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Start11 1.2 Beta Feedback Thread

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Start11 1.2 Beta Feedback Thread

from Stardock Forums

With the Start11 1.2 beta release today, we are creating this thread so that users can report any observed issues.  

Obtaining the beta:

Object Desktop members can get the beta from within Object Desktop Manager with 'show beta downloads' enabled:

Individual purchases (as well as Object Desktop Members) can also be obtained from your account page:

https://store.stardock.com/myaccount/products

As we want as much feedback as possible for this release, we are making Start11 1.2 beta available to all.  The following direct link to the installer can be used for both licensed users and for any potential client wanting to (30 day) trial Start11 1.2 beta.

1.16: https://cdn.stardock.us/downloads/public/software/start/Start11_1.16-j140-Setup.exe
1.17: https://cdn.stardock.us/downloads/public/software/start/Start11_1.17-j151-Setup.exe

Reporting an issue:

Please include the following for anything found:

  • Exact Windows version \ build (winver.exe)
  • Detailed steps to recreate the issue seen
  • Screenshots and videos are very helpful.  Videos can be uploaded to a cloud drive services (GoogleDrive, DropBox, OneDrive, YouTube) and link included in your post.  Images can be directly added.
  • If there are specific apps that the app does not work (well) with, please note what apps and their exact versions.  If any app is not common, a link to a trial version would be appreciated.

Thank you for your interest and any time you put into making Start11  a better product.

start menu products
668,645 views 274 replies
Reply #101 from Stardock Forums Top

So far so good, noticed a few things, mainly just spacing:

 

 

That's the bottom of my monitor, so you can see the network icon, the sound icon, and the time are all too low; they need to be moved up.

 

You can also see where the second screen starts that the icons are like right on top of each other, there needs to be a little more spacing between them.

 

Other than that, looks great guys, love it, a much needed update for Windows 11.

Reply #102 from Stardock Forums Top

I installed the beta. All my taskbar icons are gone. After the Explorer Restart, they briefly flash up and then disappear. I have uninstalled, rebooted, and reinstalled. Any other suggestions or updates. Version 1.16-j140. I am really hoping to bring back the "never combine" feature. I appreciate you guys working on it and hope I can get this fixed. 

 

 

Reduced 56%
Original 1194 x 113
Elemental: Reforged
Reply #103 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting PhoenixRising1, reply 100


Quoting Neil Banfield,
reply 63

You can already drag the taskbar to be more rows. Buttons also shrink as much as they reasonably can when space gets low and then the taskbar gains a scrollbar.



When running Windows 11 version  22000.588

The described methods sound very good. But, I am not seeing this behavior on Windows 11. I do see the option "allow taskbar to be resized" but when clicked to "yes" the only thing that changes is the mouse effect near the resize area. The actual taskbar does not seem to change. Also I am not seeing a change in the size of tabs as the menu becomes full nor am I seeing the scrollbar. The overflow of tabs just aren't present at all.

Did I miss a setting, or is this a bug my end or something that is going to be implemented in the future?

Open regedit, go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

Find TaskbarSizeMode and give it a value of 0 rather than 1.

Sign out and back in again.

Resizing work now?

There is a bug in the current build where unless you set it to vertically centre the taskbar buttons it isn't shrinking them correctly when it gets full.  In vertical centre mode it is working as expected and they will shrink and also create a scrollbar when it is required.

Reply #104 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting kenlight1110, reply 102

I installed the beta. All my taskbar icons are gone. After the Explorer Restart, they briefly flash up and then disappear. I have uninstalled, rebooted, and reinstalled. Any other suggestions or updates. Version 1.16-j140. I am really hoping to bring back the "never combine" feature. I appreciate you guys working on it and hope I can get this fixed. 

 

 


Reduced 56%


Original 1194 x 113


 

Sounds exactly like the problem I am having with all the icons completely disappearing once I select never combine and apply

Reply #105 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting Neil, reply 103

Open regedit, go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

Find TaskbarSizeMode and give it a value of 0 rather than 1.

