WindowBlinds breaks Window close detection?

I've always found double clicking on the left corner more time consuming than single clicking the close button

I agree - although it would be nice to have an option in WB where you can actually choose what the button does. It would really be handy.

I tend to close a window with both buttons, but it's not something I really care about anyway.

DITTO

I save the second click and use a Single Click on the end button on the right. It's usually got and X on it (for Exit) but not always. In some cases if you hover your pointer over it you may see a tooltip that says "Close"




I've been "actually" working on mine since before Windows and I can never remember purposely using a double click on the program icon to close a window. Sounds like a carry over of a Mac trait. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for this to be implemented in version 6. Your post's the first one I've ever seen complaining about this.particular issue.

Or maybe not ...

I've double clicked the left corner to close Windows almost 20 years. Maybe it's because I'm left-handed

Also find the Mac OS X / Finder UI difficult to use because of the cumbersome button placement..

I don't feel it's a minor "convinience" thing. WindowBlinds breaks the Microsoft standard interface, and Stardock should fix this.

For you information: I actually went and downloaded the skin studio and broke down my favourite theme in pieces. Tried to locate the action handler that is responsible for detecting and reacting to the double-click event. After 2 days of struggling finally gave up.

Also attempted to bypass the bug by using AutoHotkey and building a custom script that tries to guess when the user has double-clicked within a certain offset - almost got it to work, but after 3 days of debugging mysterious Windows message loops gave up

Harri

Aren't there skins you can use that have left oriented buttons? a la mac? why not just add a close button on left to the skins you prefer?   

I'm not saying it wouldn't work. For some. Sometimes.

I'm just saying it doesn't work for me. Most of the time.

I don't know what the cause is. I've tried removing everything suspicious, changed the hardware configuration etc.

Couple of weeks ago I was in a simliar situation ("Works for me" vs. "Crashes on me") when Safari 3.0 Beta just didn't work.

Later I found out why, as you can see

Software is hard.

Harri

That could work, if all applications were themed. Gets pretty confusing when some apps close from the left corner and others from the right.

Of course I could always do a double-click, so depending on the app either the first or the second click closes. Unfortunately, this could cause problems later if there's a window or app behind the active one, and the second click performs something funny.

Nah, too confusing and kludgy. I prefer a consistent UI.

Htalvitie - I'm a right button guy like some of the other posters. Truth is it was only recently, and accidently, that I discovered that double-clicking the left icon actually did anything. Also now realize double-clicking the task bar minimizes the window. Amazing even old dogs like me can learn new tricks

Double clicking the icon on my taskbars closes everyone of the Windows I've tried. I'm using Windowblinds 5.51 and AeroglassV5 by Ironjer. I'll try some of my other skins a bit later.

Sleep

My theory is that the overhead from WindowBlinds message-hooking and/or manipulation changes the order in which messages are processed.

Since the double-click detection involves timing and threshold checking, this would sound logical.

Maybe WindowBlinds causes the drop-down menu processing hook to override the double-click timer before it gets enough time to expire?

Haven't check my Petzold Bible since the Windows 95 era, so don't take it for granted

Anyway, here's a brief screencast from some message spying: http://s3.amazonaws.com/BugCast/WindowBlinds/MessageLoopBreaks.html

Harri

I, on the other hand, try to avoid any repetitive strain injury and really dislike moving over 3000 pixels worth of LCD real-estate just to close one window.

Harri

Sounds like Wb may just not be for you Harri..some things just don't like each other.. like.. myself and Vista for example  

No matter what your doing on your pc, your going to encounter repetetive movement.. I've learned to live with it. Maybe this can be fixed, maybe not..looks like you have investigated it pretty thoroughly and have yet to find an answer.. maybe it's time to persue other options. If i had a C-note for everything I wanted SKS \ WB to do.. that it didn't, I could take a couple of months off. Regardless, I still use it and love it.    

C'est la vie   

Oh come on now.

I understand everybody's different and everybody has personal preferences. If you are happy with your WB, fine.

Maybe I'm picky, but when software I purchased has flaws, I expect the vendor to fix them - within reasonable limits - and not accept any guidance about changing my working habits.

Pardon for my ESL,
Harri

I have yet to find flawless software was the point. Some i would love to use and can't due to various problems that other people may be able to live with but I cant.

