ANN: Classic Shell 0.9.8 -now with skinnable start menu

[Ivo]

Well, yeah, the problem is that Explorer is running and the DLL can't be uninstalled at the moment because it is in use. Click on Continue first. Then it will tell you that you need to restart. Don't restart (unless you want to), just log off should be enough.

 

[Greg S]

Well, yeah, the problem is that Explorer is running and the DLL can't be uninstalled at the moment because it is in use. Click on Continue first. Then it will tell you that you need to restart. Don't restart (unless you want to), just log off should be enough.

And the purpose of "Try Again" would be what?

 

[Ivo]

"Try again" means check if the DLL is still in use. Imagine if you are uninstalling a Photoshop plugin, and Photoshop is running. You can exit Photoshop and "try again".
In this case it is a bit more difficult because you can't just exit Explorer. You can probably kill it from the Task Manager, "try again", and after the uninstaller is done you can re-run explorer.exe.

 

[Vermaele]

I confirm the latest version 0.9.9 is crashing explorer.exe when either clicking Restart or Shutdown.

This is a serious bug !

 

[cretaceous]

three little requests/comments:

any way you could add an option to show folder sizes ?

when using the folder tree view it only works if it originates from the root drive - so from a shortcut I don't get the '+' symbol next to my folders - is that fixable?

I think the up button should a round blue arrow like the W7 back /forward buttons !
(I think you may have commented on this request before)
I only have 'up' ,'properties' and 'delete' (small) buttons showing, which puts the delete button very close to up button - could you add a spacer of some sort?

 

[Ivo]

I confirm the latest version 0.9.9 is crashing explorer.exe when either clicking Restart or Shutdown.

This is a serious bug !

Yes, it is. I will try to do a patch this weekend. Can you answer these questions please:
1) Does it crash every time?
2) Does it crash if you log off instead of restart?
3) If you've used 0.9.8 before, did it not crash in the same situation?
4) If you exit the start menu first (right-click on the start button, select Exit) and then restart, does it still crash?

BTW, these are questions for everybody experiencing the crashes, not just Vermaele. The more data I get the more likely it is to find the problem.

 

[Ivo]

three little requests/comments:

any way you could add an option to show folder sizes ?

This is not "little" by any means The answer is "no". Folder sizes are very expensive to compute and the status bar is for information that can be accessed quickly. Try showing properties for C:\Windows. It can take 15 seconds to update the full folder size. Would you not mind if Explorer freezes for 15 seconds when you move from one folder to another?

when using the folder tree view it only works if it originates from the root drive - so from a shortcut I don't get the '+' symbol next to my folders - is that fixable?

I have no idea what you are talking about. Is that for Explorer or for the Start Menu? Can you provide more details and a screenshot please?

I think the up button should a round blue arrow like the W7 back /forward buttons !
(I think you may have commented on this request before)

In the latest version 0.9.9 you can provide your own icons for the toolbar. Make one and set it up. I am not an artist and can't help you there.

I only have 'up' ,'properties' and 'delete' (small) buttons showing, which puts the delete button very close to up button - could you add a spacer of some sort?

In the next version there will be an ability to customize the order of the buttons. I don't see why I can't add a separator as well.

 

[Ivo]

Hi, everybody. I made a quick patch that MAY fix the restart problem. You can download it from here:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/classicshell/files/
Look for StartMenuPatch32.zip and StartMenuPatch64.zip in the Version 0.9.9 folder. The first one is for 32-bit Windows and the second is for 64-bit.
To install it:
1) Exit the start menu (right-click on the start button, select Exit)
2) Go to the Classic Shell folder (for example C:\Program Files\Classic Shell)
3) Replace the ClassicStartMenuDLL.dll file with the one from the patch. You may want to rename the original file to keep for later
4) Run ClassicStartMenu.exe
5) Check if restart is working for you. Report your findings here

 

[bamajon1974]

Ivo, regarding addition of copy-to, move-to etc. operations for the Explorer toolbar I inquired about recently, you indicated that there were no such icons readily available. I found a website that offers WinXP and Vista Explorer icons for free, are these the type of icons you are looking for?

glyFX Products : Vista Toolbar Icons and Graphics for Software Developers

Thanks!

 

[Ivo]

The next version (or the next-next, if you count the restart crash hotfix I have to do ASAP) will have a way of adding arbitrary buttons to the toolbar. You have to provide your own icons though.

 

[jerrytom]

Patch worked for me

Since installing the patch, I haven't had any restart problems.

 

[Konst]

Folder sizes are very expensive to compute and the status bar is for information that can be accessed quickly. Try showing properties for C:\Windows. It can take 15 seconds to update the full folder size. Would you not mind if Explorer freezes for 15 seconds when you move from one folder to another?