Sign out and back in again.

Resizing work now?

There is a bug in the current build where unless you set it to vertically centre the taskbar buttons it isn't shrinking them correctly when it gets full. In vertical centre mode it is working as expected and they will shrink and also create a scrollbar when it is required.

That did the trick. Resizing is now working.

You are also correct with vertical center mode. When I check marked it to "yes" the taskbar resizing started working which really helps the overflow issue a lot.

The taskbar is functioning much better now! Thanks,

Reply #106 from Stardock Forums Top

Where Microsoft drop the ball on Windows 11 Start Menu & Task bar. This beta taskbar improvement brings my frustrations level down. 

Thanks Stardock

 

Reply #107 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting ProtocolX, reply 65


Quoting Neil Banfield,
reply 62






Quoting ProtocolX,

reply 60


When I turn on "Let Start11 enhance the taskbar", my open applications are no longer on the taskbar.
When I turn it off, my open applications return.

Is this normal?



No.  What version of Windows 11 are you using?



Windows 11 64-bit 21H2 (OS Build 22000.588)

+1 for me

Windows 11 21H2 OS Build 10.0.22000.556

Cheers,

Chris

Reply #108 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting kinwolf1, reply 87

Clicking the time and date doesn't bring up the calendar, nothing happens.  Clicking the audio and network icon works fine.

After seeing this post, I tried and, indeed, I have the same problem, the date/calendar/notification bar doesn't appear at all when clicking on the clock..

I'm also seeing this issue. [edit: working properly after a reboot] Two points:

  1. The Win+N keyboard combo also fails to bring up the notification center + calendar.
  2. Either clicking the date/time or pressing Win+N will clear the notification badge.

Four other issues I'm seeing (which may be scaling dependent; I'm running at 3840x2160 with 250% scaling):

  1. Is there any way to set the height of the start menu in Modern mode a la Classic Shell, where you can specify it will be tall enough to hold X number of entries? i prefer a more compact menu. In the provided image, I'd have it vertically compressed so it's just tall enough to hold the right-pane items (e.g. "Computer" would be immediate above "Sleep").
  2. The All Programs view and the Universal Applications flyout do not use the same spacing between list items (see image). I think the Universal Applications flyout item spacing should be increased to match that of the All Programs view.
  3. When the Universal Applications flyout is long enough, the bottom of the list should probably be aligned with the bottom of the start menu (or top of the taskbar) instead of the bottom of the screen (cropped in the image, but you can tell it extends further down).
  4. With Never Combine and if too many applications are open, I'm also seeing no overflow menu nor shrinking of taskbar items. The only way to visually access the overflowed items is via Alt+Tab. Win+# still works (although you have to know the logical position of the offscreen taskbar item). HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced does not have a value named TaskbarSizeMode; if I need to create it, would it be a DWORD? [edit: issue persists after reboot.]

 

Reply #109 from Stardock Forums Top

I think I might be the only here one who doesn't care about retrofitting my taskbar. What I'd like to see is a RoundedTB-type option with segmented/dynamic mode for the existing Windows 11 taskbar.

Reply #110 from Stardock Forums Top

First... thx for great Win11 start menu replacement and enhanced taskbar behavior.
I would like to report an issue of disapperaed taskbar icons when "Combined Sometimes" is selected.
This behaviour was reported above by users kenlight1110 and mrcairo as well.

Disapperaed taskbar icons when "Combined Sometimes" is selected

Switching off the option "Let Start11 enhance the taskbar" and restarting Explorer brings back taskbar icons, however positioned to the left.

