Suggestion for dragster/dropzone like dock menu

Question

I'd like to create a dragster/dropzone like dock menu. Looks a bit like a stack with a nsview in it.

After a lot if documentation searching and googling I've found a way to determine a dock icon's location. (http://cocoadev.com/forums/comments.php?DiscussionID=1431)

Is nzbdrop creating a view which just looks like an stack to display it's menu or is there a better way of creating this?

Additional info: I'm not looking for the drop like functionality just the nice way the DropBox window is displayed as an bubble/stack menu on top of it's app icon.

Answer 1

Not exactly sure I understand your question but the Dragster and Dropzone apps clearly work something like this:

1. They have an application icon in the dock.
2. They respond to a drop request in the standard fashion.
3. Upon receiving a drop request, they open an application window above the dock which also accepts a drop request.
4. According to the link you provided, they use the accessibility API to locate their dock icon so they can open the application window above the dock icon.

The window is just a standard application window although most likely modal and floating (like a help window.) It can have any appearance you wish.

Answer 2

For anyone wanting to create something similar; Matt Gemmell created a nice solution for this called MAAttachedWindow:

http://mattgemmell.com/source