Ndi 7Start / Blog: Recent posts

Beta 4 is out now:

• Moved main development to pop menu, 98/2k style (seems to be preferred menu form)
  • From now on, all changes refer to this menu
• Added popup menus to items
• Added better menu management (fewer open windows)
• Added 64 bit hack execute (executes 64 bit-only shortcuts)
• Added better icon management (faster!)
• Added duplicate detection for items (no more dupes, ever)
• Added both public and private menus (for real this time, as promised in B3)
• Added faster drawing (only old menu was accelerated)
• Added glass setting propagation (now all items are glass if set so in settings)
• Modified code on edit box launch (see below)
• Added new engines (external)
  • Added Winamp control engines (WAPlay WAStop, WAPause, WANext, WAPrev)
  • Added system control commands (reboot, shutdown, logoff, powerdown)
  • Fixed a bug where commands with no parameters never executed
  • Added QCMD command that closes window after execution
  • Allow forced commands via CMD/QCMD (reboot /? for help, -r reboots, -R forces, etc)
• Added menu file operations
  • Added copy
  • Added move
  • Added paste
  • Added delete (with warning)
  • Extended file operations to folders, too.
  • Moved to IFileOperations, as per MS recommendation
  • Thus made SM2 compatible with Vista/7/8, Killed XP and lower
  • This limitation only affects cut, copy, paste, delete.
  • Gained access to recycle bin, undo, permission and attribute copy
• Added cheat for x64 URL icons failing due to path substitution
  • Added "world" neutral browser icon for all URLs (was folder icon)
  • Added "unknown" icon for x64 failed paths (was oddball icon)
  • Added same icon ("unknown") for broken icons and OS cheats
• Added "magic" icon to insta-navigate "magic" folders (near shutdown buttons)
  • Added My Computer and similar (home aka "user" folder)
  • Added My Documents and subitems (pictures, music, video)
  • Added used folders (downloads, temp)
  • Added Control Panel
  • Added used CP items (add/remove programs, devices, network, management)
• Added hints to shutdown buttons so user knows right click forces
  • Realized that button for folders is right near force logoff. Needs more work.
• Added hide/un-hide menu to start menu items
  • Said setting also affects Microsoft's Explorer Start Menu if set
  • Uses native "hidden" bit so it can be set/unset independently of 7Start
  • Holding Shift while navigating force-shows hidden items
  • Allows for cleaner Start Menu, with used menus always visible, lesser menus available with Shift key
  • Each items must be set independently, but propagates down (hiding a folder hides all children). Shift key also locks until reopen, user only needs to hold Shift while popping the parent.
• Added F5 key for refresh of items
• Added auto-refresh for internal file operations
• Added key shortcuts for all menu items (Ctrl+C/X/V, Enter, Alt+Enter, F5, Ctrl+O)
• Keys are polite (keyboards with AltGR still work as intended)
• Implemented renaming of items, but UI isn't ready
• Fixed a bug where searching and switching menu modes broke the search window

Beta 3 released, containing a demo-stage cascading menu implementation, similar to 98/2k menus.

It is implemented in code, not as a menu, allowing for more customization, standard window animations, pinning of open menus and custom behavior. It is enabled by default. To revert to W7-style collapse access, uncheck the checkbox at the top of the menu. It has a gold background.

Changes:

• Added demo-only cascading menus
• Removed old shutdown button, replaced with custom icons.
• Removed keyboard shortcuts for shutting down, replaced with nothing. In Beta 4, power will be managed via keyboard in a new, more flexible way that does not require remembering keyboard shortcuts.
• There is a known limitation of the new cascading menu where only "common" start menu is displayed. This is intentional to keep the new cascade system fluid and, once it is stable (B4), the user menu will be added.
• There is a possibility that not all menu instances are closed correctly. I'm on it.
• Not all menus work in all incarnations of the start menu (cascade, fold). This is a temporary issue... read more

7Start has entered Beta 2, which is a highly recommended update:

• setup now supports 64 bit windows (XP, Vista (untested), 7 and 8)
  Fixes issues with install paths.

• setup now supports starting with windows on all accounts
  Fixes W64 issues with setup writing to HKLM (needs admin account)
  User is still free to choose not to. Desktop icon is available during setup on request

• added support for both "all user" start menu and "personal" start menu.
  For now, the limitation is that some folders are duplicated.
  Either you clean up duplicates by moving items from one to the other
  or wait for a way to fix this in a timely fashion. See below.... read more

• added installer
• added key navigation helpers
• fixed a bug where pinned color had a bad default if there was no INI file
• added code to muffle Windows default sound on unhandled key navigation
• added Run menu
• added Properties menu
• worked around an issue in Alpha where right clicking a node
  would use the current node, not selected node by right click
• cleaned up code and made self-reliant so it will be ready for release in Beta 2... read more

• fixed some navigation quirks
• added manual for settings
• added menu width setting
• added file list size (implicitly sizing pinned list)
• added swapping of panes setting for pinned on left

• added input box for search
• added keyboard navigation
• added search of menu
• added keyword engine with flexible keyword management via ini file
• added hotkey (Ctrl+)
• misc enhancements

Alpha 1 has been released.

• added start menu collapse structure
• added pinned list
• added glass and INI file to customize
• added shutdown (not functional for testing purposes only)
• added async updating of icons
• added second and third icon extraction methods
• added execution functionality
• started code cleanup for release of source code onto the unsuspecting public