Hi all,
After installing Win7 and finding that the new Explorer is really a huge step backwards (no file sizes in status bar, no free disc space etc.) a friend recommended I try a few other file managers and recommended Directory Opus.
So I gave it a shot, activated replace Explorer and all the other nice gimmicks but in the end I just can't get used to it (nor any other explorer replacment really) and wanted to uninstall it.
So I did, via the add/remove software feature. Unfortunately I have the feeling that Win7 has slowed down right after installtion and did not speed up again after uninstall.
So I checked the registry and found that Dopus did not remove everthing.
Is there a list of entries I need to remove? Or a tool for a clean uninstall?
just as an example, things like {FAE7A96A-56C3-4ABF-A6C2-D5D78089A7D8} with InprocServer32 remained in the registry. and more.
any help would be largely appreciated
p.s.: sorry i didn't end up using it, but it's just not for me
but my friend truly loves it, so "it's not you, it's me"
@leo:
yes, there are more. I just entered "opus" in the regedit search and it found a few hits. one of them is what i linked. it points to the original installation folder. and more precisely to the dopuslib.dll
@Jobeo:
well, be that as it may, I still would like a clean uninstall and even if i do decide to test it again, I want it to be properly uninstalled first.
Apologies, I checked on another machine (Vista 32-bit this time) and I do have that reg key on that machine. Not sure why it's not on my main computer.
About the uninstaller I agree with you, most programs should have a better uninstaller.
But about alternative file managers and this manager I think we have the same opinion.
I was very disappointed about the Win 7 explorer. I never used a different file manager like Total Commander and such. I just wanted all the features of Windows XP explorer on Windows 7 and nothing more. Then I found out about different file managers - and I said naaahh - that's not for me. Waaay too many options when I need just a few.
Then today I installed Directory Opus and after a few hours I was shocked.
First of all - this is probably the reason you are abandoning this : it has too many options. But the good news - you can turn off most of the stuff. You can make it almost like the windows XP.
Turning off the bottom glass on the status bar makes a much more clear status bar.
Also you can turn off all the plugins for movies, pictures and sound preview.
You can delete all the buttons you don't need. And ALL the MENUS like FTP.
And much more. You can make the COPY - REPLACE menu - simpler like in XP. All the file and folders colors like in Vista/XP.
You can jump to recent visited folders.
It's incredibly amazingly customizable.
And so on.
I'm not sure what I don't like, it's hard to pinpoint.
Some of the reasons:
ftp client useage is just not as good and not as intuitive and comfortable as e.g. CuteFTP
the left and the right hand pane are independent. e.g. lots of times i was in the left hand pane (i switched to the folder structure on the right and the drive tree on the left, i think it's called explorer) and when you want to change the "view" it doesn't do anything. then i saw the little message that this setting was not applicable to the left pane. if it were smart, it would apply it to where it made sense, the right pane.
i don't like any of the coloring out of the box. there shouldn't be any out of the box, imho
didn't find any translations anywhere. maybe i overlooked them, but imho such a tool should be translated into the most common languages.
i didn't like the mixture of right-click windows-popup and dopus-popup. i would need to reinstall to check, but i think sometimes i got the windows own right click action and sometimes the dopus one.
what dopus did better than i think it was xplorer², was handling certain file types. xplorer² wanted to open my acronics backups itself on double-click and i had to do right-click -> open for it to work. dopus didn't have that problem.
well, anyways, long story short, if i wanted a file manager with lots and lots of possobilities and lots and lots of work for me (costumizing it before it is usable), and an all in one program (i prefer individual programs for individual tasks because they are usually better), the Directory Opus would seem like the best choice.
If it were freeware I would definitely keep it installed for infrequent use, but it is not my cup of tee and therefor not really worth me buying it.
apologies to the makers, it's great work, i'm just not your clientel
ah, that would explain the missing translations, although it makes absolutely no sense to not include them in all releases.
what i also noticed which annoyed me, was when i wanted to adjust the startmenu "programs" i clicked "open for all users" and Dopus opened. that's ok, as i set it up that way. but in the right pane it showed the folder where the startmenu-programs are located but in the left pane it did not show the folder i was in. in explorer the right and left pane are linked. if you open a folder on the right, the left side opens all the parent-folders. i wanted that because that way it is easier to navigate. couldn't figure out how to do that, but then again, i have to admitt i didn't have the patience to look too long because there were too many things i would have to set up.
i guess i just want the original windows explorer back. all the features i need and a perfect layout and system.
p.s.: didn't like that the free disk space is bottom right. and i didn't like that activating "free disk space" from the menu, which then shows up bottom left, was deactivated everytime i left dopus.
Let's not turn this into a catch-all thread... Most of this stuff can be configured if you want to change it, but it's a waste of both our time if you've already decided that Opus isn't for you (which is fair enough).
yes, my apologies. as i said, my friend loves it and if i needed such a complex or let's say multi-talented file manager, Opus would be my first choice.
but back on topic, any chance of a tool to properly uninstall it? i did use CCleaner, as i said, but who knows what else Opus might have registered that wasn't caught.
The uninstaller's the only uninstaller... Not sure what was left or why, or if it's normal for it to be left over.
You could write to GPSoftware and see what they make of it. This is a user-run forum so people here aren't in a position to provide such a tool if one is needed.
And this is exactly