srdiamond

Join Date 07/2004

Is it a bug or a feature

On my XP system using WB 5, themes designed for this new WB version exhibit a blinking task bar. Is it supposed to do that? If so, how do you turn it OFF?

Stephen R. Diamond

windowblinds

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I wanna know how to turn it ON.

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Neil Banfield

Join Date 04/2001

+1104

That is not normal.

What other apps are you running at the time? Can you try closing some & see if it helps?

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Usually blinking "title" bar means you running short on memory. Blinking taskbar is something different. Unless it's just the "app's" button face.

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I'm sorry, but I haven't the slightest idea of what an application's "button face" might be. However, I have found the source of the problem. It is an application conflict. Maybe that's what the first responder meant. The conflict was with the new Clipmate 8 toolbar, which sits within the task bar. Even if Clipmate is inactive, the task bar presence will interfere.

Does anyone on Stardock take note of conflicts? Is there any effort to eliminate them? Seemingly not, because the one thing that NEVER improves is compatibility. Therein is Windowblinds' Achilles Heel--not in some trivial memory usage in earlier versions.

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Wow, that could take a while. Why are so many people just ranting about Windowblinds? Maybe it's the Clipmate 8 toolbar that is at fault. Try listing this Clipmate in the exclusions?

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Neil Banfield

Join Date 04/2001

+1104

It sounds like Clipmate is constantly sending out messages which is telling WB that the wallpaper has changed or the taskbar size has changed.

We will look into this & see if we can workaround it.

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Neil Banfield

Join Date 04/2001

+1104

I have reproduced this (I assume you mean clipmate 7, not 8) and am looking into exactly why it happens. At first glance it appears to be due to how it does its toolbar. It is obtaining the wrong theme part for its toolbar which is confusing WB as only the taskbar itself ever asks for that part.

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Neil Banfield

Join Date 04/2001

+1104

This is now resolved. Additionally I have set it so clipmates menus are ignored by WB as clipmate is self skinned & its menus look wrong with WB skinning them as well.

There will be a 5.01 update either later today, or most likely early next week.

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Maybe that's what the first responder meant.

ummmm...no, sorry. I just wanted to see a blinking taskbar.

Yay Neil

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I have that problem too. Mostly when I have the Start menu at the side of the window. Also, I've noticed the AOL icons on top of windows blinking. It doesn't inhibit the use of WindowBlinds but it does become unsettling when it does it.

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Daiwa

Join Date 07/2001

+351

Does anyone on Stardock take note of conflicts? Is there any effort to eliminate them?

All the time, as demonstrated by this thread and countless others, without taking offense at rudeness.

Cheers,
Daiwa

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Thank you for your responsiveness. I have to say I'm very pleasantly surprised. For some reason I've assumed that compatibility problems were deeply rooted.Consequently, I have never reported them, except for now, because this is a beta. So I'm now wondering if long-standing compatibility issues could be resolved, if only you knew about them.

Here's one that existed in Windowblinds 4 and continues. Most--but not all-schemes are incompatible with the scroll bar in the Data Explorer of the outlining/notebook program Ultra Recall. (http://www.ultrarecall.com) When most schemes (all contemporary ones, it seems) govern that application, you cannot move the vertical or horizontal scroll bar in the tree section (called the Data Explorer) with the mouse. You can with the scroll wheel or from the keyboard. A few schemes work--some ancient ones by Alexandrie, and at least five older ones by Essorant. (e.g. Sinter works, as does Ferix, but not Paean). Oddly, Liquid2 works.

This might be a lower priority than Clipmate 7 as the program isn't as widely used, but Ultra Recall is becoming increasingly popular.

Thanks in advance for any efforts you choose to devote to this problem.

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Regarding the Clipmate issue, Neil posted on December 2, "This is now resolved. Additionally I have set it so clipmates menus are ignored by WB as clipmate is self skinned & its menus look wrong with WB skinning them as well.

"There will be a 5.01 update either later today, or most likely early next week."

