This drives me crazy. I have a folder that catches Firefox downloads.
They are of all different filetypes. For some reason, Win 7 decides which
columns are "appropriate" to display based upon the types of files it
finds. Other folders show this behavior too; if there are media types
present it will insist on giving me columns with Artist etc., but not,
for example, file size or creation date.
Is there a way to force what I want and to have it retained?
TIA,
Jason
I fixed it with "Shell Folder Fix" (see below)
Here's some blurb from the site...
ShellFolderFix
ReadMe.txt
==============
This file, "ReadMe.txt", is the plain text
documentation describing a small utility
for Windows 7, called ShellFolderFix. I wrote it
for my own use, to overcome the lack
of a much needed feature that was removed in
Windows 7. I have released it for anybody
else to use if they wish.
Purpose and Functions
=====================
ShellFolderFix is an application for Windows 7
that manages shell folder windows,
so that they remember size and position. Future
versions may also manage per folder
view modes and layout, but currently it does NOT.
There is a slim chance that it also
works on Windows Vista but that is neither tested,
intended nor officially supported.
Availability
============
The latest version of ShellFolderFix is
first/primarily available from a forum post
on the website, Windows 7 Forums, at:
http://www.sevenforums.com
The direct link to the forum thread is:
http://www.sevenforums.com/customiz...rfix-manage-folder-window-positions-size.html
Cost
====
- You can use any version of ShellFolderFix
described in this file without charge.
- You may not sell ShellFolderFix.
- You may provide a complete and unaleterd copy of
ShellFolderFix, including this
documentation, on any website or service,
provided that the files are available
to the public free of charge. Exceptions may be
granted in certain cases, ask
the author in the forum thread linked above (or
through PM on the same forum).
- You may provide a complete and unaleterd copy of
ShellFolderFix, including this
documentation, on any compilation disc, provided
only that you do not charge
more than a modest fee for materials and
handling.
Installation
============
There are three methods of installation, as
follows:
For easy installation:
---------------------
Download and run "ShellFolderFixSetup.exe", which
is a full installer program that
automatically works out what kind of Windows 7
system you have, and installs the
appropriate version of ShellFolderFix. Use this
option if you do not explicitly
wish an installer-less distribution and know how
to use it.
For any 32-bit Windows 7 system:
-------------------------------
Download "ShellFolderFix32.zip" and unzip it into
a suitable folder
(e.g. "Program Files\ShellFolderFix\") to install
ShellFolderFix.
For any 64-bit Windows 7 system:
-------------------------------
Download "ShellFolderFix64.zip" and unzip it into
a suitable folder
(e.g. "Program Files\ShellFolderFix\") to install
ShellFolderFix. Note that accidentally
running the 32-bit version of ShellFolderFix on a
64-bit Windows may at first appear to
be working, but no folder windows will be tracked.
For portable installs see section "Commandline
switches" below.
Upgrading
=========
When upgrading by using the installer, any
previous version does not have to be
uninstalled first. You can run the installer of
the new version right away.
However it is recommended that you exit
ShellFolderFix if it is running, before
starting the installer.
Using the program
=================
The common mode of operation is to activate the
"Start automatically at logon"
option, which will make ShellFolderFix start
automatically each time. However if
you wish, you can also start it manually after you
log on, for example by pinning
ShellFolderFix to the Start Menu.
First use
---------
The first time you run ShellFolderFix, you should
set the Options to suit the way
you like to work. To understand what each option
does, just hover the mouse cursor
over the option and read the tooltip, i.e. the
hint that pops up. By default, the
tooltip disappears after a short while. You can
change this behavior by checking
the "Extended tooltip display times" checkbox near
the bottom of the Options window.
Commandline switches:
====================
/portable
Will load and save configuration and all data
files (database, workspaces etc.)
to the same folder as the ShellFolderFix
executable. Options will also be stored
in a file instead of the Windows registry.
This functionality is primarily intended
when running from a portable device. The
"Start automatically at logon" option will
be disabled as it makes little sense when
running from a portable device.
Note that this isn't intended to be used with
the installer-based version, as the
installer will not delete any data files from
the application folder should that be
requested.
Limitations:
===========
- Handles a maximum of 200 open folder windows (A
folder window is a regular folder
as well as My Computer, Network Neighborhood,
network folders etc.)
- Database size configurable from 300 to 10,000
folders
Known Issues:
============
- Does not restore special folders like My
Computer, Network Neighborhood etc.,
when restoring a workspace or at startup. This
also applies to network computer
root folders (ie. "\\somecomputer"), unless
Windows folder option "Display the full
path in the title bar" is enabled. Note that it
works the same way for Aero even
if the folder option says "Classic theme only".
Will hopefully be solved in future versions.
- Save/Restore Desktop Icons will not properly
restore multiple icons with same name.
For example "desktop.ini", which may be visible
when hidden files are displayed,
will often show up twice on the desktop, once
from the All Users desktop and once
for the logged in user.
