Neil Banfield

WindowBlinds application compatibility issues

WindowBlinds application compatibility issues

It has come to our attention that some people may have had issues with some apps and WB and opted not to tell anyone about it.

Obviously we would like to know about them so we can resolve the issues.

If you have had an issue with an app caused by being skinned by WB, please post the following information in this thread:

1) The app name

2) The OS you are using

3) The theme you are using

4) The problem you have encountered

5) If you did report it to support a ticket number would help.

If the issue is visual a screenshot would help and where the app is more unusual we would like to know where we may be able to obtain a trial or demo version of it from.

Please note that we are not looking for bug reports on making skins here.  This is specifically for application issues.

475,284 views 173 replies
Reply #151 Top

Quoting BFeely, reply 127

Google Chrome dev-m Aura builds, both Windows 8.0 and 8.1.  Titlebar is completely transparent, and no controls.  Also a gap between the window border and the actual window.

Likely due to the new hardware accelerated UI. 

https://imgur.com/WDR7qKM[/quote]

I have the same problem, but it is now with the standard Chrome channel.

http://imageshack.com/a/img34/3230/kiho.png

1) Google Chrome 32.0.1700.76 m

2) Windows 8.1 Pro x64 upgrade-in-place (was working fine previously)

3) Win8 (WindowBlinds); Default (Chrome)

4) The minimize/restore/close buttons in Chrome are missing.

WindowBlinds 8.01 (020 - Windows 8 Edition) - 64 bit OS

I have tried "Ignore This Application and Do Not Skin It" but the buttons only reappear if I completely unload WindowBlinds.

Reply #152 Top

1) jZip

2) Windows 7 Pro x64

3) Win8 on latest WindowBlinds 7 and latest Windows 7 Professional (7601.win7sp1_gdr.130828-1532)
WindowBlinds 8.02 (022 - Windows 7 Edition) - 64 bit OS

4) When I right click on a file that is compressed, or a file I want to compress, the text field of jZip:s options is empty.

 

Reply #153 Top

+1 As above, but a bit different and with more applications; java programs, explorer.exe, Yadis, 10Muse. Each time when I have to browse in those aplications to a folder location everything in that popup is empty. Happens with all skins.

+1 Loading…
Reply #154 Top

1) Firefox 26

2) Windows 7 Pro x64

3) Win8, Windows 7 Professional (7601.win7sp1_gdr.130828-1532)
WindowBlinds 8.02 (022 - Windows 7 Edition) - 64 bit OS

4) When I apply Firefox themes for the upper Firefox border, the theme don't expand to the whole area. Without WindowBlinds it does.

Reply #156 Top

Quoting SovereignGFC, reply 151
SovereignGFC

 

SovereignGFC,

I have this issue sometimes regardless of WindowsBlinds.  The next time this instance happens, try seeing if restarting the "Themes" service causes the windows to return to normal.  At the moment I only have Start8 running, so I know that my issues are not related.  My problem comes the longer Windows and dwm runs until dwm eventually crashes but the Themes service doesn't know to restart which leads to funky looking windows.

 

Hope this is of some help,

Regards.

Reply #157 Top

1) ImgBurn 2.5.8.0

2) Windows 7 Pro x64

3) Win8, Windows 7 Professional (7601.win7sp1_gdr.130828-1532)
WindowBlinds 8.02 (022 - Windows 7 Edition) - 64 bit OS

4) Can't maximize the screen.

Reply #158 Top

1. Anuko world clock

2. W8 Pro 64 bit

3. Innomatum

4. Anuko and Window Blinds togethor freeze taskbar. Unloading either WB or Anuko solves the problem

5. Issue now reported to Anuko

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Anuko World Clock Compatibility Notes

Occasionally, situations occur when another product interferes with normal operation of Anuko World Clock. There are several types of such products:

  1. Antivirus products that may issue a false alarm. Symantec's NAV was doing this in March 2007, other antivirus products often do a similar mistake.
  2. Security products that prohibit writing data to the product install directory (where Anuko World Clock settings are stored). In this case you will not be able to save and keep your clock settings. According to one report, ESET's NOD32 is doing it as of March 2010.
  3. Security products that mistakenly treat installing a taskbar hook as a threat and interfere. Installing such hook is a legitimate and the only way for us to show clocks in taskbar. In this case you will not be able to see Anuko clocks in taskbar (only on desktop). As of 2010, there is at least ONE product that is doing this.
  4. Various Windows shell / interface improvement products that radically change the look of Windows. In this case operating in taskbar is often impossible. WindowBlinds is one of such products.
  5. Faulty or improperly installed video drivers. Read the Incompatibilities with Video Drivers section for more information.
  6. Website "advisor" products that may treat some of our websites as potentially harmful. McAfee SiteAdvisor is one example. Combination of such false alarms with their telemarketing approach to sales is very annoying.
  7. Screen extender products that expand desktop working area to multiple monitors. Some of these products, such as Matrox TripleHead2Go may have an option to launch programs on a particular screen. When this option is used, the device driver interferes with clock positions and forcefully moves desktop clocks.

 

What to Do in Case of Incompatibility?

When you encounter an incompatibility the best option is to report it it to us and to another product manufacturer. We will do our best to help, if another party cooperates. Very often the problem needs to be fixed in another product. Therefore, it is best to communicate the problem to all.

Reply #159 Top

1) Metro context menus (right mouse button);

2) Windows 8.1 update 1 64bit, WB 8.03;

...

4) Metro context menus (right mouse button) - missing. Without WindowBlinds everything is OK.



Reply #160 Top

Oops... I didn't realize this topic was relevant until after I posted a separate topic on it. Sorry.

1) App: Photoshop CS6

2) Windows 8.1, 1920 x 1080 res, NVIDIA driver (everything is updated)

3) dream loricae (bingxueling)

4) Files appear blank when opened in photoshop. Seriously. Just black. It's unusable, and I can't use WindowBlinds on my new comp because of it. Tried disabling themes from applying to Photoshop (64 bit ver)--didn't work.
edit: I also noticed a problem someone else also has--the text scrambles.

5) Ticket ID: WDK-932-61615

Reply #161 Top

Exclude Ps from Windowblinds:

Step 4 - is just checking the top box in the window that will open when you click "open" in 3. 

Then just OK that and *poof*...no more problems with Ps being skinned. :)

Reply #162 Top

If you read the post properly, you'd have known I already tried it. That was the first thing I tried.

Reply #163 Top

1) Classic Shell

2) Windows 8.1

3) "Win8"

4) The right column of the start menu text is black instead of white.  As soon as you unload WindowBlinds it goes back to the normal white.  This happens in a few other skins as well (i.e. Corporate) so it may be a skin issue.  Either way the start menu is very difficult to read in black.

By the way, I know about Start8, and I would use that instead...if only it could do the fly-out menus for All Programs I think it would be perfect!

Reply #164 Top

And not to hijack my own post, but in Windows 8.1 whenever WB is loaded and you right-click on the desktop, the menu is always in Arial instead of SegoeUI...a minor issue, sure, but it happens no matter what skin I choose.  I've tried to adjust the Font settings through WB but nothing changes that.

Reply #165 Top

Chrome still Broke after a year since first reported.  

 

1) The app name

Google Chrome

2) The OS you are using

Windows 8.1

3) The theme you are using

ANY THEME

4) The problem you have encountered

The title and controls are invisable

5) If you did report it to support a ticket number would help.

Reply #166 Top

I am having MAJOR problems with WindowBlinds since the last few updates came out for Windows 8.1 in August and September.  I do have the latest version of WindowBlinds, version 8.06.  This morning I tried to install some updates from Windows Update, and I almost thought I was going to have to wipe out my hard drive and reinstall everything from scratch!  My computer would not finish booting up -- it would start to load the desktop, and then it would keep flashing up a blue screen and then starting over loading the desktop.  I couldn't even get System Restore to work!  At first I wasn't even able to reboot in Safe Mode.  After tinkering for a long time, I finally managed to get into Safe Mode.  I could tell that it seemed to be when the taskbar changed colors, as it does when WindowBlinds loads, that the system was hanging.  So, purely on a hunch as an act of desperation, I removed all of my Stardock software (Start8, ModernMix, Fences, and WindowBlinds) and then restarted my computer.  That worked -- it booted up normally.  So I decided to reinstall the Stardock applications one by one, to see which one was causing the problem.  Start8, ModernMix, and Fences all worked just fine.  But as soon I tried to reload WindowBlinds, the problems started again.  Thankfully, this time, I was able to get into Safe Mode right away, uninstall WindowBlinds, and restart my computer.  It came up fine after WindowBlinds was uninstalled  So obviously, WindowBlinds is what is causing the problem.