I got a new Xp 64 bit disc from MS with my last PC purchase.. guess what.. Photoshop CS2 menus are screwed.. can't use it. So i use Xp home.. I adapt to suit my needs...to get the job done. You think adobe is going to accomodate every request and suggestion and pet peave of everyone who is dis-satisfied?

I understand why you want a solution, hope you find one.

I've just set a new skin from a template (I remove the System Button from all my skins) to try this and double click does close the window. The issue therefore is with the skin and not WindowBlinds.

You can change the System Button in SkinStudio > Window Borders > Titlebar Buttons > System Button, then 'Actions' in the Attribute window.

Apologies to those offended regarding the harsh tone of my initial posting.

Maybe I simply had too high hopes after waiting for over a year for WB to mature, and then let down because small things have not been taken care of.

I don't think you understood my post. This is not a flaw, bug, failure, call it what you will on the part of WindowBlinds, if a skin has been set up correctly the double click close works fine.

If people choose not to include this feature in a skin that isn't WindowBlinds breaking something   
I personally prefer not to have the Sytem Button (icon on the left) and replace it with a roll-up button. That doesn't mean WindowBlinds has broken the feature, it means I've chosen not to include it...

If it's a bug, then it should be fixed. I would never use that option to close a window either. But a bug is just that...a bug. And an attempt should be made to repair it by the software developer. Just telling a user to forget about it and do something different is bad business and poor customer service and certainly NOT typical of Stardock. I assure you, if he does it that way, others do too.

On the other hand...if Fuzzy is right and it is a preference set by the skinner, then move on htalvitie and make skins that include it.

Now...if I could just learn to spell certainley, certainely, certaineley? How about definitely!

Also, in WindowBlinds Configuration > Overide Default Settings, you can set 'Titlebar settings' 'Action to take when double clicking on a titlebar' to 'Close Window'   

Currently running a Windowblind called Murishani by Jonep and it works with this blind.

Good call Fuzzy...works everytime... now u dont even have to travel all the way to the left of titlebar either Harri   

Alternatively Alt + F4 which can be customized by any number of small apps to something conventient.

ToeJo...this..certainly WWW Link stays permenantly in my links bar. I was a little prideful to use it at first but..that soon goes away when you see how often it can be helpful in a pinch.

To follow-up on Fuzzy's comments:

As he said, the action on double-click for the System Button can be set to "close" in the skin - Windows' inherent functionality isn't "broken" at all, just amplified.

In addition, you can set a skin-specific double-click action for the Titlebar itself to "close" as well, so double-clicking anywhere on the Titlebar (other than on control buttons) will close the window, as shown in this SkinStudio snapshot:



And you have a global override to make double-clicking the Titlebar "always" close the window. So you have 3 options that ought to satisfy your need.

Thanks for the link vStyler.   

Ok, let's wrap this up:


Yes, one could fix or modify the skin - with proper tools etc. But in my mind there's a better and simpler solution (see below).


But wouldn’t this conflict with the existing standard action Maximize/Restore window in place?

Doesn't seem logical nor practical, since I (like most?) have to work between different computers, and functional consistency is nice.

Maybe it's the developer in me who likes solving stuff and making things better, but when I see a bug (or "a missing feature causing problems" -- call it what you want), my mind tries to come up with a way to make it just work.

And this shouldn't be so difficult, after all.

Just in case, here's the summary of WB behavior as far as I have observed and interpreted - and please let me know if it contains any errors:

Three separate and closely related GUI actions can by modified by the WindowBlinds skin author. However, only two of them can be overridden by the user:

1. Double-clicking the title bar (Restore/Maximize window)
2. Right-clicking the title bar (Open the system menu)
3. Double-clicking on the program icon on the left side of title bar area (Close window)

Please let me know if I'm missing something (maybe a hidden option added to 5.51 or something similar), but if not, then how about a simple solution:

All we need is a third check-box to the settings, so the user could override the skin-supplied behavior of the program icon!

Or not?

Rgds,
Harri

---

PS. Photoshop compatibility in WinXP x64 isn't a "pet peeve from customers".

Also, I don't understand how your comment is related to this topic.

Microsoft released Windows XP Pro x64 in April 2005 shortly after Adobe released Adobe Creative Suite 2. All CS2's are 32-bit programs, so they have to run on x64 with the help from heavy WOW64 "middleware" plumbing etc.

FYI, Adobe has not certified any of their CS2 products to run on WinXP x86.

(My theory your menu corruption might be related to video drivers.. but then again.. just a theory.. and also getting *really off topic* ...)