valinet/ExplorerPatcher 22000.556.42.38_b1c40fc

22000.556.42.38

on GitHub

Tested on OS build 22000.556.

Please make sure you are connected to the Internet while installing, the application might need to perform one-time downloads for several resources in order to enable full functionality.

Highlights

• Implemented Weather widget for the classic taskbar, similar to what is available in the more recent updates to Windows 10. Read more about it here.
• Support for the Windows 10 Start menu in Windows 11. Read more about this here.
• Option to center Windows 10 Start menu and Windows 10 taskbar.
• Support for Windows 10. Read more about this here.

Details

1

• The weather widget recomputes its area automatically, by default, in order to fit its contents, instead of remaining at a fixed size; there is also an option to choose between the two behavior
• Possibility to disable the icon in the weather widget
• Fixed a bug that prevented the weather widget flyout from displaying correctly when the taskbar was using small icons (#741)
• Fixed inconsistencies when displaying the weather widget and the system themes are disabled (aka the classic theme is used)
• Screen readers now read the weather data when requested for the weather widget
• Changing the Start button style or weather widget layout does not toggle taskbar auto-hide now; instead, the settings take effect immediately

2

• The weather widget defaults to showing in the preferred language set in Windows, instead of English (#734)
• Fixed a bug that could corrupt registry entries of type REG_SZ set via the Properties UI (#734)
• Fixed a bug that reset the setting when pressing "Cancel" in an input box in the Properties UI (#734)

3

• The weather widget shows an error screen when an error happens (like, using an incorrect location, or the network not working etc)
• The weather widget adjusts its size vertically to accommodate the entire contents (#734)

4

• The weather widget supports dark mode (thanks @krlvm) (#755)

5

• Fixed a bug that prevented correct registration of the weather flyout on certain systems (26b6646)
• Fixed a bug that made the weather flyout open with noticeable delay under certain circumstances
• Fixed a bug that prevented correct operation on builds without built-in symbols (#783)

6

• Fixed several race conditions that could lead to incorrect operation of the weather widget (for example, explorer.exe crashing when disabling or enabling the widget)

7

• Implemented 2 features that help in replacing the functionality of the quick launch toolbar with pinned taskbar items. Read more about it here

8

• Implemented option to have the Start menu open on a specific monitor (#821)
• The weather widget supports setting window corner preference (rounded/not rounded)

10

• Option to clear weather widget local data

11

• Installer sets a Start menu shortcut for the "Properties" window

14

• The weather widget positions and sizes itself with respect to the text size accessibility setting as well (#734)

15

• Support for high contrast themes in the "Properties" window and in the weather widget (#885)
• Fixed a bug that could lead to a crash when explorer.exe starts (#879)
• Fixed a bug that could prevent the weather widget from launching under certain conditions

16

• Initial support for Windows 10
• Enabling the weather widget will automatically download and install the Microsoft WebView2 Runtime on computers where it is not installed

17

• Fixed a bug in the Weather widget that could display an erroneous Google search pop-up (thanks @plofhaan) (#734)

18

• Fixed a bug that resulted in an access violation on log off when EP runs alongside 7+TT (#894)

19

• Option to enable dev tools for weather widget debugging (#934)
• Fixed a bug that prevented the "Skin menus" setting from working in the Win+X menu on Windows 10

20

• Fixed a bug that would display an information banner that obscured the weather widget in some occasions when displaying the widget in German (#934) (thanks @frederic2de)

21

• Fixed program windows in older 22000-based OS builds

22

• Added option to enable rounded corners on the Windows 10 Start menu (#937)
• Added option to disable the "Recommended" section on the Windows 11 Start menu
• Fixed a bug that prevented correct displaying of the weather widget contents when using a right-to-left language (#954)

23

• Support for full screen Windows 10 Start menu

24

• Support for "Show more tiles" option in the Windows 10 Start menu (#933)
• Fixed a bug that prevented extraction of all files when running ep_setup.exe /extract

25

• Implemented floating/docked rounded corners in the Windows 10 Start menu

26

• Implemented centered Windows 10 taskbar
• Option to hide the app list in the Windows 10 Start menu
• Fixed a bug that presented the weather widget with a wrong height when using the taskbar vertically

27

• Implemented centered Windows 10 Start menu
• Fixed a bug that prevented the taskbar from displaying UWP icons when using the Windows 10 Start menu on newer Windows builds (#973)

