New Version of ExplorerPatcher

ExplorerPatcher 22631.5335.68.2 Pre-release ​

Tested on OS builds 22621.3296, 22631.5189, 22631.5335, 26100.3476, 26100.4061, and 26100.4188.

1​

• Start10: Fixed Pin to Start on 226x1.4541+ and 261xx.2454+. (#3984) (4ef3667, 123ea8b)
• sws: Added support for 24H2. (#3765)
• ep_dwm: Added support for 24H2. (#3555)
• ep_dwm.exe has been renamed to ep_dwm_svc.exe to get around 24H2 upgrade blocks. (115b462)
• ep_dwm: Now always unregistered on uninstallation, regardless of whether it was running during the uninstallation or not. (858b634)
• Setup: The failure message now displays the associated code line number that failed, to assist in troubleshooting. (c64a17e)
• Taskbar10: Fixed disabling immersive menus on ARM64. (8b4d8db)
• Taskbar10: Fixed Win+X menu still having Windows Terminal entries when Windows Terminal is not installed, that crashes Explorer when selected. (1b20cbd, 207f669)
  • For now, if you want to have PowerShell entries, Windows Terminal must be uninstalled.
• Taskbar10: Fixed Win+X entry clicks doing nothing on 26xxx.5551+ ARM64.
• GUI: Added dropdown indicators to dropdown entries. (9f71a5c)
• GUI: The language names now include the country name. (3f11766)
• Localization: Added Czech translations. (Thanks @9hb, @andrewz1986, and @Panzimy!)
• Localization: Added Spanish (Spain) translations. (Thanks @AlejandroMartiGisbert!)
• ep_taskbar: Added support for "Show desktop button: Hidden" setting. (#4020) (1be6658)
• ep_taskbar: Fixed a bug that prevented shortcut global hotkeys from working on 24H2. (#3777, #4016)
• ep_taskbar: Fixed a bug that prevented the taskbar from resizing properly after DPI changes. (#3796)
• ep_taskbar: Added the following languages: German, French, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Korean, Lithuanian, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Romanian, Spanish (Spain), Turkish, Ukrainian, Chinese (Simplified).
• ep_taskbar: Fixed a number of memory leaks and code/behavior inaccuracies.

2​

• ep_taskbar: Fixed incompatibility with 26200.5603 (Dev), 26120.4151 (Beta), and 26100.4188 (Release Preview). (#4321)
• ep_taskbar: Now supports all Windows 10 versions supported by EP (17763/1809+). (aec8c70, 1edb989)

Please consult the README for more details.
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.

This release has been published automatically from commits up to and including 72c6983 in branch master.


Releases · valinet/ExplorerPatcher

ExplorerPatcher 26100.4946.69.1 Pre-release

Tested on OS builds 26100.4946, 26100.5074, and 26200.5751

ep_weather: Fixed "Unable to load weather information" due to changes in Google's side. Thanks @davids5 for the fix! (#1334, #4351) (c3c83ff)
Start11: Fixed hiding of Recommended Section on recent builds of 24H2. Thanks @m-wigley for the fix! (#4476) (9106226)
GUI: File Explorer > Title bar is now available again on >= 22H2. Thanks @SandTechStuff! (583fa53)
Reduced the occurrences of the Windows 11 bug in Explorer windows where WM_SETTINGCHANGE would scroll the folder items list to the top. (fa19402)
Changed hooking library to SlimDetours. (ff30457)
On ARM64, fixes incompatibilities with certain Windhawk mods that hook CreateWindowExW such as Taskbar Volume Control.
On ARM64, fixes a very slim chance bug where hooked functions would cause a crash when called until a reboot.
ep_taskbar: Now statically links to private functions it uses. (ab99f26)
Taskbar10: Fixed folder toolbar menus and Toolbars > New toolbar not working on builds with TrayThreadBSTA (54481602) feature flag turned on, such as 26100.5074+. (#4542) (1bbe207)
GUI: Windows 8 Network flyout is now no longer an option on builds >= 25346 as van.dll was removed. Thanks @m-wigley for the fix! (#4478) (72c6983)
On Windows 11 22H2+, Windows 10 (ExplorerPatcher) taskbar a.k.a. ep_taskbar is now used by default. (ad2fa72)

Known issues we will address in the short term:

Due to Google changing weather icons, for now the icons do not appear in the weather button. (#4545)
Shrink address bar height results in unexpected dimensions on recent 24H2 builds.
When the new Windows 11 Start menu feature flag is enabled, Windows 10 Start menu will refuse to open due to an internal change.

