Levity02

Join Date 12/2024

Very slow jump menus, and windows positioned underneath taskbar

Hello all.

As the title says, I'm having two issues with Start11 that I'd like to resolve before purchasing the product. I've moved the taskbar to the top of the screen, this is the primary reason for using the product. However, this seems to cause two distinct problems:

1) When I right-click on an item on the taskbar, it takes a good two seconds to the menu to appear. Sometimes it does not appear at all, and sometimes it appears on the bottom of the screen before moving to the expected position at the top of the screen. This is NOT a system performance issue as I'm running a fairly high end PC (7800X3D with 64GB RAM, SSD, and 3080ti). No other applications produce lag like this.

2) I frequently have to change the input source on my monitor because I share it with a work laptop. When I return to my desktop using Start11, any windows that were open previously have been repositioned so that the top of the window is underneath the taskbar at the top of the screen. If I click on the window border (as if to manually resize it), the window snaps back into the correct position. This is a minor annoyance but one I deal with several times a day, every day.

Is there any way to resolve these issues, or any further information I can provide to assist with troubleshooting?

In the above image you can see that the top of the browser and Discord windows are underneath the taskbar, and there's a taskbar sized blank space at the bottom of the screen. It's almost as if windows reverts the taskbar to the bottom, positions the windows accordingly, and then Start11 moves it back to the top, without accounting for the window position. Perhaps this part of the issue could be fixed by having Start11 ALWAYS move windows that are placed under the taskbar, into a valid position. Or at least having that be a toggle-able option.

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Hello,
Sorry to hear you are having issues. First need to know more on your system. Please share:

Your Windows full version and OS Build number. Please use Winver.exe.
Start11 full version number.

Thank you.
Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant.

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I believe issue 1 should be addressed in the next update.

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Good morning. Please see below:

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That's good to hear, thanks. Do you know when that might be released?

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For your second issue. May I know what is your Display resolution and scale factor (100%, 125% etc) on your two displays?

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

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It's a single display (monitor), I'm just changing the input from a desktop to a laptop. The laptop is closed, it's only sending external video to the monitor.

Both the desktop and the laptop are running at 3840x1600 at 125% scale.

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Once you change the display and see the issue, if you restart explorer.exe does the issue goes away?

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

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@basj Sorry for the delayed response. Restarting explorer.exe does not resolve the issue- when I do that, first the taskbar appears at the bottom of the screen, then after a brief moment it relocates to the top of the screen, but the browser window that I'm typing in right now is still underneath the taskbar. In the image below you can see the blank space at the bottom of the screen where the window has been moved vertically (as well as a jump menu that opened at the bottom of the screen, rather than the top where the taskbar currently is).

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Please try this, uninstall Start11, reboot immediately right after uninstall is done. Re-download latest Start11 version available for you. Install it, again reboot immediately, retest and report back.

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

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I've followed these instructions; uninstalled including removing settings, rebooted, installed the most recent version, rebooted, then set the taskbar to appear at the top and toggled between desktop's display, to my laptop's display, and back to the desktop... and there's no change in behavior at all. Windows are still being placed behind the taskbar, as they were before. This seems to be pretty consistent behavior for the app.

Any other ideas?

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Hello,
I have forwarded your problem/question to Stardock Support Team for their assistance. Please keep an eye on this thread for any updates. We appreciate your feedback and patience.

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

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sdrohan

Join Date 10/2012

+693

Can you still reproduce these issues with the current beta?

If so, does it still reproduce if you have your taskbar at the default bottom of the screen?

Sean Drohan
Stardock Product Lifecycle Manager

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Good morning. I tested again with the beta version (uninstall, reboot, etc) and the behavior was the same.

I noticed that when I use Start11's settings to move the taskbar from the bottom of the screen to the top of the screen, it places the taskbar on top of my open windows (the windows are not repositioned). However, if I then adjust the window position so there's no overlap at the top and the bottom of the window aligns with the bottom of the screen, and then use Start11 to move the taskbar back to the bottom of the screen, the windows _are_ repositioned (moved up) so there's no overlap on the bottom.

This seems to be the root of the issue:

1) Windows are ONLY automatically repositioned when the taskbar is moved from somewhere other than the bottom of the screen, to the bottom of the screen, and

2) Toggling video inputs is treated similarly to (or, may actually involve) restarting explorer.exe.

And that would make sense; the desktop can probably tell when the monitor is not receiving its video signal, and when the input is switched back to the desktop it probably initializes explorer.exe, which then places the taskbar initially at the Windows 11 default bottom position, causing the application windows to be moved up, before Start11 then moves the taskbar to the top of the screen, which does NOT automatically correct window positions.

My guess is that Windows 11 wasn't designed to auto-correct window position when the taskbar is at the top, since the functionality to place the taskbar at the top is not a native feature. Which means the solution may require Start11 to handle window resizing/repositioning during the process of relocating the taskbar. Or, I suppose, somehow retaining the position of the taskbar while the video signal isn't being displayed, rather than reinitializing the taskbar when the display activates... but I suspect that may be more difficult to accomplish.

In any case, I really appreciate the help with this. If there's anything else I can test please let me know.

