Directory Opus 9.1

An update for Directory Opus is now available for download from the GP Software website.

Directory Opus 9.1 6th December 2007

New Features:

  • Full 64-bit (x64) support

    Directory Opus now comes in two separate versions– the classic, 32-bit x86 version for 32-bit versions of Windows, and the new x64 version for 64-bit versions of Windows.

    Opus is now a native 64-bit application and there should be little or no difference between using Opus on the two versions of Windows. All of the significant issues encountered when running the 32-bit version on an x64 OS should now be resolved. A couple of minor points for people using the 64-bit version:

    • As yet, we do not have a 64-bit native ZIP library (or RAR library), and so the x64 version of Opus uses the 32-bit libraries via a COM proxy. Therefore, you may notice an additional (32-bit) process running called dopusx64.exe.
    • Not all of the Opus plugins are available in 64-bit yet – these will be progressively converted. As of December, specifically the ActiveX (docs) plugin, which provides support for Word and other Office Documents is not yet available for 64-bit users.
    • The x64 installer includes the 32-bit binaries, for use with the USB export feature. When exporting to a USB device in the 64-bit version, you will be prompted to choose which version to export. It probably makes more sense to export the 32-bit version to USB as the 64-bit version can only run on a 64-bit OS.
  • Improved folder thumbnail support
    • Directory Opus now supports the Explorer system for assigning a specific image to a folder thumbnail (via Properties / Customize).
    • Opus also now can display folder thumbnails for ZIP files (that is, the thumbnail for a ZIP file will display miniature thumbnails of the first four files inside the ZIP.)
    • The mini-thumbs displayed on a folder thumbnail are now chosen in date order (newest first) rather than alphabetical order.
  • Improved context menu handling
    • The handling of third-party context menu extensions has been improved to be more compatible. Additionally, if a fault is triggered by a context menu extension handler and Opus is able to catch it, a warning dialog is now displayed that gives you the option of blocking that context menu extension permanently, or ignoring any further errors.
  • Rename improvements
    • When renaming files inline, files are not resorted until inline rename mode is exited. This means that you can use the cursor keys to move up and down the file list and make multiple changes to filenames without the files jumping around as they are automatically resorted. When inline rename mode is exited, the list is automatically resorted.
    • The Advanced Rename dialog has a new option called Rename matching filenames as one. When this is enabled, files with the same stem are treated as one when performing wildcard or other batch renames. For example, if you had files called 01012.JPG and 01012.WAV, and performed a sequential renumber rename, both files would get the same new name (except for file extension), instead of being numbered differently.

Minor Changes:

  • Improvements made to the file change notification system, particularly for Samba/NAS devices. File change notification should now work properly in most cases for these devices.
  • Under Vista, if you attempt to access a folder that you don’t have read permission for, Opus now asks you if you would like to modify the folder permissions to get access to the folder. A positive selection results in a UAC prompt which, if successful, results in the folder permissions automatically being modified to grant you read access.
  • The Ignore Prefix specified in Folder Options is now used when sorting by the Location column as well as by the Name column.
  • The CLEAR argument for the Find command can now take a yes or no parameter to specifically enable or disable the clearing of existing Find results when automating a Find operation.
  • Opus now lets you assign hotkeys that override the hard-coded Explorer (shell) Windows hotkeys like Win+E, Win+D, etc.
  • Opus now supports the new 256x256 PNG icon format for Windows Vista when displaying thumbnails and information columns for .ICO files.
  • The Print command has a new NOWIZARD argument which lets you bypass the Windows XP/Vista photo printing wizard and print images directly.

Bug Fixes:

  • If the Folder Tree was open and the Favorites list was displayed in the tree, and the branch expanded, then editing the Favorites list in Preferences could cause the Lister to lock up.
  • If the File count field was displayed and sorted in a Lister, the sorting would stop working when the folder was changed.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause Opus to keep a file handle open on some removable USB hard drives, preventing them from being safely removed while Opus was open.
  • Zip files that are set to Read-Only no longer allow files to be renamed.
  • Fixed a logic error when blending selected colors with the background colors in a Lister.
  • Content Type formats in Preferences / Folders / Folder Formats no longer lose their settings if they are temporarily disabled by being unchecked.
  • Fixed a problem where the background image for a normal folder specified through Folder Formats could be carried over and displayed in a virtual folder.
  • Fixed a problem when displaying thumbnails for some .OTF fonts where the wrong font would actually be used for the thumbnail.
  • Displaying the shell infotip in a file’s tooltip (using {infotip}) now works consistently in both the virtual My Documents folder and the real folder.
  • The Folder Aliases section in Preferences no longer allows you to create an alias with the same name as a built-in one.
  • The Clipboard COPYNAMES=unc command now correctly copies the UNC name for a shared network drive that has been assigned a drive letter using the subst command.
  • Fixed inconsistent button highlighting when the Set ICONS=toggle command is added to a toolbar button.
  • Double-clicking the desktop context menu no longer opens an Opus lister.
  • Fixed a problem with the Clipboard REGEXP argument that could cause some replaced text to be incorrectly duplicated.
  • Fixed an error (Can’t open “%1”) when opening .html files with Internet Explorer from the Open With context menu.
  • The PRESERVEDATE argument for the Image CONVERT command now works correctly.
  • Opus no longer resets the Zip file icon registry entry every time it starts up.
  • When a Filter field is set to “hide” and “realtime” mode, entering a string and then clearing it now correctly reveals everything in the Lister instead of hiding everything.
  • The FAYT (find-as-you-type) field now correctly passes through the enter key in the icon modes (List, Large Icons, etc) which means you can now type the first few letters of a folder’s name and then immediately hit enter to read that folder. (This always worked in Details/Power mode, but not in the other modes)
  • The Browse button in the “Search For” section of the Synchronize tool now correctly inserts the full file pathnames rather than just the filenames.
  • Holding the shift key down when using the Send To context menu now performs a move rather than a copy (where appropriate – same behaviour as Explorer)
  • Fixed a problem in the Copy ADDTOZIP function that could cause it to fail if the Open ZIP files as read-only by default option was turned on.
  • Fixed a problem with the Preferences editor when editing the file double-click timeouts (File Operations / Double-click on files) that caused the timeouts to always reset to 20 minutes.
  • Fixed a problem with the ZIP file caching system that could cause Opus to get confused if a zip file was deleted and then immediately replaced with another of the same name.
  • Dropping files onto a folder shortcut now treats the shortcut like it is a real folder – the tooltip that displays the drop target contains the target folder name, and the three normal actions (copy/move/shortcut) are all available instead of just copy.
  • Fixed a problem where the last two characters of a text file would not be displayed by the text viewer plugin if hex mode was disabled in the plugin settings.
  • Turning the text viewer’s hex mode on or off now correctly repositions it in the plugin list (it is a catch-all plugin only when hex mode is enabled.)
  • Fixed a problem where the wrong folder in the Folder Tree could appear as the destination when dragging over it (depending on font size and where in the item the mouse was positioned.)
  • If the folder tree selected item background colour was set to transparent, a checkerboard pattern would be incorrectly displayed in the tree.
  • Fixed a rendering issue where the file display border could sometimes overlap the folder tabs by one line of pixels.
  • Fixed some rendering issues with CD album thumbnails if the configured thumbnail size was not square.
  • Tiles mode now respects the configured unselected background text color.
  • Closing a local toolbar via the Toolbar CLOSE command now correctly closes only that one toolbar.
  • Fixed occasional crash with SendTo menu when using incorrectly formed IDL links such as [X]->bla.lnk.