Context menu (right click menu) Icons missing in Basic Theme

[jetspeedz]

I've exhausted all my options and spend weeks looking and trying different solutions.

If I disable Theme and Desktop Window Manager Session Manager than I can no longer use Aero themes which is fine b/c I only use classic Basic theme anyway and I prefer this over Aero.

Problem is when I right click on a folder, programs like Eset smart security, Beyond Compare and others icons are missing next to the text. If i turn on the services and go to Aero theme the icons show up.

If i leave the services on and go to classic Basic theme the icons are still missing.

Why does windows 7 behave this way and what is the smoking gun? Yes i have already refreshed icon cache, tested the shellview and menu view apps and many others, none of it works.

Any suggestions is welcome. thanks

 

[Anak]

Have you seen this? The discussion centers on Beyond Compare icons, but other icons could also be impacted. The two services redraw their icons differently so one fellow (Aaron) is working with his DPI, with some success. DPI Display Size Settings - Change

I found the above when I looked here.

 

[jetspeedz]

Yep seen those and if you read through the threads you can see the solution is not resolved.

 

[Anak]

I was afraid of that (you already saw the link), I read only page 4 of the first link.

This seems too simple; Have you gone into: Personalization >Change Desktop Icons near the top of the left panel then clear the "Allow themes to change desktop icons" box >Click Apply and OK. I would restart your system to make sure the setting change is acknowledged.

I say simple because it's designed to only work for system or custom desktop icons but it may have a corresponding affect on context menu icons as it's also part of the "system". Looking at this one way is, the icon's your concerned about are "custom".

 

[jetspeedz]

Yes, I have tried that as well with no luck. It is really a baffling issue. Something with Aero is causing these icons to show up and its not just Beyond Compare and Eset but others as well.

I think I'm just going to have to live with this for now. Thanks for your suggestions.

 

[Anak]

You're welcome,

I'm thinking this may be fixed with modifying an existing registry key or adding a new registry key but I haven't run across a road-map yet, then again if its hard coded that basic and aero act this way you may have to live with this.

The only reason I can see that basic won't reveal the icons, is when you are in basic the OS thinks you chose that because you don't want anything "fancy" like associated icons to represent their context menu items.

Let me ask around and see if anyone else has come across this and if it's fixable or permanent.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Hello and it might be worth trying a disable of the Eset while you are having a go with some of Anaks suggestions mate.

I am not sure this will work just a gut feeling and something I would try and you don't need to be hooked up to the net while you do it if malware is a worry to you. .

 

[ethel]

Hi Everyone, I have been looking all over the tutorials relating to the context menu, I do not know if the

link below is of any help.



Context Menu - Add Shortcuts with Icons

 

[Anak]

Thanks John and ethel,

I've heard of anti-virus overriding some system settings; ethel, your eyes are better than mine, I was looking for something like your link, if anything it shows a rough location and structure of the registry.

I had one myself awhile back, the context menu handler sub-key was empty and I had to enter the value to show it in the menu when in use.

 

[jetspeedz]

thanks guys, I have seen that link and many others, no cure for this as far as I'm concerned. I also tested this with minimal software installed and removed Eset and others but its not just these programs I mentioned. There is something about win7 and the Aero theme which has to do with rendering in the background and how the software developers use the gpu to provide these icons in the context menu. Without the source there is really now way to know.

 

[ethel]

hi jetspeedz, Could you fill out your system specs please?


System Info - See Your System Specs

 

[ICIT2LOL]

hi jetspeedz, Could you fill out your system specs please?


System Info - See Your System Specs

Good spot ethel

 

[ethel]

Hi John, Actually it was Jack who noticed.

 

[torchwood]

Why bother dissabling themes??

You just have to select Basic via personlisation.


Roy

 

[Anak]

It would be helpful if you did have your specs filled in. It may not seem necessary at this time, but there could be conditions with a particular model and / or manufacturer that may be helpful.


Now, I mentioned context menu handlers in a previous post and that got me to thinking about the differences when using a basic or aero theme so I looked up: no icons context menu handler Basic theme , and came across this site: https://Shell Extensions: Basics, Samples, Common problems | www.apriorit.com/dev-blog , you'll have to scroll down to Common problems and their solutions | 1. Overlay icons are not displayed at all because the jump list in the article doesn't work properly.

It explains why the icons won't display; It's because the icons you want are transparent and work when in the aero theme, but not when in basic. The obvious solution would be to create icons that are not transparent and that solution is revealed in #2 Displaying icon with a transparent background in the context menu.

jetspeedz, hopefully this article will give you some insight and it's your call if you want to pursue this, but it looks like it's hard-coded in the program shell extension when invoked, from #2 above Solution: To redraw .ico to .bmp format in the code during extension functioning.. Your problem can be solved but it will involve a lot of work to accomplish, do you know how to code? Coding is above my pay-grade.

My first question is; Can both redraws live peacefully in the same .dll file and one lies dormant while the other theme is in use? I suppose it could be coded in that one is ignored while the other is in use, but if not it seems you'll have to change the .dll file when you change themes.


Related:
Shell Extensions: Basics, Samples, Common theme problems

 

[jetspeedz]

Providing system specs will not solve anything, there is no smoking gun, i have a high powered system. I'm not a novice windows user, and yes I can code.

Anak, I'm using Classic theme not basic, in fact Basic is not even an option when Themes is disabled. Why do I turn off these because I don't care for Aero and on systems with an integrated SOC GPU it is taxing a subsystem of the chipset so there is no gain, on a desktop or an external PMD GPU it is a different story, not here to debate the merits of Aero vs Classic and GPU/CPU offload.

This is all related to Classic theme, also in terms of transparent background issue this is a non issue in Classic as it is not an option. Some context menu icons work and some do not. This is likely due to how the developers are using the GPU rendering options since Aero takes advantage of the GUP over the CPU. Not much can be done but thanks for the effort.

I appreciate your efforts but there is no smoking gun here, I only posted here b/c of the expertise but all the suggestions have been routes I've already gone down to find the same conclusion. Any mod can close this thread.

The solutions, change to Aero themes or adjust the DPI for those who might have similar problems.

cheers