme you always wanted.
LiteStep Modules
Part of what makes LiteStep so useful is the huge amount of modules (or plug-ins) that are available. LiteStep only comes shipped with a few modules that perform the basic functions. Here's some sites where you can find some Third-Party Modules.
Modulo Modulo is the official LiteStep module site. Modulo has become a very complete listing of modules, their step.rc commands, and any associated information.
Note: This site is temporarily closed
Floach.Pimpin.Net FPN houses a complete and up-to-date list of LiteStep modules.
ShellFront.org ShellFront has come up with another complete module list for everyone to scarf up. You name it, ShellFront has it.
LiteStep2000 LiteStep2000 is a very good place to stay up-to-date with new module releases or anything coming from a module developer.
Utilities
You will notice as you look at LiteStep themes that there is a lot more to making the "perfect" desktop than just LiteStep itself. Below you will find links to the most common Utilities added into LiteStep themes. You will also find links to Utilities that will make your LiteStep life easier.
NotePad Replacements metapad - Metapad is probably one of the best notepad-like text editors. It is fast to load and its interface is almost exactly the same as Notepad's, but it has those features that you always wished MS had included with Notepad.

Ultra Edit - A very popular text editor, Ultra Edit supports syntax highlighting and has several other cool features. You can get the syntax file for LS' Step.rc at LiteStep2000.

Texturizer - Another popular Notepad replacement that does support syntax highlighting for your step.rc file along with many other text file formats.

Window Skinning Applications Chroma - This software is released by TheMatic software and by far is the most complex Window Skinning Application. This application runs twenty US Dollars and can be purchased from their website.

WindowBlinds - WindowBlinds is a member of StarDock's Object Desktop Enviornment. The WindowBlinds portion can be purchased seperately from their website for twent US Dollars.

TweakUI TweakUI is the Official Microsoft Windows Tweaking Utilitity. You will find hundreds of settings that you can change to enhance the performance of your copy of Microsoft Windows.

Warning: With any kind of tweaking software you must be extremely careful, you may break something you hadn't planned on.

X-Setup X-Setup is one of the most popular tweaking utility for Windows. X-Setup is free, supports plugins, and allows you tweak just about everything in Windows.

Warning: With any kind of tweaking software you must be extremely careful, you may break something you hadn't planned on.

PathCopy Path Copy is a useful utility for LiteStep themers. PathCopy adds two entries to your Windows Explorer context menu when you right-click on files or folders These entries will allow you to copy the long or short version of the path of that file or folder to the clipboard. This will help you as you try and write your step.rc greatly.
eConsole eConsole is a Command Shell replacement that supports Transparency. This application has many uses including straight command line support for DOS junkies or just a way to make a nice IRC Interface when used along with BitchX.
IconPackager IconPackager allows users to create Icon themes so they can be distributed to other users. You will notice that some LiteStep themes come with Icon Packager Packages. Icon Packager costs fifteen United States dollars and is available from the StarDock Systems Website.
K-jofol This application is a smaller and faster alternative to WinAmp. This application is one of the more flexible mp3 players around, however, since r0n has gone to work for nullsoft it is no longer being developed.
NextSTART NextSTART is a powerful, skinnable, and dynamic pop-up menu that can be used as a replacement or supplement to your LiteStep Popup. NextSTART also offers an incredible amount of flexibility so that the user can customize it to his needs and desires. Some of the most powerfull features include a Powerfull Menuing System that automatically creates the popup based on paths you specify, a Task manager, Theme Import and Export capability, Drag and Drop between popup menus, and even more. NextSTART is Shareware and costs twenty american dollars.
Miscellaneous
LSDev This is the official LiteStep Development Team site. This is where all LiteStep Development Team related news will be posted.
builds@lsdev.org This is where you can get all the official dev builds, as well as the current base install. This is where you would go to report bugs to Development Team Members or find the Latest info on LiteStep via the Changes.txt file.
DesktopSource In case you ever wanted to take a look at what makes a Windows Replacement shell you would want to find your way over to DesktopSource. Here you can find the source code to Replacement Shells, Modules, and other cool things.
Mindjunction Formerly called Mindstorm, Mindjunction is the reincarnation of one of the most productive idea sites on the Net. It has expanded to contain ideas for various shells and their plugins/modules. If you have an idea for a module to be coded please go here and submit it. By submitting it here you will have the best chance on getting a module coder to pick it up and do it for you.
Wallpapers These sites were selected by members of the LiteStep Documentation Effort for size and usability. These by far are not the only wallpaper sites out there, nor do they contain the "best" artists out there, just our favorites.

