Caution
You are downloading a file flagged as malware by Microsoft and very likely by other major antivirus vendors. We believe that this false flag indicates Microsoft's hatred against this software, not because this contains a virus or such.
Please include the following files and folders in your antivirus' exclusion list to prevent issues due to antivirus detections:
C:\Program Files\ExplorerPatcher%APPDATA%\ExplorerPatcherC:\Windows\dxgi.dllC:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.StartMenuExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewyC:\Windows\SystemApps\ShellExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy
For Defender, you can run the following script in PowerShell as an administrator:
Add-MpPreference -ExclusionPath "C:\Program Files\ExplorerPatcher"
Add-MpPreference -ExclusionPath "$env:APPDATA\ExplorerPatcher"
Add-MpPreference -ExclusionPath "C:\Windows\dxgi.dll"
Add-MpPreference -ExclusionPath "C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.StartMenuExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy"
Add-MpPreference -ExclusionPath "C:\Windows\SystemApps\ShellExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy"- If you are downloading from this page, please temporarily disable real-time protection or save to a folder excluded from antivirus scans.
- Failure to exclude ExplorerPatcher's files may result in inability to install/uninstall EP and
explorer.exebeing unable to start. - If you do not trust this process, please refrain from using ExplorerPatcher and look for alternatives instead.
- Microsoft, if you are reading this, please reconsider the detections as there are a lot of users who trust this program and that risks from future EP developers are a thing.
- Issues related to antivirus detections will be closed immediately. Discuss this in #3228.
Caution
We DO NOT recommend using EP on work machines running Windows 11 version 24H2. More info here.
Tested on OS builds 19045.4598, 22621.3296, 22621.3810, 26120.961, and 26244.5000. (Note: 22621 and 22631 share the same OS files)
1
- Taskbar10: Introduced a new taskbar implementation: Windows 10 (ExplorerPatcher). (146070d, 0b86e55)
- You can try this implementation out by changing the "Taskbar style" to "Windows 10 (ExplorerPatcher)".
- For now, this is only available for builds 22621, 22631, and 22635. Other builds will not have the option.
- Refer to this wiki article for more information including important ones.
2
- Taskbar10: Due to false positive antivirus detections, the new taskbar implementation is no longer bundled in the setup program. (48c2a75)
- If you want to use the new taskbar implementation, you can download the appropriate DLL for your system from the Releases page of its releases repository, and then manually putting it in
C:\Program Files\ExplorerPatcherwithout the architecture specifier. - For example, for 226xx builds on x64-based systems, download
ep_taskbar.2.amd64.dll, rename toep_taskbar.2.dll, and lastly put it inC:\Program Files\ExplorerPatcher.
- If you want to use the new taskbar implementation, you can download the appropriate DLL for your system from the Releases page of its releases repository, and then manually putting it in
3
- Introduced support for ARM64 devices. (992b3a6, 2e4e4f5, b76c0e4, c9884b2, 57f63ad, 78788ec, 4799b4b, 5d0d218)
- These builds are only tested on and made to work with 24H2 ARM64 builds. Older ARM64 Windows versions than 24H2 may not work as expected.
- Added an "Update now" button into update notifications for easier updating. (2b9c747, 8c16a9a)
- Revised how files are packed in ep_setup for smaller size and easier maintenance. (30579b0, b253625, 04fd2b7, db54ce9, 126c024, c0201ff)
- EP's taskbar implementation for 24H2 is now available in its releases repository, as
ep_taskbar.5.dll. If you want to try this out, follow the steps explained above.
4
With this update, ExplorerPatcher is now officially compatible and supported on Windows 11 24H2 🥳🎉
- Start10: Now works again on 24H2 and 226xx.3930+. (755f101, 7e0f7eb, b473114)
- Taskbar10: EP's taskbar DLLs are now included again in the setup files. (d9595fc)
- Taskbar10: Network icon now shows again on 24H2. (7e0f7eb, b473114)
- Start10: Fixed positioning when the taskbar is not placed at the bottom, on 24H2 and latest 22H2/23H2 builds. (de2532d, ea5881f)
- Taskbar10: Fixed taskbar jump list flyout positioning when the taskbar is not placed at the bottom, on latest 22H2/23H2/24H2 builds. (39609e4)
- Setup: Updated the code for dealing with locked files, this should reduce the chances of getting setup failures due to locked files. (7e0f7eb)
- ep_taskbar: Fixed tray icons not being saved.
- ep_taskbar: Removed the Copilot button on 22H2.
5
- Taskbar10: Fixed jump list positioning patch on latest builds with
TaskbarJumplistOnHoverfeature flag. (#3615) (351a020) - Taskbar11: Fixed Task Manager menu entry doing nothing on 24H2+. (#3021, #3556) (060066c)
- Start10: Fixed symbols mechanism when custom
StartUI_.dllis used. (0f38628) - Start10: Increased reliability of ARM64 patterns for restoring the animations and fixing positioning. (#3566) (2ea3894)
- ep_taskbar: Fixed the task band not having a handle when the taskbar is unlocked.
- ep_taskbar: Fixed scroll arrows in window list popups (
ExtendedUI) having weird appearance and behavior.
6
- Updates: Fixed a bug where empty UpdateURL registry values would break the updates system. (#3668) (ac14c75)
- Setup: Cleaned some unneeded stuff in the setup binary. (9811810)
- Misc: Restored exported functions for launching/restarting Explorer:
ZZLaunchExplorer,ZZLaunchExplorerDelayed, andZZRestartExplorer. (9811810)
7
- Taskbar10: The registry key for the "Combine taskbar labels" setting is no longer redirected. (eb1f1ec, 2a6fb15)
- This means you can now configure this reliably both from EP's Properties dialog and the Settings app.
- If you are using EP with Windows 11 taskbar on Windows 11 builds before 226x1.2361 (builds without the Never Combine option on the Windows 11 taskbar), please make sure that this is set to "Always" to prevent issues.
- ep_taskbar: Now supports EP Weather. (#3546)
- ep_taskbar: Disabled app icon animations in the notification center button due to crashes when receiving a large number of notifications. (#3605)
- ep_taskbar: Fixed an issue where fallback UWP app icons do not show up, such as Okular's. (#3754)
- ep_taskbar: Fixed an issue where the primary taskbar's monitor location is not remembered. (#3719)
- ep_taskbar: Implemented Win+X hotkey. (#3671)
- ep_taskbar: Initial support for Windhawk mods. The following classes are now exported:
ClockButton,CTaskListThumbnailWnd,CTaskBand,CTaskBand::CLauncherTask,CTaskBtnGroup,CWindowTaskItem,CImmersiveTaskItem,CTaskGroup,TaskItemFilter,CTaskListWnd, andCTaskThumbnail. (#3769)- Check this list for compatibility info.
- The mods themselves need to be manually updated to support ep_taskbar. Please contact the respective mod authors for this.
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 78e6248 in branch master.