The first preview build of the new in-development Desktop+ version is now available.
These builds are supposed give a glimpse into the ongoing development process.
Please note that they are not considered ready for daily use.
While bugs are to be expected and there are a few known issues already, feel free to report anything you find in the NewUI Preview Build bug report thread.
What is Desktop+ NewUI?
Desktop+ NewUI is what eventually will become Desktop+ 3.0.
It comes with a reworked UI, new features and aims to simplify existing concepts while not sacrificing on functionality.
The NewUI Preview Builds are available as a selectable branch on Steam.
Due to numerous changes, settings and profiles from version 2.x builds are not compatible. The preview build will not load or overwrite those existing settings however, so switching branches back and forth is not a problem.
What's new in Desktop+ NewUI Preview 1?
The NewUI branch comes with a revamped UI, replacing the old one entirely. As it is still work-in-progress, this means previously available settings not listed here are not accessible yet. They will return in future builds.
Floating Settings Windows
Application settings and overlay properties are now separate windows which can be dragged around or pinned when you need them to stay in place even after the dashboard is closed.
The color scheme has been adjusted to be slightly brighter and buttons are a bit rounded now.
Translation Support
Text displayed in the UI is now translatable, but this build only comes with an English translation file.
While I'm grateful about any community translation offers and plan to rely on them later on, I wouldn't recommend bothering to start translating anything yet as strings may still change in future builds.
Fully Custom Keyboard
Replacing the SteamVR keyboard and keyboard extension settings to offer something closer to a full PC keyboard.
Layouts and keyboard behavior can configured as needed. Keyboard window can be dragged around and resized too. Pinning keeps it around in-game if needed.
US QWERTY and German QWERTZ are included as layouts in this build. Layout files can be edited by hand, but a small tool to simplify layout creation will likely be available in the future.
Overlay Bar
The new to manage overlays. While creation by duplicating an existing overlay is still available, the primary way to create additional overlays is to select the overlay source from the Add Overlay menu and drag the new overlay directly where desired.
Window Listing Improvements
The list of capturable windows is now updated right when window changes happen and overlay names are adjusted if applicable. Missing windows set to overlays are not yet picked up automatically, but this will be coming in a future build.
More Ways to Create Window Overlays
Window overlays can now be created by pulling a window out by it's title bar (hold left click down + scroll down).
Alternatively, the Floating UI now also contains a button to create an overlay from the currently focused window in case the window has no title bar or is hard to reach.
Auto-Docking
Overlays now automatically dock to controllers when dragged close to them.
Other Changes
- There no longer is a special dashboard overlay. All overlays can have the same settings and the first one can now be removed as well.
- Overlays no longer store separate positions per origin setting and instead convert them to the new origin when switching.
- Cropping can now be toggled off without changing cropping values.
The NewUI Preview branch also includes all changes of the beta branch up until now (v.2.5.3).
How to switch to the NewUI Preview Branch
- Open the properties window for Desktop+ on Steam by either right clicking the list entry or clicking on the cog icon on the application's overview page and selecting Properties.
- Click on Betas
- Select the "newui - Desktop+ NewUI Preview" branch from the drop-down menu
- Desktop+ will now be automatically updated to the latest preview build
I develop Desktop+ in my spare time. Things have certainly not going at the pace I would've preferred to (auto-docking even got implemented in SteamVR's desktop before I got this out), but things are happening. At least you can see for yourself if you want now.