   Digital Blasphemy
   Custom Effects
   Dekonstrukted
   PseudoArt
Icons These sites were selected by members of the LiteStep Documentation Effort for size and usability. These by far are not the only icon sites out there, nor do they contain the "best" artists out there, just our favorites.

   M's Factory
   Copland
   DOT Studio
   CleFFie

Cursors These sites were selected by members of the LiteStep Documentation Effort for size and usability. These by far are not the only cursor sites out there, nor do they contain the "best" artists out there, just our favorites.

   ORBIT
   mWorks Studio
   Eyegix Labs
   NiceBear
Other Tweaking Sites RegEdit.com
removing Win2k's startup screen
TweakFiles.com
Virtual Plastic
Help/Mailing Lists
Contrary to the beliefs of some, the LiteStep Community can be a very helpful group. Check out some of the places listed below to find help with all of your LiteStep related problems.
Floach.Pimpin.Net - Tutorials FPN has become one of the better places to go for help with specific problems you might be having with LiteStep. If you are looking for information on installing or updating LiteStep, or for information that you can't seem to find anywhere else, you'll probably find it on FPN.
ShellFront.org - Tutorials When rootrider left FPN he took all of the things that he had written for FPN with him to ShellFront.org. Since his departure he has updated the FPN Tutorials that he had written and made them an even better resource. This is a must see site for all new users and users having troubles.
LiteStep2000 LiteStep2000 has several short how-to's that should help you get through some problems you might be having with LiteStep. It also has a great modules archive and Message Board.
lscommands.litestep.com A complete list of LiteStep core and 3rd party module commands and what they do.
LS FAQ This is the official LiteStep FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions). It's a great place for new LS users to go if they're having problems with LS.
Note: This site is currently closed.
LiteStep Mailing List This is often the place where news is first announced, where problems are solved, and where the "outsiders" become "insiders". Subscribe to know what's going on in the LiteStep world. There are over 600 people subscribed to this list.
LiteStep STUFF List The LS-STUFF List was created to handle any off-topic emails that would normally be in the LS Mailing List. The list's subscribers consist of some very knowledgable people to help answer your non-LS related questions.
#LiteStep
#LSHelp
#LS2K 		#LiteStep is the biggest most often occupied channel for LiteStep on IRC, but it has also been the worst place to try and find help with LiteStep. #LiteStep is mainly one big chat channel for LS/shell users.
#LSHelp is the best place to find help with LiteStep on irc. The channel exists specifically to help you find the answer to your LS related questions. It's not always as full as #LiteStep, but there is almost always someone willing to help you in #lshelp.

Note: Due to recent issues with the EFnet Network the administrator of the LiteStep Channels has decided to pull support from EFnet. You can now find all of the LiteStep channels on the OpenProjects Network, DalNet, and Undernet. Everyone feels bad about leaving our home on EFnet, but we do need a place where everyone can connect. Hope to see you on one of our new networks soon.
#LS2K is a channel that spawned from the hatred of #LiteStep. The LS elders decided that they wanted a channel to be more like #LiteStep used to be, helpfull and informative. The channel contains some strict rules on content and attitude, but it is a great place to get some great help.

LiteStep Development Team This is your one true source for real answers to your LiteStep problems, however it is your last resort. Many of the problems you will experience with LiteStep have been experienced by everyone else.

This goes right to all the members of the Development Team and should contain a breif description of the problem, release version/date, running modules, and any applicable external applications.

The Development Team is a very busy group of people so please send only legitimate bugs/problems on development releases to this address as a last resort.