MIDI-OX User Forum - Print Page


    
      
        MIDI-OX User Forum
        (http://www.midiox.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl)
      

        General >> Desktop Icon Save and Restore >> Could Windows 7 be investigated further, pls?
        
(Message started by: John_Gray on Jun 8^th, 2011, 8:35am)

Title: Could Windows 7 be investigated further, pls?
Post by John_Gray on Jun 8^th, 2011, 8:35am

I'm using the command-line version of DesktopCmd in a BATch file, and the Save function to a file seems to work fine in both XP Pro SP3 and Win7 SP1 64-bit.

The Restore function in XP also appears to work well, but I'm getting the same sort of problems as other users have reported in Windows 7 SP1 (specifically, in my case, the 64-bit variant), where most of the icons are restored correctly, but a small number are mislocated.

It looks as though the Windows 7 Restore problem hasn't yet been cracked by the author of DesktopOK (at least), and DesktopCmd at least makes a pretty good stab of the Restore function.

Please could I encourage Mr O'Connell to revisit this specific area, and see whether he can bottom out the problem? I and many others would be exceedingly grateful for a Final Solution to the poor showing that Microsoft has made of desktop icon fixing.

In any event, Thanks Very Much for DesktopCmd!

Title: Re: Could Windows 7 be investigated further, pls?
Post by quatermass on Jun 13^th, 2011, 5:26pm

Can I second this. But for the GUI version too.

Like most of us using Windows 7 Pro 32bit, the restore simply doesn't work (or is it the save isn't working?) :)

Title: Re: Could Windows 7 be investigated further, pls?
Post by Jamie OConnell on Jun 13^th, 2011, 10:19pm

Is it possible you folks have Auto Arrange checked? If so, windows will always fight with Desktop Restore no matter what you do... Turn that off!

http://www.midiox.com/forumpix/iconrestore.png

Title: Re: Could Windows 7 be investigated further, pls?
Post by John_Gray on Jun 15^th, 2011, 2:29am

on 06/13/11 at 22:19:19, Jamie OConnell wrote:

Is it possible you folks have Auto Arrange checked?

Good grief, no! I have gaps in the icons on the left (i.e. empty locations) and a column of icons at the right-hand side of the screen which would all migrate together in a clump at the left, if I'd had AutoArrange on!

And my further point was that other icon-restoring software doesn't seem to have completely cracked this problem in Windows 7, but that yours seems to be the closest...

Title: Re: Could Windows 7 be investigated further, pls?
Post by TRR on Jul 30^th, 2013, 5:28pm

Windows 7 observations:

If no new icons have been added since the desktop layout was saved, a perfect restore in one shot is obtained by first turning off 'Align icons to grid', then doing the restore, then turning back on 'Align icons to grid'. Turning off the 'Align icons to grid' allows the restore utility to have complete control of icon positioning, without Windows 'helpfully' shifting icons around to get them out of the way of newly positioned ones (and screwing the whole thing up in the process).

However, if any icons have been added since the desktop layout was saved, these new icons often cause issues. What would seem to be needed would be for a way for the restore utility to figure out what areas of the saved desktop layout have no icons, and first move any new icons it doesn't have a placement record for to one of those available blank areas. Then proceed with putting the known icons back in their saved positions. Again, while all of this icon moving is taking place, it's crucial that 'Align icons to grid' is turned off to keep Windows from interfering with the process.

So it would seem that on Windows 7 (at least), the utility needs to automatically temporarily turn off 'Align icons to grid' while it restores a desktop, and do more careful positioning of unknown icons that were added since the last layout save.

Title: Re: Could Windows 7 be investigated further, pls?
Post by Jamie OConnell on Jul 18^th, 2014, 1:36am

Try the latest (1.6.4). I believe it has solved all issues.

Title: Re: Could Windows 7 be investigated further, pls?
Post by TRR on Jul 22^nd, 2014, 10:59am

on 07/18/14 at 01:36:49, Jamie OConnell wrote:

Try the latest (1.6.4). I believe it has solved all issues.

Thanks! It's better but it hasn't quite solved all issues.

There's still the issue of what happens to new desktop items that were added after the desktop layout was last saved.

If a new item happens to be located in a position where another item should be restored to, it prevents the restore from fully putting things back to the saved layout. The new item is left in its position (or sometimes moved one spot down), causing the items after it to be shifted out of their desired locations.

So it still seems that the restore utility needs to figure out what areas of the saved desktop layout have no items, and first move any new items it doesn't have a placement record for to one of those available blank areas. Then proceed with putting the known items back in their saved positions.

Title: Re: Could Windows 7 be investigated further, pls?
Post by Jamie OConnell on Jul 29^th, 2014, 3:54am

I have said it before, but you HAVE to re-save the positions after adding a new item and/or check [x] place unmatched icons in the center of the screen. I really do not think that's much of an issue -- just do it.