Explorer.exe per application skin problem in WB5

from Stardock Forums

I've discovered that Explorer.exe doesn't like to have a per application skin applied to it.


I found this because I like the transparent taskbar in the Caprice skin from SkinPlant, but I don't care for the garish window colors it applies with the skin.  I set the normal WB5 skin to something like Arrow or Vista XP and I applied Caprice w/transparent tasks as a per application skin on Explorer.exe.  When I do this, Explorer (i.e. the shell!) has a tendency to lock up or slow down extremely when I close some programs.  I've noticed it especially with Visual Studio .NET 2003, but also with FireFox 1.5 (altough the combination of skinned or unskinned FireFox and skinnned DevStudio causes me other problems as well).  When I close a program Explorer slows down or locks up and leaves visual artifacts all over the task bar or the right click menu if it ever actually displays.  I thought maybe it was just the skin, but it does this with any skin applied as a per application skin and these skins work just fine as the main WB5 skin.

EDIT:  WindowBlinds 5.0 System Information Report:

STATUS : WB+ SRV+ HLP+ UI+ TRAY+

WindowBlinds is installed correctly on this PC.

WindowBlinds appears to be activated on this PC

Your machine supports per pixel borders on WindowBlinds skins.

You have 2 monitors.

(Plug and Play Monitor) 1 is attached to Intel(R) 82945G Express Chipset Family
(HP L1955 flat panel monitor) 2 is attached to Intel(R) 82945G Express Chipset Family

Wblind.dll      2005/11/28 13:57:10
Wbsrv.dll      2005/11/28 15:52:00
Wbconfig.exe      2005/11/28 16:19:00
Wbload.exe      2005/11/25 19:30:58
Wbhelp.dll      2004/09/18 16:37:00
Wbui.dll      2005/11/20 12:23:40
Tray.dll      2005/11/02 13:28:26


 

I just wanted to pass this along as information in case any devs happen to read it.


Thanks,


Gregg Wright

windowblinds
3,770 views 5 replies
Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top
well i got it to work...i upgraded from 5.00[b].004 to 5.00[b].006...BUT it seemed to cause quite a few problems (assigning a per application skin to explorer.exe that is). windows seemed to get 'stuck' on certain tasks either while starting up or just loading up windows explorer. i had to delete the per application setting to explorer.exe for windows stability.
Ashes of the Singularity II
Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I don't think the per application option was intended to be used for explorer.exe (the shell).
Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top
SD should have thought of that.  That's why we're finding so many problems with WB5 right now.  People try weird things that "The Programmers" never thought people would or need to do.  Programmers and testers think differently... the difference is that Programmers know the limitations they have built into a program and testers don't.  A good Programmer knows to cover all the bases when making a program and should have all possible combinations of options working.  Either that or build in a lock for that perticular choice... for instance, an error message stating that explorer.exe is not allowed to be added to Per Application and then not let it be added.  Guess they didn't think of that one huh?
Reply #5 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Not having that problem here.

The original release build of WB had a problem when you had 2 or more apps running with different per app skins when you closed one of the per app skinned apps and that has been resolved in the current OD build & the upcoming update this week.