Windows 11 ver. 21H2 22000.556
Before selecting "Sometimes": start menu + taskbar icons positioned in the center
After selecting "Sometimes" (+Explorer restart): Start Menu icon positioned to the left, no taskbar icons

I appreciate the efforts

Reply #111 from Stardock Forums Top

A temporary workaround: if you set the taskbar size to "small" and restart Explorer, time and calendar are cut at the bottom, but if you select the "medium" size again without restarting Explorer, the graphics setting changes to correct. It is useful in this regard to use a custom start button icon, which is larger and does not suffer from space distortion.

Unfortunately, the notification center icon is no longer displayed

Reply #112 from Stardock Forums Top

After installing the beta version, SearchProtocolHost.exe keeps running at 4% of eight cores at all times, keeping the CPU speed at turbo boost speed and temperature at 51 degrees instead of the normal 30. Ideas?

Reply #113 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting MLaa, reply 112

After installing the beta version, SearchProtocolHost.exe keeps running at 4% of eight cores at all times, keeping the CPU speed at turbo boost speed and temperature at 51 degrees instead of the normal 30. Ideas?

That is unlikely to be anything to do with Start11 unless you are performing a search?

Reply #114 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting DexEngineer, reply 110

First... thx for great Win11 start menu replacement and enhanced taskbar behavior.
I would like to report an issue of disapperaed taskbar icons when "Combined Sometimes" is selected.
This behaviour was reported above by users kenlight1110 and mrcairo as well.

Reduced 93%
Disapperaed taskbar icons when "Combined Sometimes" is selected
Original 895 x 551



Switching off the option "Let Start11 enhance the taskbar" and restarting Explorer brings back taskbar icons, however positioned to the left.

Windows 11 ver. 21H2 22000.556
Before selecting "Sometimes": start menu + taskbar icons positioned in the center
After selecting "Sometimes" (+Explorer restart): Start Menu icon positioned to the left, no taskbar icons

I appreciate the efforts

Can you post a screenshot of your taskbar with the option disabled please as we have a few reports of this so believe there is something about whatever is on the taskbar thats causing it to appear blank.  Also how many monitors do you have?

Reply #115 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting odditude, reply 108


Quoting kinwolf1,
reply 87


Clicking the time and date doesn't bring up the calendar, nothing happens.  Clicking the audio and network icon works fine.

After seeing this post, I tried and, indeed, I have the same problem, the date/calendar/notification bar doesn't appear at all when clicking on the clock..



I'm also seeing this issue. [edit: working properly after a reboot] Two points:

 

    1. The Win+N keyboard combo also fails to bring up the notification center + calendar.

 

    1. Either clicking the date/time or pressing Win+N will clear the notification badge.

 


Four other issues I'm seeing (which may be scaling dependent; I'm running at 3840x2160 with 250% scaling):

 

    1. Is there any way to set the height of the start menu in Modern mode a la Classic Shell, where you can specify it will be tall enough to hold X number of entries? i prefer a more compact menu. In the provided image, I'd have it vertically compressed so it's just tall enough to hold the right-pane items (e.g. "Computer" would be immediate above "Sleep").

 

    1. The All Programs view and the Universal Applications flyout do not use the same spacing between list items (see image). I think the Universal Applications flyout item spacing should be increased to match that of the All Programs view.

 

    1. When the Universal Applications flyout is long enough, the bottom of the list should probably be aligned with the bottom of the start menu (or top of the taskbar) instead of the bottom of the screen (cropped in the image, but you can tell it extends further down).

 

    1. With Never Combine and if too many applications are open, I'm also seeing no overflow menu nor shrinking of taskbar items. The only way to visually access the overflowed items is via Alt+Tab. Win+# still works (although you have to know the logical position of the offscreen taskbar item). HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced does not have a value named TaskbarSizeMode; if I need to create it, would it be a DWORD? [edit: issue persists after reboot.]

 


 


You don't need to add that registry key, it was purely if you had it then you couldn't resize the taskbar.

For your issue, go to the Start11 settings.  On the taskbar page click the More Start11 taskbar settings button and enable the vertically centre taskbar buttons option.  This will fix the items going off the bottom of the taskbar issue.