ExplorerPatcher 26100.4946.69.2 Pre-release

Tested on OS builds 26100.4946, 26100.5074, and 26200.5751.

• ep_weather: Fixed "Unable to load weather information" due to changes in Google's side. Thanks @davids5 for the fix! (#1334, #4351) (c3c83ff)
• Start11: Fixed hiding of Recommended Section on recent builds of 24H2. Thanks @m-wigley for the fix! (#4476) (9106226)
• GUI: File Explorer > Title bar is now available again on >= 22H2. Thanks @SandTechStuff! (583fa53)
• Reduced the occurrences of the Windows 11 bug in Explorer windows where WM_SETTINGCHANGE would scroll the folder items list to the top. (fa19402)
• Changed hooking library to SlimDetours. (ff30457)
  • On ARM64, fixes incompatibilities with certain Windhawk mods that hook CreateWindowExW such as Taskbar Volume Control.
  • On ARM64, fixes a very slim chance bug where hooked functions would cause a crash when called until a reboot.
• ep_taskbar: Now statically links to private functions it uses. (ab99f26)
• Taskbar10: Fixed folder toolbar menus and Toolbars > New toolbar not working on builds with TrayThreadBSTA (54481602) feature flag turned on, such as 26100.5074+. (#4542) (1bbe207)
• GUI: Windows 8 Network flyout is now no longer an option on builds >= 25346 as van.dll was removed. Thanks @m-wigley for the fix! (#4478) (72c6983)
• On Windows 11 22H2+, Windows 10 (ExplorerPatcher) taskbar a.k.a. ep_taskbar is now used by default. (ad2fa72
• Fixed weather button not having an icon. (#4545) (6959c69)

Known issues we will address in the short term:

• Changing weather icon pack to "Microsoft" has no effect.
• Shrink address bar height results in unexpected dimensions on recent 24H2 builds.
• When the new Windows 11 Start menu feature flag is enabled, Windows 10 Start menu will refuse to open due to an internal change.

ExplorerPatcher 26100.4946.69.3 Pre-release
Tested on OS builds 26100.4946, 26100.5074, 26200.5751, and 26220.6682.

1​

• ep_weather: Fixed "Unable to load weather information" due to changes in Google's side. Thanks @davids5 for the fix! (#1334, #4351) (c3c83ff)
• Start11: Fixed hiding of Recommended Section on recent builds of 24H2. Thanks @m-wigley for the fix! (#4476) (9106226)
• GUI: File Explorer > Title bar is now available again on >= 22H2. Thanks @SandTechStuff! (583fa53)
• Reduced the occurrences of the Windows 11 bug in Explorer windows where WM_SETTINGCHANGE would scroll the folder items list to the top. (fa19402)
• Changed hooking library to SlimDetours. (ff30457)
  • On ARM64, fixes incompatibilities with certain Windhawk mods that hook CreateWindowExW such as Taskbar Volume Control.
  • On ARM64, fixes a very slim chance bug where hooked functions would cause a crash when called until a reboot.
• ep_taskbar: Now statically links to private functions it uses. (ab99f26)
• Taskbar10: Fixed folder toolbar menus and Toolbars > New toolbar not working on builds with TrayThreadBSTA (54481602) feature flag turned on, such as 26100.5074+. (#4542) (1bbe207)
• GUI: Windows 8 Network flyout is now no longer an option on builds >= 25346 as van.dll was removed. Thanks @m-wigley for the fix! (#4478) (72c6983)
• On Windows 11 22H2+, Windows 10 (ExplorerPatcher) taskbar a.k.a. ep_taskbar is now used by default. (ad2fa72)

2​

• Fixed weather button not having an icon. (#4545) (6959c69)
  • You may need to perform "Clear weather widget local data" in EP properties > Weather.