- When using the "Disable flashing folder window
titles" option it can in some cases cause
an auto-hiding taskbar to stay visible
constantly after windows logon, until all open
folders have been brought to front once. For
some reason the taskbar thinks that the
folders are still flashing and does not
auto-hide until each folder has been brought
into focus. This might only be the case if the
Windows option "Restore previous folder
windows at logon" is enabled.
Help
====
There is an active forum where you can ask
questions about ShellFolderFix. See section
"Availability" above for links to website and the
ShellFolderFix forum thread.
Copyright and License:
=====================
Copyright (C) 2009-2010 Georg Fischer
This software is provided 'as-is', without any
express or implied
warranty. In no event will the author be held
liable for any damages
arising from the use of this software.
Permission is granted to anyone to use this
software and redistribute it
freely, subject to the following restrictions:
1. The origin of this software must not be
misrepresented; you must not
claim that you wrote the original software.
2. This notice may not be removed or altered from
any distribution.
3. This software may not be sold individually or
as a part of a package.
Change log:
==========
v1.1.4
------
- added pages to options dialog to be able to fit
more options, and to make a
clear separation between normal and
advanced/expert options
- added folder list dialog, that lists all open
folder windows with commands to
activate, minimize and close windows.
- added option to show "Save Database Now" command
in menu, instead of always
displaying it (now hidden by default)
- added option to specify start delay that used
when the app auto-starts and
the Windows folder option "Restore previous
folder windows at logon" is enabled,
this option might help solve problems with
windows that end up with incorrect
size/pos at startup
- added control modifier option so that windows
can be closed without database or
recent file list getting updated, when holding
down a control key during close
- added "Disable State Recording" functionality,
when enabled it suspends database
updates so that windows can be resized and moved
without their new size/position
being saved (optionally this can be overridden
with a control key modifier)
- added option to control behavior of newly opened
windows, to allow the app to be
configured to not affect window size/pos
(suitable for users that would only like to use
other functionality, like for
example workspaces or recent folder list)
- ReadMe updated with more (and reworded)
information, courtesy of kind forum
poster Yahya
v1.1.3
------
- fixed folder tracking bug with (some or many?)
non-english Windows versions,
which could cause some windows to open with
wrong size/position
- fixed explorer deadlock bug that often happened
when using "Open folder location"
from the context menu
- fixed small (and rare) mis-positioning issue
with desktop icon restore
- added confirmation dialogs for desktop icons
save/restore, to reduce the risks
of accidentally picking the wrong one
- added option for temporarily enabling extended
display times of help tooltips
v1.1.2
------
- fixed bug with recently used folder list not
being restored across sessions even
though "Keep recent folder across sessions" was
enabled (this only happened when
the database was at full capacity)
- added /portable commandline switch which
loads/saves all configuration and data
files in the same directory as the EXE file
(Windows registry is not used)
- added window exact overlap prevention when
multiple windows of the same folder is
opened (avoids the windows ending up at the
exact same position)
- fixed (rare?) bug that did not correctly
identify search windows, which could result
in incorrect behavior in some areas including
"Update window for search result"
- some other smaller internal fixes
v1.1.1
------
- changed workspace saving to include "temp"
folders when using "Temporarily use
window as is"
- fixed minor issue with Aero window icons, when
"Show window title icons" is enabled,
resulted in a less crisp (wrongly scaled down)
icon
- fixed incorrect workspace order across sessions
(most recently restored workspace was
no longer on top of list in next session)
- added workspace manager dialog (to delete and/or
access more than 16 workspaces)
- added (manual) online version check
functionality
v1.1.0
------
- added option to enable/disable restoring of open
windows from previous session on
start up (previous versions always restored
windows)
- changed manual app start behavior, leaves
already open and minimized windows as
minimized
v1.0.9
------
- fixed serious bug in db mem handling, could
cause issues when db is full (and oldest
entries are discarded)
- fixed bug which (hopefully) was the cause of
some windows occasionally not being
saved in workspaces
v1.0.8
------
- added desktop icon save/restore, saves/restores
positions (only) of desktop icons
v1.0.7
------
- fixed workspace loading bug, failed to correctly
restore minimized windows (related
to same bug partially fixed in v1.0.6)
v1.0.6
------
- fixed bug (introduced in v1.0.3) with restoring
minimized windows on start up
v1.0.5
------
- fixed minor bug with reading recently used
folder size from registry
- added option to enable a workaround for window
redraw issues when using the
Basic theme (or non-transparent Aero)
v1.0.4
------
- hotfix for 32-bit version (all previous version
failed to init due to incorrect
32-bit dll symbol)
v1.0.3
------
- added recently used folder list functionality
- added more error handling and messages when app
initialization fails
- fixed bug where opening a folder, that was
previously minimized, opened
it in minimized state (should only happen on
windows startup)
v1.0.2
------
- added options to enable window title text and/or
icon, when using Aero theme
- fixed so tray icon should correctly re-appear
after an explorer restart/crash
v1.0.1
------
- added default settings functionality, when
opening folders not yet in the database
- fixed handling of snapped windows
- added minimize all folders option to tray
context menu
- fixed bug with update of dialog controls after
pressing cancel
v1.0.0