Reply #117 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting Neil, reply 114


Quoting DexEngineer,
reply 110

First... thx for great Win11 start menu replacement and enhanced taskbar behavior.
I would like to report an issue of disapperaed taskbar icons when "Combined Sometimes" is selected.
This behaviour was reported above by users kenlight1110 and mrcairo as well.




Reduced 93%

Disapperaed taskbar icons when "Combined Sometimes" is selected

Original 895 x 551



Switching off the option "Let Start11 enhance the taskbar" and restarting Explorer brings back taskbar icons, however positioned to the left.

Windows 11 ver. 21H2 22000.556
Before selecting "Sometimes": start menu + taskbar icons positioned in the center
After selecting "Sometimes" (+Explorer restart): Start Menu icon positioned to the left, no taskbar icons

I appreciate the efforts




Can you post a screenshot of your taskbar with the option disabled please as we have a few reports of this so believe there is something about whatever is on the taskbar thats causing it to appear blank.  Also how many monitors do you have?

Ill add some info to that last question

On My taskbar there is normally only the search option (set to the default magnifying glass as opposed to the search box).

I run on 2 monitors but only have the taskbar enabled on my main Monitor 1

Reply #118 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting Neil, reply 114

Can you post a screenshot of your taskbar with the option disabled please as we have a few reports of this so believe there is something about whatever is on the taskbar thats causing it to appear blank.  Also how many monitors do you have?

Your suspicion that the issue is connected to multi-screen setup was correct!

I have three screens and made tests of such configurations:
(1) three screens: middle screen primary, side screens extended 2-1-3
(2) two screens: left screen primary, right screen extended 1-2
(3) one seamless desktop of three screens: nVidia Surround 5760x1200
(4) one screen, side screens disconnected

Results:

(1) three screens: 1 primary + 2 extended:

  • activating Enhanced taskbar switch (On)...

    - case 1: taskbar icons positioned in the center...
       Start11 Configuration window disappears (crash?) and nothing is changed
       openning Star11 Config again after crash...
       Enhanced taskbar switch is ON (but function is not working)
       position centering option is not visible
       Changing anything bewteen Always/Sometimes/Never cause:
          taskbar icons disappear and start button positioned to the left

    - case 2: taskbar icons positioned to the left...
       taskbar icons disappear (see first screenshot)
       position centering option is not visible

  • deactivating Enhanced taskbar switch (Explorer restart)... taskbar icons visible again
  • observed: After restarting Explorer (Enhanced taskbar is ON!)
    taskbar icons appear for fraction of a second, then disappear again

(2) two screens: left primary + right extended, same behavior as above (1)

(3) three screens seamless desktop nVidia Surround:

  • Taskbar is located on left screen, top (!)
    "Taskbar position" is set to "Align Bottom" for primary monitor and secondary monitors
  • Start Button custom image works ok
  • Taskbar Enhancement works ok

(4) one screen, Start Button & Taskbar Enhanced works ok

Note: In my case the option "Show my taskbar on all displays"
is switched OFF in Windows' Personalization > Taskbar

Let me know if additional tests would be helpful

Reply #119 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting Neil, reply 115


Quoting odditude,
reply 108

Quoting kinwolf1,

reply 87
Clicking the time and date doesn't bring up the calendar, nothing happens.  Clicking the audio and network icon works fine.
After seeing this post, I tried and, indeed, I have the same problem, the date/calendar/notification bar doesn't appear at all when clicking on the clock..

I'm also seeing this issue. [edit: working properly after a reboot] Two points:
    1. The Win+N keyboard combo also fails to bring up the notification center + calendar.
    2. Either clicking the date/time or pressing Win+N will clear the notification badge.



