Certain windows not getting their shadow applied correctly

Some windows, for example all programs from the Microsoft Office suite will not get a shadow from ShadowFX applied, and only the system-native shadow is applied. Other programs, like Microsoft Visual Studio Code, will only get the inactive shadow applied, even when the window has the focus.

Any ideas?

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Hello,
I have forward your request to the Stardock Support Team for their review and recommendations. Please keep an eye on this thread for any updates. We really do appreciate your feedback, Thanks

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant.

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Microsoft Office implements their own non native shadows. Their shadows do not match the OS shadow already and ShadowFX only impacts the OS shadow.

If you look closely at office you will notice it has a much smaller than native shadow when it has focus and no shadow at all when it is inactive! I have no idea why Microsoft did that.

ShadowFX cannot fix these design choices.

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That's quite a bummer. Other software I identified was Telegram for Desktop, as well as Microsoft Visual Studio. Both don't show the shadows configured with ShadowFX.

This also leaves Visual Studio Code, which does get the ShadowFX effect, but without distinction whether the window is focused or not. It's always the inactive style shadow. Basically ShadowFX doesn't detect, whether Visual Studio Code has the focus.

Wouldn't it be possible to suppress all custom shadow drawing done by Windows and/or applications by disabling "Show shadows under windows" in "Performance Options" and then let only ShadowFX draw its own shadows instead of application-specific ones?

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Quoting alex53342,

reply 3

That's quite a bummer. Other software I identified was Telegram for Desktop, as well as Microsoft Visual Studio. Both don't show the shadows configured with ShadowFX.

This also leaves Visual Studio Code, which does get the ShadowFX effect, but without distinction whether the window is focused or not. It's always the inactive style shadow. Basically ShadowFX doesn't detect, whether Visual Studio Code has the focus.

Wouldn't it be possible to suppress all custom shadow drawing done by Windows and/or applications by disabling "Show shadows under windows" in "Performance Options" and then let only ShadowFX draw its own shadows instead of application-specific ones?

VS Code, Telegram, Teams, WhatsApp all use the electron framework so will all act the same.

ShadowFX only alters the shadow images in the OS, it doesn't get involved in painting them so it cannot be changed to fix applications which have opted out of the OS shadows. Should Microsoft ever change the look of the shadows in Windows, those very same applications would have the same problem.

Disabling the OS shadows will disable ShadowFX as they are the OS shadows.

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WhatsApp is Electron-based, yes, but the shadows are actually applied properly. I'm getting the vibe of "we have no interest in fixing anything".

Please refund my order, I'll uninstall ShadowFX as it's not showing the promised shadows on more than half of the applications I'm actually using.

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Hello,
You can request for refund using this link : http://esupport.stardock.com/index.php?/default_import/Tickets/Submit

Thanks
Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant.

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Quoting alex53342,

reply 5

WhatsApp is Electron-based, yes, but the shadows are actually applied properly. I'm getting the vibe of "we have no interest in fixing anything".

Please refund my order, I'll uninstall ShadowFX as it's not showing the promised shadows on more than half of the applications I'm actually using.

It isn't that we are not interested in fixing anything, it is that there is no bug, it simply doesn't have a feature you would like it to have.

The application replaces the OS shadows and it does that exactly that. If a third party application wants to fake their own shadows rather than using the default built in ones then thats up to them.

Applications which draw things which are not the same are naturally not handled as it would have to know about each and every one, somehow override the applications (a can of worms) and be a fundamentally different product in how it works and come with a potentially long list of compatibility problems as and when each of those applications get updated.

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