I've had WindowBlinds on my computer for quite a long time, and I never had any problems with it until around August.  So I feel sure that something from Windows Update has created a compatibility problem that wasn't there before.

I have also reported this problem to Support (ticket #UGJ-662-24855), but I wanted to let the problem be known here publicly.

Reply #167 Top

Well, since someone has awakened this thread once again, I'll pitch in.  O:)

 

Neil, I have been talking with Keith Lammers at Binary Fortress (DisplayFusion) about the way that the start button on a secondary monitor gets skewed and he says they are talking to you about it.

 

He says I could drop a line at ya about it, so here I am.

 

It's a minor thing, but it sucks. I hope yall get it fixed.

 

Start button on primary monitor:

 

 

Start button on secondary monitor using DisplayFusion:

 

 

Reply #170 Top

1) The app name

Topaz Impression

 

2) The OS you are using

Windows 8.1

 

3) The theme you are using

Using theme Echo at the moment, but doesn't matter which theme you use, program won't load unless you first unload WB

 

4) The problem you have encountered

Program won't load unless WB is unloaded first.

 

Any way for you guys to take a look at it?  They offer a 30 day preview at http://www2.topazlabs.com/.

 

Thanks.

 

P.S. Love your products.

Reply #171 Top

1) Sumatra pdf viewer is showing the same titlebar problem that FF 33 is showing.

2) Windows 7

3) Any theme

4) Title bar not skinning properly, buttons transparent as well.

*Sumatra was skinning fine until they did an update on 10/18. In Sumatra, if you go to settings and uncheck "use tabs", the problem goes away.

I posted this in another thread before someone pointed me to this thread.

Reply #172 Top

1) The lastest Google Chrome 64-bit Beta. More specific: version 39.0.2171.27 beta-m (64-bit).

2) Windows 7 64-bit SP1.

3) Frontier, by vStyler.
But this issue also occurs with other themes.

4) When I minimize Google Chrome to the taskbar, and then click the icon to open it again, the whole Google Chrome window got shifted to the right.
So there is an empty nonfunctional border between my taskbar (which is placed on the left side of my screen) and the actual Google Chrome application.

This ONLY happens with Google Chrome by the way.

Screenshot: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2648/windowblinds_googlechrome_bug.PNG

I can get it fixed by moving the Google Chrome window a bit and clicking the Maximize button. But the border returns after minimizing to taskbar and opening again.

 

Additional info:
I also have the exact same set-up on a laptop here, so
- same Google Chrome version
- same OS version
- same theme
- same placement of taskbar

It also happens there.

Also, it does NOT happen when I place the taskbar at the bottom (= the normal placement).
Then no empty nonfunction border ever appears.

 

EDIT 25/10/14:

It also happens with Paint.NET.

Reply #173 Top

This is something that seems to have been a problem for awhile (see this post), when skinning Putty the following occurs (quoted from the original post):

That thing on the right hand side is supposed to be the scrollbar except trying to manage it with the mouse makes window focus fall through to the background window as if it weren't even there.  It still functions, however, and scrolling up and down lets you see the little block moving up and down as well but it has to be done with the mousewheel.  Theme is irrelevant again.  Only fix right now is to disable themeing it in compatibility.  Not a single one of the other icons had any effect at all unfortunately.  I use this constantly and while the others programs I've reported have issues, they are barely noticeable in comparison to a the typical plain, bland PuTTY window in the middle of a pretty screen.

I've been playing with this a bit and have had a similar lack of success in getting anything to work.  Completely unskinning Putty, as the OP points out, isn't very pleasant.

Has anyone had any luck getting WB to work with Putty?