ShellFolderFix - Manage folder window positions/size

[tweaker]

Wow Tweaker, this is turning into a real xpfier project from what I see here.

My personal goal was getting it as close as possible to the way I have w2k configured, so I hope there will be more tweaks along the way . I don't mind feature requests since there's no harm in asking, I can't make any promises of course. Some of your requests are already on my todo list, I've added the others. I'm not sure how possible any of them are, within the scope of this app, so I can't make any guesses yet.

 

[hackerman1]

hi !

tweaker: i´m sorry to report that it doesn´t work as it should with W7-32.
it´s the "last closed window-position" as before, could you please write a "user manual" ?
because i don´t understand how it´s supposed to be used.

 

[tweaker]

There really isn't much more to write about than what the tooltips say. If it works like it's supposed to, then you just have to start the program and it should remember the size and position of your folder windows.

It's possible that you're experiencing the same problem as the poster above, where it seemed like the program isn't aware of any windows being open. You can see if that is the case by having one or more folders open and then click the "Init Folder Defaults" button in ShellFolderFix. If it says no folders are open, or if the list shown doesn't contain all open folders, then it's indeed the same problem.

You could try that, and let me know how it goes. If that's the problem, I'll put up a new version with some additional error messages to try to figure out what's happening.

 

[macattack]

Thanks

This app was briefly discussed in this thread, towards the end somewhere.

It's basically an app to make win7 explorer folder windows remember their size and position. It has a couple of additional features too, and hopefully some more later on. It does NOT manage window size/positions of regular applications, if you want that, other apps like Window Manager do it. Allthough I haven't tried it, in theory it should work to run Window Manager simultaneously, if it's configured to ignore folder windows (found as "CabinetWClass"). I'd strongly recommend configuring WM to ignore them, or disable WM, before running ShellFolderFix, to avoid any potential "fighting" between the two apps.


Important to note is that this is the first public test release, so there may be bugs and issues when running on a wider variety of systems. On that note it might be a good idea to try it a little while first before enabling the auto-start feature, just to make sure it basic functionality works as intended.

Even more important to note is that the 32-bit version is completely untested, as I don't have any 32-bit install at hand. Reports on how it behaves would be welcome.


Packages available are non-installer versions (zipped) and a unified installer that should work on both 32- and 64-bit systems. When using the installer to upgrade from a previous version, it's good practice to exit any currently running ShellFolderFix before starting the installer, to reduce chances of needing a reboot.


Current release 1.0.2:

Tweaker, many thanks for your efforts on this App. This will help me enormously in everyday use. I appreciate your hard work and admire your patience in this forum. Mac

 

[tweaker]

New version is available.

Added some error handling to detect failed initialization of event handlers etc.. If you're up to it hackerman1 (or viperrr13), you can try it and see if you get any error.

A new feature was also added. Every once in a while it happens that I open a folder somewhere deeper down in the directory tree, do something, then close it because I'm done. Only to realize 10 seconds later I wasn't finished after all. It just happened today again, which prompted me to add a Recently Used Folders list, optional of course.

Tweaker, many thanks for your efforts on this App. This will help me enormously in everyday use.

Happy to help. Seeing how 7 was driving me insane, it would've been silly to risk other people's health and keep it to myself

 

[macattack]

You are right ! It was driving me insane constantly re-sizing & re-positioning folders. I have downloaded 1.3 now. Thanks again. I will spread the word on the various sites I go to about this very handy App.

 

[BigDog]

Hi All...
When I run it I get:
Failure to initialize. (error:00000593)

 

[tweaker]

Interesting. It fails to register the event handler it uses to track windows. Could you please specify if you were using the 32 or 64-bit version (and maybe also which win7 version/build)?

 

[tweaker]

There's a new build up with a hotfix for the 32-bit version. 64-bit users don't have to upggrade as nothing changed.

All previous 32-bit versions failed to initialize an event handler, event those versions where the app started without displaying an error. This resulted the app not being able to track folder windows. The reason was that a dll symbol name was different in 32-bit bit builds.

