Hi
Does anyone else have an issue with using the latest windowblinds 7 build on win7 with Opus 9 or Opus 10?
Specifically when opus prompts using certain explorer dialogue windows, the bitmaps are all wrong and messed up, see attachment for an example.
I had this issue with opus 9 and thought it might be resolved in v10. Disabling Windowblinds or excluding opus completely fixes the issue, but it doesnt look nice...
Any ideas?
I'd say that's a bug in the theme you are using, not anything else.
Opus does not do anything custom with the Select Certificate File dialog; it's just a standard File-Open window provided by Windows itself.
The area where things are wrong in your screenshot is where the standard File-Open dialog has a glass background, which makes me suspect the theme and/or Windowsblinds doing something wrong with the glass (or what the dialog things is glass) area of the window.
I tried manu themes, the problem is not them specific.
I think this might be a windowblinds bug as when I exclude the opus or unload windowblinds, the problem goes away.
Your computer has a Windows Experience Index base score of 7.8
Your Windows Graphics Experience score is 7.9
WindowBlinds version : WindowBlinds 7.2 (build 303 - Windows 7 Edition) - 64 bit OS
WindowBlinds is installed correctly on this PC
WindowBlinds appears to be activated on this PC
(Dell U2410(Digital)) 1 is attached to NVIDIA GeForce GTX 470
Wblind.dll 2011/03/29 11:34:20
Wblind64.dll 2011/03/29 11:34:15
Wbsrv.dll 2010/08/09 14:03:56
SevenConfig.exe 2011/03/29 11:34:52
Wbload.exe 2010/11/29 19:40:35
Wbhelp.dll 2010/11/29 19:40:34
Tray.dll 2010/04/01 22:40:19
Wbload.dll 2010/04/27 11:10:25
Screen.exe 2010/06/07 20:10:43
I have posted this issue at stadock forum...
forums.stardock.com/408444
Seems someone else also has the same problem.
so, any thoughts? Would be keen to hear from any dev on this issue...
I posted my thoughts already...
appreciate your comment, however, as I have said, the issue is not theme specific, happens with other users and is irrespective of windowblinds version.
All other explorer dialogues appear fine when launched from other apps. Only Opus has this issue.
I have reported this to stardock in hope that they can confirm that it's a compatibility issue with wb/opus.
What else can I say? It only happens with WindowBlinds, and Opus is just showing a standard select file dialog. Seems like Stardock are the ones who need to answer this one.
WindowBlinds works by hooking into Explorer. Since Directory Opus is an Explorer replacement, there's nothing WindowBlinds can properly hook into. It's not so much a bug as an incompatibility. Going forward, I would suggest keeping the program in the exclusion list.
I think they may be misinterpreting what is meant when we say Opus is an Explorer replacement.
Opus replaces Windows Explorer, the file manager, which just means when you (e.g.) double-click a folder it will cause an Opus window to open instead of an Explorer window.
Opus does not replace the entire Windows shell (taskbar, desktop, File Open dialogs, etc.).
In the case of the problem you've found, Opus is just showing a standard File Open dialog and should be the same to WindowBlinds as any other application showing a standard File Open dialog (e.g. Notepad).
Unless WindowBlinds is launching folders, it shouldn't have to view Opus any differently to any other program, and its hooks into Explorer shouldn't be affected by Opus.
well, seems like I might be the 'middle-man' in getting to the bottom of who has the actual issue here.
I'll feed this back to Stardock, however, I fully expect a 'this is not a windowblinds problem' type of response.
thanks
I have this problem too.
But the bigger issue is with how DOpus displays the top-most toolbar of a maximized lister. The upper half of the toolbar gets dropped to about 50% transparency, it's very irritating. This problem happens with most WB themes I've tried.
If I don't put DOpus to fullscreen, the menu/toolbar displays properly. Also, no other apps have this issue.
The toolbar-drawing code in Opus does not change the transparency of anything based on the window being maximized or not.
Opus may be unusual in that it's using parts of the Windows theme that few other apps (except Explorer itself) use. e.g. The breadcrumbs path field is drawn using special elements that come from the theme.
My guess is the themes that replace those elements haven't been tested very much with anything except the combinations/situations Explorer uses.
Thanks for the info leo. Sounds like I have to go to Stardock and/or the author of the skin to fix it then.
I just happened to see this topic and had a look. I am using WindowBlinds 7 on Windows 7 x64 SP1. I never even noticed this when I registered so I had another look and sure enough I have the same problem. But I completely disagree with leo when he wrote that they use a standard open file dialog. After looking at a number of other open file dialogs on my machine I found that DOpus is the only one that contains a non-standard open file dialog even without regard to WindowBlinds.
