can't relocation documents in vista, OD gets lost

from Stardock Forums
i'm running vista ultimate, and i keep documents folder on another drive. so i goto the folder properties, and click move, and move the folder to where i want it. then i install object dock, and it sort of sees the folder, but not really. none of my images are there, but i know it sees something, because all of my backgrounds are sort of there. there are a bunch of empty selections that do nothing, like 30 blank selections, all of which do nothing. i move it back to c:/users/me/documents/object dock libray and no problems. it seems like it only half uses the right path. if i goto my folder, click documents, it goes to the right place, my other drive, but OD doesn't seem to actually goto the virtual path, just the physical, which no longer exists, but, it still has all the selections.

any ideas?
objectdock
9,637 views 17 replies
Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I believe that is because both the program & my documents folder need to be on the same drive...The My Documents folder does not have any executables or dlls or ini files to make those files do anything. Maybe there is a way to make the program itself search for the files in the other drive. The other option is of course to not use the My Documents folders but install all the backgrounds, icons ect only in the C drive folder. The My Documents folder is to me just a convenience anyway and also allows more space the larger your collection gets.

It's My Secret
Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top
well, thats what i did, moved everything to the program files folder. but i just tested another thing, i kept the files on the same drive, just moved location with the location tab in document properties, but still the same problem. i mean, i have it working, i have everything in teh OD program files directory right now, but it's been nice having it in documents, for when i reformat, i don't forget to back that up LOL, but i don't seem to remember to backup the OD directory. i assume it's an application bug. does this happen on XP?
Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion
Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top
If your referring to the shortcuts not showing the correct image after you moved the image folder then that's because you have to update the shortcuts with the new path. Each and every one. There's NO WAY Objectdock can monitor a file or folders change in location and automatically update. It's not an application bug. I'm not aware of ANY program that can do this.
Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top
then your not understanding what i'm talking about, i'm moving the location of documents folder, with windows. windows still knows where it is, as do other programs that use the documents folder, so far only OD doesn't realize it's moved, and like i said, it keeps placeholders for all the other backgrounds, but they are all blank, so it kind of sees it. i wouldn't just move a folder, and expect it to remember where the stuff is LOL, that makes no sense
Reply #5 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I use XP PRO SP2

My Documents is best used for storing all the files & using the icons...nothing else.


I also use Sysmetrix, & Rainlendar, Ave Desk, Windowblinds, Iconpackager &
CursorXp, WinAmp ..again...each skin or theme needs to be installed in the proper program file to work....even though I have a folder for each in My Documents.

So no it is not a bug.

It's My Secret
Reply #6 from Stardock Forums Top
still not getting it. i use windows built in feature to change the physical location of Documents folder. so any application looking for %user%/documents goes to the specified location. all other applications i am having no problems with, just object dock. like in xp, if u used tweakUI to change the My Documents folder, all your other applications will still fucntion normally, and still goto my documents correctly, however, OD does not, it could be a bug with OD and Vista, i don't know. but nobody responding to me is understanding what i'm talking about.
Reply #7 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Proph, I've had mixed results using that function with other apps.  just one of those things I thought.
Reply #8 from Stardock Forums Top
oh, well, this is the first for me lol, never had this issue before, but then again, we probably use different apps LOL
Reply #9 from WinCustomize Forums Top

propehetizer,

Have you tried unloading ObjectDock and then deleting the 'cached' folder for ObjectDock? This is simply the configuration files for your current theme, which if deleted will force ObjectDock to start with the defaults when next loaded. You might then be able to backup the ObjectDock library > delete the current ObjectDock library > move the 'My Documents' folder > start ObjectDock and then see if ObjectDock recreates the library folder in My Documents. If so, you should be good to go.

In XP it is located in "C:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\Local Settings\Application Data\Stardock" folder, where 'USERNAME' is the name on your account. You just delete the ObjectDock folder found there. Note - the "Local Settings' is a normally hidden folder.

I am not sure of the exact location of the 'Local Settings' folder in Vista, but it is probably "C:\Users\USERNAME\Roaming\Local Settings\Application Data\Stardock" (although it might be in one of the other two sub-folders under 'USERNAME').

I hope this helps.

Reply #10 from Stardock Forums Top
i'll have to try that, but i'll tell u waht i did. reformatted, restored documents folder, moved documents folder, installed object dock. but i'll mess around with it more this weekend.
Reply #11 from WinCustomize Forums Top

reformatted, restored documents folder, moved documents folder, installed object dock

If you did not restore the 'ObjectDock' library folder during this procedure, it should have worked. If you did restore the 'ObjectDock' library folder (including your saved theme file), then the theme '.ini' file may have had the images listed as coming from the original location of the 'My Documents\ObjectDock library' folder. If the '.ini' file does not have the proper information in it, the theme will not work.

On the other hand, it is possible that whichever ObjectDock program file responsible for locating the library files correctly is not capable of updating itself if you move that library folder. I know that it (the 'My Documents' library folder) is recreated when you restart ObjectDock after deleting said library folder on XP. I also do not currently know of any way to prevent that folder from being created. This would suggest that there is a program file responsible for that folder which may need to be rewritten to accommodate users who wish to move the location of the 'My Documents' folder.

Looking forward to what you discover in your testing.

Reply #12 from Stardock Forums Top
ok, i removed all stuff OD and reinstalled from scratch, it recreated the OD library folder in "documents", the location i had moved it. then i put some backgrounds in there, and again, they were kind of there, it had blank spots for the 5 backgrounds i added in the drop down list, and they didn't do anything when i selected them. so i'm still thinking this is some sort of bug in OD, since it sort of works, but not really lol. hoping i can get some stardock input on this
Reply #13 from WinCustomize Forums Top

prophetizer,

I agree, you may have found a bug in ObjectDock running on Vista. I would suggest going to the Stardock site and using the tech support e-mail system to report the find.

Reply #14 from Stardock Forums Top

Thank you everyone for working on this and prophetizer for bringing this to our attention. I have reported this to the ObjectDock development team.

-Mike
[Stardock Support]

Reply #16 from Stardock Forums Top
ok, i would just like to say, WOW, what a fast bug fix. the new beta released yesterday for OD+ fixes the documents location error. cool!
Reply #17 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Glad to hear the fix worked for you. Let us know if you have any more problems.

-Jeff Bargmann
ObjectDock Developer