DeskPins for Rust

Faithful Rust reimplementation of DeskPins by Elias Fotinis — make any Windows application always-on-top.

Features (identical to original)

Feature	Detail
System tray icon	Click to enter pin mode; right-click for menu
Pin mode	Cursor becomes a thumbtack; click any window to pin it
Caption pin widget	Small coloured pin drawn beside caption buttons; click to unpin
Toggle hotkey	Global hotkey to toggle pin on the foreground window
Auto-pin	Monitor new windows and pin those matching title/class rules
Options dialog	Pins · Auto-Pin · Hotkeys tabs, registry persistence
VCL / proxy mode	Tracks hidden-root and VCL apps correctly
Single instance	Second launch brings the running instance to the front

Architecture (mirrors original exactly)

Rust module	C++ original	Responsibility
main.rs	deskpins.cpp	Entry point, message loop, single-instance
mainwnd.rs	mainwnd.cpp	EFDeskPins hidden window, tray, commands
layer_wnd.rs	pinlayerwnd.cpp	EFPinLayerWnd transparent capture window
pin_wnd.rs	pinwnd.cpp	EFPinWnd caption pin widget + timer tracking
pin_shape.rs	pinshape.cpp	GDI pin bitmap + shaped-window region
options.rs	options.h/cpp	Registry load/save, hotkeys, autopin rules
autopin.rs	apputils.cpp	SetWinEventHook window-creation monitor
opts_dlg.rs	optionsdlg.cpp+tabs	Options dialog (tabbed, in-memory Win32)
tray.rs	trayicon.cpp	Shell_NotifyIconW wrapper
app.rs	app.h	Global AppState in thread_local!

Build

# requires Rust + MSVC toolchain
cargo build --release --target x86_64-pc-windows-msvc
# output: target\release\deskpins.exe

Usage

1. Run deskpins.exe — pin icon appears in the system tray.
2. Left-click tray → enter pin mode (cursor becomes thumbtack).
3. Click any window → pinned on top; small pin appears in caption.
4. Click the pin → unpin.
5. Right-click tray → New Pin / Remove All / Options / About / Exit.

Differences from original

Area	Original	This port
Language	C++ / Boost / eflib	Pure Rust, windows crate only
Resources	.ico, .cur, .bmp files	All drawn at runtime with GDI
Options UI	Full property-sheet with Boost.Foreach	Handcrafted Win32 tab dialog
Help system	.chm file	README only
Auto-pin rules UI	Full list editor	Persisted; UI shows placeholder