I have attached two images, one is the DOpus dialog and the other is a standard dialog, this example is from Snagit 10. it looks like the DOpus dialog is an attempt to duplicate the newer standard dialog rather than actually using the standard dialog.
As far as the transparency issue, I don't seem to be having that problem when DOpus is maxed or mined.
Um, no, it really is a standard file-open dialog. We're not wasting our time trying to make an exact emulation of one when we can just ask the OS to show one; that would be silly.
The fact that it looks different in Opus on your system appears to be coming from some difference in the way you have WIndowBlinds (I assume) configured to modify Opus. Look at the Okay/Cancel buttons in the Opus dialog and note they are not themed. None of Opus is themed in your screenshots in fact. My guess is WindowBlinds (and or how you have configured it) is making Opus run in some kind of unthemed / compatibility / old-style common-controls mode and that is why the dialogs look different.
See the dialog in my screenshot near the top of the thread for what the dialog looks like coming from Opus on a standard system. (And no, Opus is not detecting WindowBlinds and hiding the tree or doing anything weird with the dialog; it's just showing the dialog. Seems that WindowBlinds is treating Opus differently to other programs.)
I agree it would be silly but people do this all the time. After trying this with the default Aero theme it does seem to be the standard dialog. I will eat my hat now. I have attached the same screenshots I posted previously only with WindowBlinds turned off and the default Aero theme applied.
The windows are all clearly themed.
WindowBlinds has some odd behavior in some applications. Its basically something you have to live with. Sometimes it is because applications do not use standard controls or make use of system preferences. So I admit, WindowBlinds cannot be absolved.
And just like I should not have jumped to conclusions about your use of a standard dialog I don't think you should make assumptions about what WindowBlinds is doing to DOpus until you have actually used it and had a developer try to figure out why the dialog looks strange. As a developer, that would be my knee jerk reaction to the problem but I am not thinking about business justification for such an effort.
I missed you screenshot. I never thought or mentioned that you were pulling a Microsoft.
I do find it odd that no other file open dialog on my machine, I tried about 15 different applications, has the problem that DOpus has. I guess WindowBlinds has a grudge with DOpus, I jest of course 
In the end, I really don't care if it gets fixed. I see that dialog once and everything else seems to work fine. I guess you could say I did a bit of seagull management.
I thought it unfair to write that I tried it on 15 applications without indicating which applications I tired. So here is a list of 15+, all of which have no problem displaying the file open dialog when themed with WindowBlinds 7. Just pointing it out.
[ul]EmEditor 10.0.6
Firefox 3.6.17
Snagit 10
VMware Workstation 7.1.3
PowerArchiver 2011 RC
PowerISO 4.7
MindManager 9.1.157
SyncBackPro 5.11.3
Axure RP Pro 5.6
Komodo IDE 6.1
RegexBuddy 3.4.2
OmniPeek 6.5
Flash Pro CS 5.5
Flash Builder 4.5
Help & Manual 5.5.0
Visual Studio 2010
HTTP Analyzer 6.3.2
Fiddler 2.3.2.4
SQLite Expert Pro 3.3.3
Word 2007
Visio 2007
Project 2007
Excel 2007
OneNote 2007[/ul]
Guys, enough.
Opus is just telling Windows to show a standard dialog. Opus does not draw any of that dialog itself, it just calls a function and Windows takes over until the dialog is closed, then control returns to Opus, which just reads a filepath that's given back to it.
If WindowBlinds is messing this up in some way then there's nothing we can do about it. We have no control over how the dialog is drawn in the first place.
So, please, if you want to post about this, do it in WindowBlinds' direction. It's completely outside our control and we have no idea, nor way to discover, what WindowBlinds is doing to our process or the OS in general.
The dialog looks correct whenever WindowBlinds is not being used, regardless of Windows version or (official) Windows theme. That by itself should tell you where the problem lies.
I think it's rather unfair for you to just blow us off like that. This is a problem, plain and simple. The only app on my system that doesn't display properly with Windowblinds is Directory Opus. Its Open dialog is messed up as demonstrated above, and certain skins don't display the menu properly, as demonstrated above.
Let me reiterate that Directory Opus is the ONLY app that demonstrates these oddities. Directory Opus clearly does things differently than the vast majority of other Windows apps. Saying that the problem is not with Directory Opus is not a very nice way to skirt around the problem.
