Windows 7 - ShellFolderFix - Manage folder window positions/size

I am a graduate student at CSUF and for the past year I have been spending 5 to 15 minutes rearranging my desktop each time I log on.

I have searched & searched for a solution - Even got a hotfix from Microsoft - No Go

This was such an easy fix and I'll thank you every time I hit that power button.

Hi y'all,
The application is brilliant and I really can't live without it, however I don't like the fact that at System Startup, the Options Window always appears, so I have to close it everytime. I've tried creating a shortcut with the Run Minimized option and modifying the "Target" command line with -hide as a switch (I don't even know what that is supposed to do!) but no luck. Oddly, if I close the program and restart it, the Options Window doesn't appear. It only happens at System Startup. The other odd thing is that when I use MSCONFIG, the program appears twice, but then deleting it from the Start Menu, Programs, Startup (once), makes both entries disappear.
Any ideas and education on these points will be gratefully appreciiated.
Regards from tedgrant2 of u2b fame.

I had a couple of quirks occuring like that too, so I deleted the application folder. Downloaded a fresh copy and reinstalled it.
Has worked perfectly since.

<shrugs>

I've been using this for a long time and I still appreciate you adding the "disable state recording" option. This allows me to set up my explorer windows for each drive (I have 6) just where I want them and have them always open in the same location each time. However.........

Ever since you added this, there are rare instances where the saved location of a window changes, even though I have the "disable state recording" checked. For example, I have my D: drive explorer window set up to the bottom right corner of the display. It almost always opens there, even if I have moved it around the screen and closed it in a different location. But, on rare instances, it will re-open in the last location I closed it, without using the control key to save the state. Somehow it's saved location gets changed without me doing it.

It has happened several times in the last few days, which prompted me to write this. I am trying to duplicate the problem, on demand, but have not had any luck so far. When I do figure out the circumstances that cause it, I will post here.

Any ideas where I should look for the cause?

Thanks

There have been a few occasions where someone gets a window that always opens on startup. I still don't know why that would happen. I know I've read about some general windows issue, on some windows versions, where a folder insisted coming pu on startup, but so far I can't think of any rational explaination why it would happen with SFF.

I don't know off hand why that might be happening, I'll have to see if I can find something. The only intended way that the state is updated when recording is disabled, is if "Enable control key modifier to record" is enabled and control is pressed.

Open a windows explorer window using this shortcut:

"C:\Windows\explorer.exe d:\, /e"

The window opens in the correct, saved position. Open a second window, using the same shortcut. The OS, or you, place the second window slightly below and to the right of the first window. Close both windows. Re-open a window using the same shortcut.

It opens in the slightly right/lower position, not the original saved position. The slightly right and lower position has become the new default.

Right now this is happening with all my shortcuts to system drives.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Ken

Minor update. The above happens on more than one computer and even if I have the "disable state recording" and the control key override turned off, the "new" window position is still saved. This is a persistent save, updating the on disk database across system boots......

Great program!

Two questions -

First, is there a way to clear the database of folder size/positions, and start over? I did not see anything about this in the readme.

If not, I think it would be useful to have a way to make ShellFolderFix forget windows.

Like the Workspaces dialog, it could show the current database, and you could highlight an entry (or several) and "Forget it" to remove it from the database. (This dialog could also be another way of opening folders... highlight 1 or more and click "Open these".)

The only way I can see how to do this now, would be uninstalling and reinstalling, or maybe setting the database size to 1 and then back to 500. I've been playing with ShellFolderFix and moved around lots of folders to test, but now I want to start over and use "Disable State Recording" and selectively record just a few specific folders.

Second - is there a way to make ShellFolderFix open up a Workspace on startup?
I don't think I'd use the "Restore previous at login", as I usually close everything before shutting down by habit, but I would like an option in the Workspaces dialog to "Open this workspace at startup". Right now I'm just putting shortcuts to these folders in my Windows Startup, but it seems more logical to have ShellFolderFix do it.

Anyway, great program! I don't think I could stand using Windows 7 without it. Thank you!

Hopefully this isn't too off-topic - I figure anyone reading this thread is after the same thing I am...

I've been putting off making the switch from XP to Windows 7 for a while now. ShellFolderFix is terrific - it looks like I'll be able to continue using Windows the way I've been for the last 15+ years!

I'm wondering if there are any other utilities that "restore the basic functionality of Windows XP"? Besides ShellFolderFix, I know of two more, am I missing any?

Classic Shell, Welcome to Classic Shell
Not just a clone of the XP start menu, it also comes with "Classic Explorer" that provides massive tweaks. There is a tiny bit of overlap with ShellFolderFix, both programs allow you to show window titles/icons in Areo.

7 Taskbar Tweaker, 7 Taskbar Tweaker - RaMMicHaeL's home page
You can prevent grouping in the taskbar, so the order is like it was on XP. Lots of other great tweaks.

It's sad that I have to run 3 programs to get Windows 7 to act like XP - Why aren't these just registry entries? Anyway, thanks again tweaker, and everyone else working to fix these things!

shellfolderfix alllows closing of other windows explorer windows while the copy window continues.

in XP, the copy process was separated from other windows explorer windows

try this:
1. winkey-E x10, create 10x windows explorer windows
2. copy a large file to USB flash drive
3. close group of windows explorer windows; right click on tab & select <close group>

compare vista & 7 with XP.

one good thing about vista & 7 is that speed is shown.
in OSX & XP, only time remaining is shown.

at least with win 7 SP1, cancelling of copy to USB flash doesn't take as long as original copy would have taken.
eg.
1. copy large file to USB flash (2GB)
2. wait for 30 secs
3. click <cancel>

try this out in vista sp2 & Windows 7 unpatched
now try with XP & win 7 sp1

here are some results:
http://www.editgrid.com/user/g4qber/...ncel_vista_jim