New Version of ExplorerPatcher

New Version 38.2 is out. When installed my taskbar recycle bin disappeared, had to re do it as it's a toolbar... Back now

Quick launch toolbar gone too. Had to re add. It was expected though.

• Taskbar toolbar layouts are preserved when switching between Windows 10 and Windows 11 taskbars and in general (these will be reset when installing this update but should be subsequently remembered) (#395) (.2)

Updated to 38.2.. no problems

It fixed my gearwheel problem.

There has been a lot of pre-releases for the past few days. I didn't realize it until earlier today when I saw there was 50+ releases. Now it's at 52.
Last release version was 38.2 Pre-release is at 38.9 With 38.9 there is an option: update to pre-releases when checking for updates.
You can see the pre-releases when you click releases.

38.9
A detailed change log is available here.
An archive containing all the files generated during the build process (including dxgi.dll and symbol files) is available here.

@Eric Shun Hi Eric, I just got the latest stable release .39.1 all working well

There is a fix whilst waiting for a new version that works for some, I posted elsewhere on the forum

@Eric Shun I never noticed there were so many pre releases of EP I would have tried one if I had realised, Afterall it may have worked

The-Hive said:

@Eric Shun I never noticed there were so many pre releases of EP I would have tried one if I had realised, Afterall it may hav

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Me either. I thought he was getting tired of developing this app. Seen a post that he said he had been working non stop on this for months.
When I seen that release number hit 50, I was like wait a minute. I knew it was in the 40s.
I will test all them. I can restore my 11 partition in 1m 11s in cast of emergency. The backup now takes 29s.

Eric Shun said:

Me either. I thought he was getting tired of developing this app. Seen a post that he said he had been working non stop on this for months.
When I seen that release number hit 50, I was like wait a minute. I knew it was in the 40s.
I will test all them. I can restore my 11 partition in 1m 11s in cast of emergency. The backup now takes 29s.

Click to expand...

I was a bit worried when I thought he was getting fed up and may stop. I think the best alternative at the moment is Winaero Tweaker if you just want an "old style" taskbar, still needs a few tweaks to get all the icons etc.. Nowadays I wait until stable versions are released (unless there isn't one) I seem to have lost the will to test everything like i used to do. ( I must be getting old ) btw if you are interested and may all ready know there is a new version of Ultimate Windows Tweaker out aimed at win 11

Eric Shun said:

There has been a lot of pre-releases for the past few days. I didn't realize it until earlier today when I saw there was 50+ releases. Now it's at 52.
Last release version was 38.2 Pre-release is at 38.9 With 38.9 there is an option: update to pre-releases when checking for updates.
You can see the pre-releases when you click releases.

Releases · valinet/ExplorerPatcher

This project aims to enhance the working environment on Windows - valinet/ExplorerPatcher

github.com

38.9
A detailed change log is available here.
An archive containing all the files generated during the build process (including dxgi.dll and symbol files) is available here.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads up, Eric

The-Hive said:

I was a bit worried when I thought he was getting fed up and may stop. I think the best alternative at the moment is Winaero Tweaker if you just want an "old style" taskbar, still needs a few tweaks to get all the icons etc.. Nowadays I wait until stable versions are released (unless there isn't one) I seem to have lost the will to test everything like i used to do. ( I must be getting old ) btw if you are interested and may all ready know there is a new version of Ultimate Windows Tweaker out aimed at win 11

Click to expand...

Yeah, I must admit I pried a little bit on there just to make sure that it wasn't dead just yet... The tweak in Winaero Tweaker, although still better than nothing of course, it doesn't even begin to compare to ExplorerPatcher, as the latter solution not only fixes negative side effects of the former one, but also it adds a few very useful and squarely unique features. Squarely unique, that is, these simply cannot be found elsewhere in any way, shape or form. I am not just referring to all the various System tray customization options such as the ability to choose which flyout or settings window should open when you click on a System Icon, for example. I mean, they too can be useful to me on several occasions. However, since I use the Classic Explorer feature of Open-Shell in concert with Taskbar Toolbars to be able to use custom commands some of which I have made more interactive by using my own scripts plus a few simple tools that I have written in VB, the Window Switcher of ExplorerPatcher has now become the main important feature to me, as I can use it to enhance what's called workflow optimization.