I also would not like to wait for this all the time. And I don't need the folder size all the time.

So a workaround:
Download and install the freeware program "TreeSize". Then you have in every context menu of every folder the ability to start "TreeSize".

 

[Konst]

I've been able to reproduce the error. From what I can tell, it appears if a Firefox window is left open when pressing the restart button (also some other programs, but not all).

In Windows you have the ability via registry hack to reduce the response time how long Windows will wait to close a still open program whilst shutting down.

Question: Has anybody with this shut down problem used this registry patch ?

 

[cretaceous]

re showing folder sizes I have an i7 so shouldn't be too slow - I was only suggesting the option to be there !

I will investigate Konst's suggestion - thanks

re tree view:
I open a windows explore window -
any directories under 'favourites' do not have a '+' to show the tree view
directories under C drive are fine
is it a windows problem?
(I may be misunderstanding what your option 'Enable classic tree style' should do)

 

[Ivo]

I am only changing the look of the tree - does it use the little triangles like in Vista, or the [+] and [-] buttons like in XP. I am not changing the functionality.

The items under Favorites are "shortcuts". They are not "directories" that can be expanded.

 

[Konst]

any directories under 'favourites' do not have a '+' to show the tree view

Problem is that you have two "Favorites":

1. Internet Explorer favorites.
   They are stored in folder "C:\Users\<user name>\Favorites".
   Can have:
   • Shortcuts to folder
   • Shortcuts to programs
   • Links to internet sites
   • But not subfolders
2. Windows Explorer favorites.
   They are stored in folder "C:\Users\<user name>\Links".
   Can have:
   • Links to internet sites
   • Shortcuts to folder
   • Shortcuts to programs
   • Subfolders

 

[neuneu2000]

First of all, thank you Ivo for everything you've made for us through Classic Shell. It's the big one thing i was looking for, and yet i find it better than any other Classic start menu i've seen because this one keep it simple, compatible with different appearances, clean, still customizable, and free. The list could go on. I've only started to use Seven for one week and this is really the one thing that bothered me to the extreme. I have a lot of aquaintance with the same issue and believe me, now that i tried it, they will hear about this little 2,5 Mb lifesaver!

I'm already enjoying it so far but i'll still look forward to any improvement you add into it.

I'm just having a little issue with the copy UI. Classic explorer is enabled and classic copy UI checked in the settings, i've relogged or even rebooted but it still doesn't show. Any suggestion?

Also, hmm... oh yes, is there a way to remove the "[Organize v] [Share with v] [Burn] [Add into libraries v], etc..." menu bar from windows explorer? (wouldn't mind to get rid of it in "My computer" as well) Or perhaps i should ask that somewhere else?

Thank you again for Classic Shell and thank you in advance for your reply.

 

[Greg S]

Is that when you open an Explorer window for the first time? Does refreshing (press F5) fix the problem? Do you not even see the "5 items selected" text?

If so, you may be experiencing what is described here: http://classicshell.sourceforge.net/faq.html#explorer_status_blank
A workaround for that is coming in the next version 0.9.9. Hopefully it will be available for download this weekend.

Was this supposed to be fixed in the latest release? I'm still experiencing the issue. It only works about every fifth time an explorer window is opened.

 

[Ivo]

First of all, thank you Ivo for everything you've made for us through Classic Shell.

Thanks

I'm just having a little issue with the copy UI. Classic explorer is enabled and classic copy UI checked in the settings, i've relogged or even rebooted but it still doesn't show. Any suggestion?

Please answer these questions for me:
Does it fail for both files and folders?
Are all other Classic Shell features working for you?
What OS are you running? Windows 7, Server 2008 R2, 32-bit, 64-bit? Classic, Basic, Aero?
What is your OS language?
Are you an admin user? What is your UAC setting?
Anything out of the ordinary you can tell me about your system? Like do you have any other shell extensions already installed?

Also, hmm... oh yes, is there a way to remove the "[Organize v] [Share with v] [Burn] [Add into libraries v], etc..." menu bar from windows explorer? (wouldn't mind to get rid of it in "My computer" as well) Or perhaps i should ask that somewhere else?

I don't believe anyone has figured out how to do this. Many have tried though.

 

[Ivo]

Was this supposed to be fixed in the latest release? I'm still experiencing the issue. It only works about every fifth time an explorer window is opened.

Yes, the fix is in. It forces a refresh after the Explorer window is open. But you mentioned that pressing F5 doesn't work for you, so your issue is probably different. I don't know what else to try, because it works for me every single time.