Four other issues I'm seeing (which may be scaling dependent; I'm running at 3840x2160 with 250% scaling):

    1. Is there any way to set the height of the start menu in Modern mode a la Classic Shell, where you can specify it will be tall enough to hold X number of entries? i prefer a more compact menu. In the provided image, I'd have it vertically compressed so it's just tall enough to hold the right-pane items (e.g. "Computer" would be immediate above "Sleep").
    2. The All Programs view and the Universal Applications flyout do not use the same spacing between list items (see image). I think the Universal Applications flyout item spacing should be increased to match that of the All Programs view.
    3. When the Universal Applications flyout is long enough, the bottom of the list should probably be aligned with the bottom of the start menu (or top of the taskbar) instead of the bottom of the screen (cropped in the image, but you can tell it extends further down).
    4. With Never Combine and if too many applications are open, I'm also seeing no overflow menu nor shrinking of taskbar items. The only way to visually access the overflowed items is via Alt+Tab. Win+# still works (although you have to know the logical position of the offscreen taskbar item). HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced does not have a value named TaskbarSizeMode; if I need to create it, would it be a DWORD? [edit: issue persists after reboot.]

[image snipped]



You don't need to add that registry key, it was purely if you had it then you couldn't resize the taskbar.

For your issue, go to the Start11 settings.  On the taskbar page click the More Start11 taskbar settings button and enable the vertically centre taskbar buttons option.  This will fix the items going off the bottom of the taskbar issue.

Confirmed, issue #4 fixed. I'm hoping #1-3 are noted as bug reports or feature requests, as appropriate.

The Notifications panel issue returns after resuming my PC from sleep, however.

Reply #120 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting DexEngineer, reply 118


Quoting Neil Banfield,
reply 114

Can you post a screenshot of your taskbar with the option disabled please as we have a few reports of this so believe there is something about whatever is on the taskbar thats causing it to appear blank.  Also how many monitors do you have?



Your suspicion that the issue is connected to multi-screen setup was correct!

I have three screens and made tests of such configurations:
(1) three screens: middle screen primary, side screens extended 2-1-3
(2) two screens: left screen primary, right screen extended 1-2
(3) one seamless desktop of three screens: nVidia Surround 5760x1200
(4) one screen, side screens disconnected

Results:

(1) three screens: 1 primary + 2 extended:

 

    • activating Enhanced taskbar switch (On)...

      - case 1: taskbar icons positioned in the center...
         Start11 Configuration window disappears (crash?) and nothing is changed
         openning Star11 Config again after crash...
         Enhanced taskbar switch is ON (but function is not working)
         position centering option is not visible
         Changing anything bewteen Always/Sometimes/Never cause:
            taskbar icons disappear and start button positioned to the left

      - case 2: taskbar icons positioned to the left...
         taskbar icons disappear (see first screenshot)
         position centering option is not visible

 

    • deactivating Enhanced taskbar switch (Explorer restart)... taskbar icons visible again

 

    • observed: After restarting Explorer (Enhanced taskbar is ON!)
      taskbar icons appear for fraction of a second, then disappear again

 

 

Reduced 90%
Original 879 x 183



(2) two screens: left primary + right extended, same behavior as above (1)

(3) three screens seamless desktop nVidia Surround:

 

    • Taskbar is located on left screen, top (!)
      "Taskbar position" is set to "Align Bottom" for primary monitor and secondary monitors

 

    • Start Button custom image works ok

 

    • Taskbar Enhancement works ok

 

 

Reduced 90%
Original 883 x 184



(4) one screen, Start Button & Taskbar Enhanced works ok

Note: In my case the option "Show my taskbar on all displays"
is switched OFF in Windows' Pessonalization > Taskbar

Let me know if additional tests would be helpful

Does changing the option in Start11 settings to show windows on all taskbars help?

Reply #121 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting Neil, reply 120

Does changing the option in Start11 settings to show windows on all taskbars help?

Couldn't find Start11 option to show taskbar on all screens, so I used:
Windows Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Show my taskbar on all displays

Enhanced Taskbar (Sometimes/Never) works now on primary screen and extended screens.
In "More Start11 taskbar settings..." I can activate now the same behavior for multiple monitors.