That being said, it baffled me when someone in another thread seemed to suggest that actually using programs instead of worrying about how a menu looks like should be the only important thing, when fact of the matter is that, to me, personally, using programs efficiently is technically materially impossible to achieve if I can't switch between the windows that belong to these programs efficiently. I moved from Windows 10 to 11, not because it looks new. Rather, I did it for the performance upgrade, as my definition of "using programs" also includes using additional programs in order to be able to make better use of other programs. So, this Window Switcher thing is not just another enhancement that is purely cosmetic in nature. Just like people who depend on things like 7+ Taskbar Tweaker rarely are among the type of users whose main concern is the aesthetic "feel" of their taskbar. One simple truth is that having your apps centered on the taskbar causes icons to move when you open another app or you close a window, which causes an undesirable distraction, and, even though it is still possible to change the alignment from centered to left-aligned, it goes to show that Microsoft essentially is clueless about what are basic principles of how to improve on things that are strictly about usability and optimized workflow, as Microsoft seems to have been pretty careless about those most valuable key subjects. That in fact is why I think projects like ExplorerPatcher are very much needed indeed.

39.2 adds a cool feature to double click the taskbar to autohide.
It doesn't work on the quick launch side. I reported it on their discussion thread.
Same thing happened with properties not working on the quick launch bar a few versions ago.

Eric Shun said:

39.2 adds a cool feature to double click the taskbar to autohide.
It doesn't work on the quick launch side. I reported it on their discussion thread.
Same thing happened with properties not working on the quick launch bar a few versions ago.

Click to expand...

For me this feature doesn't work as expected. It just resizes the maximized window and the desktop to reach the edge of the screen, but the taskbar refuses to hide. Maybe it's because I have installed TranslucentTB app from the Microsoft Store. Anyway, I actually prefer it to be like this because now I can make my taskbar fully transparent and be able to see the maximized window through it... it behaves exactly how an overlay should behave.

EDIT: I just found out that it does work as expected after I restore or minimize the maximized window. Also, if I re-maximize the window next, then it just continues to work as expected.

Having some trouble with this autohide now. Seem buggy. Stardock Fences got bugged once. Then the bar stopped autohiding. Rebooted. Stil wouldn't hide. Double clicking on the taskbar would restore a minimized window. Explorer crashed or restarted. Bar started hiding again. IDK. I had the EP console open. Didn't really show anything like a problem.

I think I will wait until it released as a stable build as there are so many minor releases coming out I can't keep up with it.

The-Hive said:

I think I will wait until it released as a stable build as there are so many minor releases coming out I can't keep up with it.

Click to expand...

It skips the pre-releases by default:

@hdmi thats how I got mine set I must admit firstly when I started this thread I never though it would get this big and secondly, whilst all these new features in EP are very good, all I really wanted was a simple windows 10 style taskbar and context menu. I just hope the projects doesn't every get abandoned as there is a lot of work involved in doing the symbol files.

The-Hive said:

@hdmi thats how I got mine set I must admit firstly when I started this thread I never though it would get this big and secondly, whilst all these new features in EP are very good, all I really wanted was a simple windows 10 style taskbar and context menu. I just hope the projects doesn't every get abandoned as there is a lot of work involved in doing the symbol files.

Click to expand...

Same here. IMO all the added features that depend on the symbols should have been already disabled by default, with a small footnote to explain that these could potentially break (if only temporarily, that is) after a Windows update pushes Windows 11 to a new build, and that, therefore, choosing to enable these optional features should be considered "experimental ONLY". I mean, after I had installed the KB5007262 update I had to stare at a blank screen and revert back to the "UndockingDisabled" registry hack, as ExplorerPatcher had fallen flat on its face─which is just an observation of course. But various remarks having been made in the discussions on GitHub, like, KB5007262 is just an "optional" update and ExplorerPatcher is provided "as is" also in addition to the repeated "I'm tired of working on this project all day and most of the night for months" style of response had finally got me worried.

hdmi said:

Same here. IMO all the added features that depend on the symbols should have been already disabled by default, with a small footnote to explain that these could potentially break (if only temporarily, that is) after a Windows update pushes Windows 11 to a new build, and that, therefore, choosing to enable these optional features should be considered "experimental ONLY". I mean, after I had installed the KB5007262 update I had to stare at a blank screen and revert back to the "UndockingDisabled" registry hack, as ExplorerPatcher had fallen flat on its face─which is just an observation of course. But various remarks having been made in the discussions on GitHub, like, KB5007262 is just an "optional" update and ExplorerPatcher is provided "as is" also in addition to the repeated "I'm tired of working on this project all day and most of the night for months" style of response had finally got me worried.

Click to expand...

Got you worried for...?