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Also worth mentioning, the system tray does not appear to work when the taskbar is at the top of the screen. When I click the arrow, nothing appears at all. When I move the taskbar back to the bottom of the screen, it works as expected. This makes me think that the system tray is still being placed above the taskbar, which is off the top of the screen when top-aligned.

Bottom-aligned, works as expected:

Top aligned, does nothing:

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sdrohan

Join Date 10/2012

+693

Quoting Levity02,

reply 14

Top aligned, does nothing:

You have already posted this in the beta thread but you indicated you are not using the beta. Please try not to cross-post in multiple threads and install the beta when you have the opportunity.

Sean Drohan
Stardock Product Lifecycle Manager

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I think you may have misunderstood. You provided me with a beta release on December 17th (four posts up from this one), and I have been using that ever since. It is not _the most recent version of the beta_, because I don't have access to that. Also, I posted here before posting in the beta thread, which I did additionally because I AM using a beta release, so I thought that'd be a relevant place to include the information. You can verify this in my post in the beta thread, where I provided both the OS version and the application version, as requested in the thread.

Edit 12/24: I have now purchased the product, and have tested with the most recent beta release (2.49.2). Nothing has changed at all; the taskbar is still placed on top of application windows, and the system tray does not work at all when the taskbar is at the top.

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I have updated to public release 2.5. The system tray issue is resolved! However, the window positioning issue is not.

You should be able to replicate this issue by using a monitor with two input sources, then switching from input A, to input B, and then back to input A. I'll continue to test releases as they become available. Thanks again for your work on this app and these issues.

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Hello,
Please re-elaborate your issue on Window positioning issue, so we understand it better. Post a video showing us would greatly help us understand it better.

Thank you.
Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant.

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Hi Basj,

I wasn't sure how to attach a video to a post directly, so I uploaded it to a video host: https://vimeo.com/1047698198/a4f30d41a8?share=copy

When the video starts, you can see a maximized browser window, extending to the bottom edge of the screen and to just below my taskbar at the top. I then change the input on my monitor to my work laptop (blue background), wait a few seconds, and then switch the input on my monitor back to my desktop PC. The bright orange desktop on my PC is visible at the bottom of the screen where the window has shifted upwards, and the top of the browser window (where the tabs were previously) has now shifted underneath the taskbar, making that part of the window inaccessible. When I click the bottom border of the window, it snaps back into position.

I hope that helps to clarify the nature of the problem. I work from home and switch between my PC and work laptop several times a day, every day, so this is an issue that I encounter very frequently. If there's any other information I can provide, please let me know.

Thanks!

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I can't test this on my system, since I don't have swap-able system with onto same monitor to test it. Few questions:

When the issue appear, if you minimize and maximize that browser windows does it resize itself to fit the taskbar properly?
If you restart Explorer.exe does it appear back normally? https://www.howtogeek.com/198815/use-this-secret-trick-to-close-and-restart-explorerexe-in-windows/. Personally I prefer the batch file method. I have it on my desktop.

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

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1. When the issue appears the min/max/close icons are hidden underneath the taskbar and are inaccessible (see image below). Also, I've just noticed that as of the current version of the program, jump menus do not work AT ALL when the taskbar is at the top of the screen. It's not "slow" now as I'd initially reported with an earlier release. When I right click on an icon on the taskbar while it's at the top of the screen, nothing happens at all, after any amount of time. If I left click on the browser icon the app does minimize, and if I click it again, it returns to the same exact position as before; that is to say, it's shifted up at the bottom, and the top is underneath the taskbar, the size/placement issue is NOT resolved.

2. Restarting Explorer.exe does not correct the issue. The taskbar disappears, then briefly appears at the bottom of the screen, then moves to the top of the screen, where it is once again on top of the windows that are shifted up.

However, if I click the bottom edge of the window so it snaps back into the correct position and then restart Explorer.exe, when the taskbar appears at the bottom the open windows are shifted up, and then when the taskbar moves to the top of the screen it places itself on top of the window. I recorded a video of that so you can see what I mean. I believe this is exactly what happens when I toggle the video input.

Video Link

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Need to check something, how do you change your input to your monitor from desktop to notebook and back again? HDMI cable? USB cable? Display port?

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

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Are you using v2.5?

I ask because there were a number of fixes including a not being able to right click on top taskbars and for windows going under the taskbar.

I recommend uninstalling, rebooting and then reinstalling 2.5.

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@Neil, I am using v2.5, I've been including that information in my posts. See here: Reply 17

However, I had upgraded from the previous most recent beta version (see reply 16). Just now I uninstalled, rebooted, and reinstalled v2.5, and now the jump menus work. They're very quick to pop up now, so that looks to be resolved nicely. However, the window placement issue is still not resolved. The image below is what happened immediately after using Start11 to move the taskbar to the top of the screen. You can see that the titlebar and min/max/close icons are inaccessible, underneath the taskbar (see image below).

@basj, I am using a physical button on the monitor to switch between inputs. The video cables are always connected. My desktop is connected by DisplayPort, and my laptop is connected by Thunderbolt (USB-C). See second image below. I have nothing connected to the HDMI inputs, those are just the other two available connectors.

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Understood, I have forwarded your problem/question again to Stardock Support Team for their assistance. Please keep an eye on this thread for any updates. We appreciate your feedback and patience.

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

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