28

• Fixed a bug in the Windows 10 Start menu that prevented the menu from displaying when not using rounded corners
• Fixed a bug in the Windows 10 Start menu that prevented the menu from updating its position when the settings changed
• Fixed a bug in the Start menu that prevented the app from receiving settings change notifications when some registry keys were not available on the system
• Fixed a crash at startup in explorer.exe (in module sndvolsso.dll) on OS build 22567+

29

• Fixed a bug that prevented the weather widget from working on OS server SKUs
• Enabled centered Start menu and taskbar in Windows 10
• Prompt before updating when running on the built-in Administrator account and the FilterAdministratorToken policy ("User Account Control: Use Admin Approval Mode for the built-in Administrator account") is disabled or not configured
• Reworked CHANGELOG format

.30

• Support for daytime/nighttime icons in the weather widget
• Improved contrast between the weather icons and the taskbar using light theme
• Implemented Mica effect for File Explorer windows (thanks @MishaTY) and option to hide the icon and title of File Explorer windows
• Fixed a bug that made the search, Cortana and task view buttons display on the left even though the taskbar was set to center with Start menu (#999)
• Disabling the "Recommended" section in the Windows 11 Start menu now works in newer OS builds as well (#995)

.31

• The Microsoft icon pack for the weather widget applies to the widget contents as well, in addition to the taskbar icon
• Fixed a bug that slightly moved the taskbar buttons to the right when dragging to rearrange one of them over the first or last item when using the centered Windows 10 taskbar (#1009)
• Fixed a bug that crashed the "Properties" window when accessing the "System tray" section in Windows 10 (#1013)
• Fixed a bug that prevented the Mica effect from working on File Explorer windows when the "Launch folder windows in a separate process" setting was used (#1021)
• Fixed a bug that made certain systems, under certain circumstances, to become stuck in "tablet mode"; symptoms included more spacing between taskbar icons, compact view permanently disabled in File Explorer, and/or item checkboxes permanently enabled in File Explorer (#1022). After installing this update, if you are still stuck with the tablet UI, open the Registry Editor, go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\TabletTip\ConvertibleSlateModeChanged and delete the ConvertibleSlateModeChanged value which most likely is stuck to 1.

.32

• Built-in support for 22000.556
• Weather widget can now show on the left/top side of the taskbar
• Weather widget can display condition on 2 lines
• Reliability improvements for the centered Windows 10 taskbar which now also works along with other taskbar toolbars
• Fixed a bug that had the Windows 10 Start menu default to being left-aligned on Windows 10
• Fixed a bug that prevented the "Centered, with Start button" modes of the Windows 10 taskbar from working correctly when the taskbar was vertically aligned

.33

• Weather: Implemented manual zoom levels (#1033)
• Weather: Fixed a bug that had the widget display, at startup, a day/night icon relating to time at the last hour change, instead of the actual current time
• Weather: Fixed a bug that made the widget display a line at the top for some places
• Fixed a bug that could make the centered taskbar not layout correctly when showing/hiding either of the search, Cortana or task view buttons the first time after the application started
• Fixed a bug that prevented the centered taskbar from working when animations are turned off system-wide (for example, in usual remote sessions)
• Fixed a bug that prevented the taskbar from displaying correctly when the weather widget is set to display at left/top (#1041)

.34

• Weather: Fixed a bug that prevented resizing other taskbar toolbars (#1043)
• Weather: Fixed bugs regarding left/top positioning option (#1041)

.35

• Option to allow version downgrades when updating the application after switching the servicing channels (#1051)
• ExplorerPatcher no longer sets the MinWidth registry entry automatically - this was used to mitigate an issue with explorer.exe where taskbar button labels were becoming too large. If you are affected by having this registry entry set, open the Registry Editor, go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics and remove the MinWidth entry (which is probably set to 38). The same procedure can be used in order to have this option set up in the registry. For more information, see #664.
• Setup will disable the UndockingDisabled registry entry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Shell\Update\Packages when servicing the application. Using UndockingDisabled with ExplorerPatcher is not necessary and can actually cause issues (for example, see #704).

.36

• Weather: Display time of last update in the Properties window

.37

• Fixed Windows 10 taskbar button thumbnails on newer OS builds (22572+)
• Fixed Windows 10 taskbar showing fully transparent instead of the acrylic effect on newer OS builds (22572+)

.38

• Fixed a bug that made the disable window rounded corners feature not work after signing out and then back into a user account

Please consult the README for more details.
A detailed change log is available here.
An archive containing all the files generated during the build process (including dxgi.dll and symbol files) is available here.

This release has been published automatically from commits up to and including b1c40fc in branch master.