There is another issue...
when there are too many programs opened, taskbar icons are wrapped creating second hidden row below.
I would expect compressed view first, then carousel.

Reply #122 from Stardock Forums Top
Quoting DexEngineer, reply 118


Your suspicion that the issue is connected to multi-screen setup was correct!

I have three screens and made tests of such configurations:
(1) three screens: middle screen primary, side screens extended 2-1-3
(2) two screens: left screen primary, right screen extended 1-2
(3) one seamless desktop of three screens: nVidia Surround 5760x1200
(4) one screen, side screens disconnected

Results:

(1) three screens: 1 primary + 2 extended:

    • activating Enhanced taskbar switch (On)...

      - case 1: taskbar icons positioned in the center...
         Start11 Configuration window disappears (crash?) and nothing is changed
         openning Star11 Config again after crash...
         Enhanced taskbar switch is ON (but function is not working)
         position centering option is not visible
         Changing anything bewteen Always/Sometimes/Never cause:
            taskbar icons disappear and start button positioned to the left

      - case 2: taskbar icons positioned to the left...
         taskbar icons disappear (see first screenshot)
         position centering option is not visible

    • deactivating Enhanced taskbar switch (Explorer restart)... taskbar icons visible again
    • observed: After restarting Explorer (Enhanced taskbar is ON!)
      taskbar icons appear for fraction of a second, then disappear again

Reduced 95%
Original 879 x 183


(2) two screens: left primary + right extended, same behavior as above (1)

(3) three screens seamless desktop nVidia Surround:


    • Taskbar is located on left screen, top (!)
      "Taskbar position" is set to "Align Bottom" for primary monitor and secondary monitors
    • Strt Button custom image works ok
    • Taskbar Enhancement works ok

Reduced 94%
Original 883 x 184


(4) one screen, Start Button & Taskbar Enhanced works ok

Note: In my case the option "Show my taskbar on all displays"
is switched OFF in Windows' Personalization > Taskbar

Let me know if additional tests would be helpful
 
 
 
 
Think you may have cracked it If I extend the taskbar to both displays then Never combine is displayed correctly, soon as I go back to just primary monitor it stops working ... I will wait for an update on that I hate taskbar on both.
 
Looks great when its working though.


 

 
Reply #123 from Stardock Forums Top

 

I've noticed that the taskbar is sluggish; it's slow to respond to my clicks sometimes. 

The taskbar icon area (the part you see with the up arrow), sometimes I can't click on that sometimes I have to right click.

You'll notice in this screen shot that the calendar has 2 different backgrounds, that's because it's not showing up on one monitor, it's showing up between both monitors (I have 4 on this computer); making it hard to read.

Reply #124 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting mrcairo, reply 122

Think you may have cracked it If I extend the taskbar to both displays then Never combine is displayed correctly, soon as I go back to just primary monitor it stops working ... I will wait for an update on that I hate taskbar on both.

Looks great when its working though
 
Same behavior here. Not working on one primary screen only.
 
I used to have taskbar on center screen only as well, however I plan to test this for some time...
Taskbar > More Taskbar Settings > Multiple monitor settings >
Show taskbar buttons on... >  Main taskbar ans taskbar where window is open
 
There are two advantages:
1. visible indicator which programs are positioned on extended screens
2. main screen taskbar shows all programs... instant info on what is running
 
Maybe it's too much info on extended screen... time will tell.
I agree that it looks great
+1 Loading…
Reply #125 from Stardock Forums Top

The feature "windows-icon left and all other icons centered" did only start working after a complete restart of windows.
Only a restart of the explorer.exe was not enough.

Next I cannot click the default systray icons for network and audio an a click on the clock does nothing too.

 

Beside this, the new features are awesome, thanks for this!

 

Now I'm only missing one feature: be able to pin apps to secondary taskbars, is there something in your roadmap for that?