3​

• File Explorer: Fixed "Shrink address bar height" resulting in broken graphics on recent 24H2 builds. (#4552) (6d946bd)
• Start10: Fixed open/close animation patching on x64 27938+ and ARM64 27881+. (201a7e5, 79f8dd3, f873888, 465117e, 4434d10)
• Start10: Fixed Windows 10 Start menu refusing to open when the new Windows 11 Start menu feature flag(s) are enabled. (#4523) (afd109f)
• Fixed Windows 10 Alt+Tab and Windows 10 taskbar Win+X functionality on ARM64 226x1 and 27686+. (18dfcd0)

Known issues we will address in the short term:

• Changing weather icon pack to "Microsoft" has no effect.
• On Nickel (Windows 11 22H2/23H2), when the new Windows 11 Start menu is enabled, using Windows 10 or Windows 10 (ExplorerPatcher) taskbar will crashloop explorer.exe.

Please consult the README for more details.
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.

My ExplorerPatcher guide to Windows 11 Taskbar Toolbars


This is my advice about using ExplorerPatcher to get back Taskbar Toolbars in Windows 11. I've posted this advice because I could not find anywhere that told the whole story. I will welcome suggestions for improvement to what I've written concerning getting the Taskbar Toolbars back.

ExplorerPatcher can be used used to get back Taskbar Toolbars in Windows 11 [that will behave the way they did in Windows XP - 10].
ExplorerPatcher can be installed and set up within 5 minutes.


1 Download the latest version of ExplorerPatcher. Either of these links will get you the latest version -
ExplorerPatcher - developer's own site
Download the latest version of ExplorerPatcher - GitHub
[I check for a new version of ExplorerPatcher before I run any version updates of Windows 11 so that I'm prepared for any problems. For example, I had to install the latest ExplorerPatcher after updating to 25H2.]
- As with all downloaded items, Windows security checks it as it downloads.
- When the download has completed, right-click on it, select Properties then click in the Unblock checkbox.


2 Run the downloaded ep_setup.exe file as Admin by right-clicking on it & choosing Run as Adminstrator.



3 Then right-click on the Taskbar & select Properties. The ExplorerPatcher settings dialog will open.



4 In the Taskbar tab of its settings dialog [illustrated above], choose Taskbar style: Windows 10 [ExplorerPatcher], also as illustrated, then click on the Restart File explorer control [in the bottom-left corner of the dialog].
- You can work through the other settings at the same time, such as choosing Start button style: Windows 10 [default] or leave them until later.
- As my illustration also shows, I have set Combine taskbar icons... to Never combine. Some people prefer other choices.
- I'm focussing on the Taskbar Toolbar setting because that, to me, is the single most important capability of ExplorerPatcher.


5 Now you can right-click on the Taskbar again and select Toolbars, New toolbar...

then you will see the dialog that allows you to browse to the folder you have put your desired Taskbar Toolbar shortcuts in. You can also just enter paths directly into that dialog.

The selected folder will then be displayed on your Taskbar [right-hand end] as the Taskbar Toolbar name.
If you wanted to, merely for example, you could browse to or enter
"%userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch"
to bring up the existing Quick Launch folder as a Taskbar Toolbar called Quick Launch.

I use a folder of my own for my Taskbar Toolbar shortcuts. My folder is called Menus so that's what the Taskbar Toolbar is called.



6 If, like me, you only set up that initial
Taskbar style: Windows 10 [ExplorerPatcher]
setting before then you might like to return to my para 3 above to consider the plethora of other settings available.


7 You can refine the contents of your chosen folder or even add multiple folders to get multiple Taskbar Toolbars.

Your chosen folder can have its own subfolders & they fly out WinXP-style when you hover your cursor over them.