 

[hackerman1]

hi !

tried 1.0.3, "Failure to initialize. (error:00000593)"

just saw your post above, downloading 1.0.4...

btw, why don´t you install w7-32 on your own PC, wouldn´t it be much easier to debug ?

W7 Enterprise is available on Technet, (90-day trial) if you want it.

 

[hackerman1]

hi !

1.0.4 seems to work !
i just made a few tests, noticed one (minor) problem, if i open a second window partially on top of another, the first window below is bleeding through.

but, i´m not sure if it as anything to do with your application.

you don´t need 16-20GB HD-space for W7, i have installed it on a much smaller partition,
if i remember correctly, it was 6 or 7GB.

i don´t know the absolute minimum for Enterprise, but 10 GB should be enough, just for testing your app.

16-20GB is recommended for a normal installation, where you also have other programs on the same partition.

 

[tweaker]

1.0.4 seems to work !
i just made a few tests, noticed one (minor) problem, if i open a second window partially on top of another, the first window below is bleeding through.

but, i´m not sure if it as anything to do with your application.

Just tested it, as luck would have it, since VirtualBox doesn't not support all those fancy Aero things, I ended up with the basic theme. I hadn't tried that before, only Classic and Aero which both work. Yes there are some redraw problems with that theme on both 32- and 64-bit. I assume you're using one of the basic themes (or have transparency effects disabled)?

Not sure if you're having the same issues that I saw, but they seemed to related to the window frame, not the interior. The frame/border not getting redrawn and instead showed parts of the window below.

I'll test some more tomorrow and see if I can figure out why.

 

[hackerman1]

hi !

tweaker: yes i´only have the basic theme.
no, if i remember correctly it was the window below that leaked, not just the border/frame.
but i will make some more tests later tonight when i get home, i´m at the university right now.

 

[Mark]

Please keep this thread on topic and your opinions to yourselves, if Tweaker has a problem with a request I am sure he he man enough to voice his own opinions.

 

[tweaker]

Another version up, yet again. Fixes a minor issue with correctly reading the Recently Used Folders setting from registry.

The other fix, is for those using the Basic theme (or non-transparant Aero, which from what I can see is the same as Basic). If you're experiencing redraw bugs with that theme, try enabling the redraw fix option and see if that helps.

tweaker: yes i´only have the basic theme.
no, if i remember correctly it was the window below that leaked, not just the border/frame.
but i will make some more tests later tonight when i get home, i´m at the university right now.

I tried some more today while searching for a fix, and for me I only had the redraw bug on the frames. Maybe the performance of the computer makes the bug appear differently due to timing differences, so you could try the new version and enable the redraw fix.

 

[bobbyinpa]

Thank you thank you thank you. This is the best 3rd party software install I have found yet. Simple to install, almost no need to do anything. I wish you a Merry Christmas and know that you have helped someone today.

 

[tweaker]

Added a new function to save and restore positions of desktop icons.

 

[macattack]

Added a new function to save and restore positions of desktop icons.

Excellent, This just gets better all the time. Thanks again for all your efforts.

 

[smalkov]

layout restoration

Great job, Tweaker!
As I always use many folders in my regular activities, the default Windows 7 behavior was painful enough to consider the change back to XP. I find the fix extremely useful. Thanks.

One suggestion: Can you implement the restoration of folder windows layout as well?

When opening some regularly used folders, I do not need navigation panel nor details panel. However, when browsing a complex folder hierarchy, I definitely need the navigation panel. It is frustrating to show/hide the panels each time. As I can see, the View option is restored correctly.

Thanks, again.

 

[tweaker]

One suggestion: Can you implement the restoration of folder windows layout as well?

I would have if it were possible in some normal way, I also want it to save the per folder view layout. I'll continue to look if I can find some "hack" to solve this, but I don't know whether that will succeed or not. There's also the hope that maybe MS will re-add the functionality.


Note: It doesn't restore the View option, if it seems to do that, it's actually Windows itself. I also noticed that in some cases it seems like it remembers, I'm guessing that has something to do with the different templates or something.