Create, Resize, & Crop Thumbnail Previews in Vista

Welcome!

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Here is what Video in Picture for Vista allows you to do:

  • Watch videos in a "picture in picture" type box. Very useful for online videos where you have lots of content you don't want to be shown while you watch videos.
  • Create live thumbnail previews that stay put. Close them by double-clicking on the preview.
  • Resize the thumbnail previews by dragging the borders.
  • Crop thumbnail previews by holding down the Ctrl key and dragging the borders. Get rid of all that white space around your YouTube videos you watch!
  • Move the previews around and dock them to any edge of the screen.
  • Make the previews stay on top of all other windows.
  • Make the previews transparent, both visually and to input. This means that you can see through the previews and click on items beneath it! Very useful when you want to watch a video while doing other work in another window.
  • Create these special thumbnail previews easily by using a tray icon or even easier, by just minimizing the window!
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Development Status & Download

Download Video in Picture V0.2.9

August 21st, 2008 - This release removes the nagging multi-monitor warning and when the program exits, it will minimize all the target windows in the preview windows instead of showing them. Also, this release was compiled to target the .Net Framework 2.0 instead of .Net Framework 3.0 like in the previous versions. For the end-user, this means that the program will more likely run on Windows computers that don't have the lastest Windows Updates installed.

Confirmed is that Video in Picture 0.2.9 works in both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows computers that can run .Net Framework 2.0 or higher (Windows Vista).


Download Video in Picture V0.2.7

This is a release with many significant changes and bug fixes. Introduced is the ability to create previews by just minimizing your window. Also introduced is a caching function that remembers the size and position of previews that you create. This means that when you close a preview that you have cropped, resized, and positioned, and you create a preview from the same window again, the program will automatically resize and reposition it just like it was before!


Download Video in Picture V0.1.5

This release contains number of bug fixes. From my testing, I have found this version to be very stable and is closed to being finished with the exception of the database component of the program. I have added freeform screen edge and centre docking to the program as an option that should make it much easier to locate previews where you want them.


Download Video in Picture V0.1.2 (Alpha Preview)

Please note that ViP 0.1.2 is quite different from 0.1.1. This release was aimed at stability and bug fixes. Gone is the ability to store target window settings in a database for future use. This will be brought back in either the next release or the one after that. The database functionality was causing problems in 64-bit Vista and may have been the cause of a memory leak. Also, the ability to use keyboard commands to launch the previews have been removed and the functionality has been replaced by the tray icon launcher. There were too many issues with the hooks I was using to capture those commands. This feature will also be brought back at a future date.


Download Video in Picture V0.1.1 (Alpha Preview)

The current version of Video in Picture is 0.1.1. This release is for debugging and to garner feedback from users. Please note that some features have not been implemented and that there are bug fixes required before a full release. However, the major functionality of the program has been coded and I'm currently using ViP 0.1.1 on my desktop to watch YouTube videos while I do other work.

I would like hear from you if you have comments about how I can improve the functionality of the program or if you encountered a major bug. Contact me.

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