8 You can refine your Taskbar Toolbar by, for example, moving it over the left hand end of the Taskbar. My explanation is at
Taskbar Toolbars - Creating and naming, customising, moving [post #20] - TenForumsTutorials
- The behaviour of Taskbar Toolbars is the same as it has always been so you can use TenForums guidance. The only thing special about Windows 11 Taskbar Toolbars is having to use a third-party utility to get them to appear in the first place.
- I've used my ever-evolving Menus Taskbar Toolbar ever since I got Windows 7 and I hardly ever have to resort to the Windows Start menu itself.




Best of luck,
Denis

I haven't checked recent versions, but the first time I used Explorer Patcher on Windows 11 21H2 the application icons did not combine and they would take all of the taskbar. So I had to manually find out how to combine them so all instances of the same application take a single icon space.

spapakons said:

I haven't checked recent versions, but the first time I used Explorer Patcher on Windows 11 21H2 the application icons did not combine and they would take all of the taskbar. So I had to manually find out how to combine them so all instances of the same application take a single icon space.

Click to expand...

The only thing missing in explorerpatcher is an option that doesn't even startallback has to reduce the space between icons in both the tray and the taskbar. It looks really good, it fits a lot more icons with less space. For those who use a 900p monitor, this is very welcome.

spapakons said:

So I had to manually find out how to combine them

Click to expand...

I've added that to my para 3 as an example of further EP settings that people can consider.


All the best,
Denis

maur0 said:

The only thing missing in explorerpatcher is an option that doesn't even startallback has to reduce the space between icons in both the tray and the taskbar. It looks really good, it fits a lot more icons with less space. For those who use a 900p monitor, this is very welcome.

Click to expand...

I agree that ExplorerPatcher does not address this factor.
I don't know if WinAero deals with this.
I suggest you ask about this in a thread of your own. Whilst there's no ElevenForum tutorial on the subject, perhaps a member knows how to achieve what you want.


Best of luck,
Denis

I would just switch to little icons, but I don't like them being too small.

maur0 said:

The only thing missing in explorerpatcher is an option that doesn't even startallback has to reduce the space between icons in both the tray and the taskbar. It looks really good, it fits a lot more icons with less space. For those who use a 900p monitor, this is very welcome.

Click to expand...

If you can live without the Toolbars from ExplorerPatcher, then Windhawk lets you achieve exactly what you describe:

Thanks for this useful guide.
I face a strange issue: I added a new toolbar called 'Storage'. Its folder contains shortcuts to various apps that I use to manage my storage.
The weird thing is there's always one of these shortcuts that kinda 'floats' outside of the toolbar (please look at the attached screenshot).
In that case, it's the shortcut for Macrium Reflect app. If I right click and do 'delete', the shortcut disappears but it's being replace by the next one in the folder.
How to make this shortcut not appearing outside of its toolbar?
Thanks in advance for the help

Note that this issue happens only when Toolbars are locked. Not when they aren't locked (see attached).

Jambon29 said:

The weird thing is there's always one of these shortcuts that kinda 'floats' outside of the toolbar

Click to expand...

Jambon29 said:

How to make this shortcut not appearing outside of its toolbar?

Click to expand...

Jambon29 said:

this issue happens only when Toolbars are locked. Not when they aren't locked

Click to expand...

Yes, I'm familar with this problem.
Taskbar Toolbars - Creating and naming, customising, moving [post #20] - TenForumsTutorials
Use the procedure in para 3 steps 5-7 of my TenForums link to narrow the space you are leaving for the Toolbar.


Denis

Thanks. It's a bit better, but not entirely satisfying. I tried several times, repeating steps 5 to 7, and it's the best I could achieve.

It looks to me as though you were skipping step 5

5 Right-click on the name of each Toolbar & untick both Show text & Show title

Click to expand...

Denis

No I did.

In that case, as mentioned in the notes of para 1, I think the folder name Disks is too narrow a word to avoid that problem.
I do not use anything narrower than Menus.
Disks
Menus


Denis

Thank you!
I changed the names for something longer and it works like a charm.
Thanks again :)

Quick question: Does anyone have used Explorer Patcher with 25H2? Any issues? Does it work as expected? I am mainly interested in the Windows 10 (Explorer Patcher) style of taskbar. What about Explorer Patcher along with Open Shell?

Thanks