This was most encouraging, but now almost two months have passed, and each time I check, the current version remains 5.0.00.0 (or however that goes). And the Clipmate issue persists.

When nothing more is done or said after an announcement the problem is solved, that's what gives rise to this dialog:

Does anyone on Stardock take note of conflicts? Is there any effort to eliminate them?

All the time, as demonstrated by this thread and countless others, without taking offense at rudeness.

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Fuzzy Logic

Join Date 05/2002

+493

In SDC try enabling 'show pre-release versions'. There have been several recent updates and most of us are well beyond 5.0.0... etc

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Jafo

Join Date 03/2001

+1845

When nothing more is done or said after an announcement the problem is solved, that's what gives rise to this dialog:

Does anyone on Stardock take note of conflicts? Is there any effort to eliminate them?

All the time, as demonstrated by this thread and countless others, without taking offense at rudeness.

Citizen srdiamond ....the fault here lies with you....as stated, you have not set SDC to show 'pre-release versions'...which currently shows a .010 ver available 5.00[b].010 to be precise.

Compatibility issues are constantly addressed, hence all those zeros and ones in the version number.

Remember, every day there are more and more proggies released....and revisions of existing ones....so it is the nature of the [skinning] beast that compatibility-correcting releases will be ongoing....

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Citizen srdiamond ....the fault here lies with you....as stated, you have not set SDC to show 'pre-release versions'...which currently shows a .010 ver available 5.00[b].010 to be precise.

Compatibility issues are constantly addressed, hence all those zeros and ones in the version number.

Remember, every day there are more and more proggies released....and revisions of existing ones....so it is the nature of the [skinning] beast that compatibility-correcting releases will be ongoing...

I'm always ready to accept responsibility for my errors, but here the mistakes seems to be Stardock's. There are actually two mistakes involved:

Mistake 1 (trivial): I am a licensed user of WB 5, not Object Desktop. I even pointed this out in the thread; certainly there was no reason to assume otherwise.

Mistake 2 (goes to policy): If, as you admit, that it is "the nature of the [skinning] beast that compatibility correctly releases will be ongoing," then your policy of denying those releases to licensed Windowblinds users who do not subscribe to Object Desktop means that WB 5 is inadequate for its stated purpose.. WB purports to apply skins, but doing so requires (again by your admission) recourse to the upgrades that are not available to users of the product.

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If you purchase WB5 you should be entitled to all upgrades for a year. Did you receive a link to SDC (Stardock Central brower?)

You should be able to get one here: Link

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ZubaZ

Join Date 11/2001

+917

srdiamond, As a WB user I believe you are entitled to point releases . . . just not beta pre-releases.

Did you use the trial before you bought WB? I reccommend to everyone that they make sure there is no deal-breaker conflicts on thier system before they purchase WB.

I think calling WB inadequate because you use an app that does not follow MS standards of UI is a little extreme. I would think that the fault is more likely with your application.

Nice that it's getting addressed though, huh?

Posted via WinCustomize Browser/Stardock Central

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Neil Banfield

Join Date 04/2001

+1104

I have heard that registered WB users can also use SDC to download the beta builds of WB, though I have never tried that myself so I may be wrong.

I should point out that the newer builds are beta and we will release a non beta version once we are happy with the beta. The feedback has been positive, so I have hopes it will be soon. There is one more beta build to be released with some fixes for a couple of reported issues and some tweaks for compatibility with an upcoming WindowFX build and then it should be ready for release as a non beta update.

I am sorry for the delay, but it is better to release an update when you are happy with it than release something which introduces lots of problems for customers who had no problems.

BTW Jafo isn't a Stardock Employee.

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I have heard that registered WB users can also use SDC to download the beta builds of WB, though I have never tried that myself so I may be wrong.

You are quite right. So I got the downloads--the improvements are impressive. The UR problem wasn't a WB5 problem; it was long standing. You have resolved it completely, as far as I can tell.

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