Win11 - Talk, Tweaks, Rants & Findings

I installed the UUP iso in VM to do sysprep-capture (including latest .NET updates and runtimes etc) and when in audit mode I ran Defender Control and it keeps Defender off when doing an install based on that capture, so it still works (in audit mode it let me run it no problem). But yes on first build I tried it did flag Defender Control which I had installed as a ppApp at the time. Once you run Defender Control, you don't have to keep the exe on the system. Once you've run it, delete the ppApp (or whatever form you use it in). When not installed but in ppApp.7z archive I don't think it flags it (maybe it does). In that case just keep the exe stored in password protected .7z or .rar.

 

Awesome work, this is great to know, I never found any other software that added to it, so someone must have cracked it and not mentioned it, but your a seeker like me saw it and thought "wait a second..."

 

Same for me, when you click Date & Time you see both Notifications and Date & Time. When you click "clear notifications', Notifications will go away (for the time being, I guess).

With the Oct5/.194 release, when I click on the network tray icon, it brings up the same popup as when I click Volume Not sure what that is all about. But yeah, tomorrow is LCU (Latest Cumulative Update) day so we'll see what MS fixes.

 

By the way, our Notepad2-mod ppApps (I think ssApp, too) no longer hacks into Win11 Notepad (it never did). I wonder if this can be achieved otherwise, as Notepad2-mod hasn't been updated in so long and I would prefer it. It can be installed, it just doesn't take over original Notepad any more. So for example I always added Notepad to the desktop context menus, but when you load it from there now, it loads MS Notepad instead.

 

Replace notepad.exe with notepad2.exe renamed, this will give us back what we want, in our os

 

Yeah, Notepad2, NOT Notepad++. Those are different programs.

You could check the notes of the guy who originally did the "mod" for Notepad2-mod, AKA code65536 who used to post at RyanVM, MSFN and others. He maintained a site for many years, which still exists. His Notepad2 page is here - https://code.kliu.org/misc/notepad2/, which still has notes on how the replacement at least used to work.

 

So that was weird.

So there are Notepad.exe's in both \Windows\ and \System32\ folders, but replacing these will do nothing. The new Notepad is evidently housed here:

C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.WindowsNotepad_10.2103.6.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe\Notepad\Notepad.exe​

So that may mean it'll get replaced as part of modern app updates, but maybe not.

I had to take ownership of the folder and then via Unlocker have it replace (and rename) it with Notepad2-mod (but named Notepad.exe, and having its (not-renamed) .ini file there with it. This does work. Probably easiest to do as the VHD is mounted during capture or otherwise during NTLite mount later on. This was all just live in a VM to see what would work.

EDIT: Hmm, this is giving unforeseen error, both types of replacement. I'll have to play some more with this. Notepad (the modern app) can be uninstalled inside the OS easily, so I'll see about uninstalling it in sysprep VM or else remove via NTLite. Then after this, if nothing else, I could modify and apply the registry entries that refer to notepad.exe (non-modern) and place notepad2.exe in the same directories, and on top of that have .txt and other files associations made for the Notepad2-mod pp/ssApps.

 

I'll sort this notepad issue, post release if you can't or don't want to.

 

I think I can just perform the Notepad app removal via command prompt or powershell (remove package) in sysprep VM. I'll see if this fixes it in the captured .wim. Otherwise I think NTLite can remove it.

After uninstalling (modern) Notepad in the Win11 VM, and having renamed (classic) Notepad.exe to Notepad_old.exe in both Windows and System32 folders, and placing Notepad2-mod named as "Notepad.exe" in those 2 folders (along with .ini files for the settings), it is working.

I think it won't do any harm, then, to also install Notepad-mod pp/ssApps (which would add additional shortcut to start menu, if desired). I'm just saying that I don't expect it to be an issue if people who aren't aware of the notepad2 replacement in the OS, go ahead and install the pp/ssApps.

 

Yeah thats my thoughts also, nobody will notice and if they do it's because they'll love it way more than MS Notepad, WHY does MS want to block it and have a monopoly on it... bloody weird if you ask me, it's bad enough for edge, but at least that makes them money. Notepad is just a free tool.

 

@Ghost - Sorry, I wasn't talking about XP, and I'm not sure what the year that Kai Liu discovered the trick for successful redirection has to do with anything. I was talking about Notepad2-mod, and I thought you were too.

From the ReadMe inside the most recent version of Notepad2-mod listed in the repo - Notepad2-mod_v4.2.25.998_R2_ppApp.apz, posted Feb 06 2020 - it still mentions the mods from Kai Liu - aka code65536:

along with referencing Kai Liu's website - http://code.kliu.org/misc/notepad2/ - the same link I referenced above. I just thought it might be helpful to read Kai Liu's notes directly about how he made the regular Notepad links redirect to Notepad2-mod. Kai Liu's methods are the same methods used in Notepad2-mod_v4.2.25.998_R2_ppApp.apz which work on my Win7 installation. As far as I know, this same trick worked on Win10? You could try installing it on your LTSC, and assuming the redirection works as it's supposed to, you could check the following registry key - HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options\notepad.exe - to confirm that the same trick is working on Win10 LTSC. Notepad2-mod was not designed to do it's "replacement" by directly replacing the Windows version of Notepad (it is still accessible if you call it using it's full path, even if Notepad2-mod is installed) since per Kai Liu:

Apparently, Trouba is finding that Win11 is somehow "protecting" Notepad.exe more than Win 10 and earlier did.

I'm sure that if anyone can figure out how to get around this new level of protection, Trouba or Glenn can.

EDIT: I haven't checked whether Notepad3, which is based on Notepad2 and Notepad2-mod, uses the same trick, nor have I heard whether it works correctly on Win11 or not. I guess that would be something else to check.

EDIT2: According to Notepad3's changelog notes here - https://msfn.org/board/topic/181406-notepad3-5219051/ (released 2021-09-05):

So if nothing else works, I guess the brute force method will, but I don't know if those changes will interfere with something else or not.

 

From reading Kai Liu's post, again, I picked this up:

hence the "-mod". So now the thing is to see if Process Explorer, currently v16.43, has been updated to work correctly in Win11. I looked here - Process Explorer - and couldn't tell for sure if it's been updated. I didn't see a changelog on that page and it didn't directly claim Win11 compatibility, just 8.1 and higher, but the file is dated 2021-08-18 so, probably?. I realize that DOESN'T mean the current version doesn't work on Win7, I didn't check, just that since MS no longer supports Win7...

I checked the Sysinternals blog, but I didn't see any mention of them making Process Explorer Win11 compatible, even though I went back to the notes of v16.32 on 2020-04-28. I guess someone with more file analysis skills than I have will have to check out the current version. @Ghost, since you are checking out Win11, maybe you could install the current version of Process Explorer and confirm whether or not it implements the "Replace Task Manager" function correctly. If so, then that would give us a lead on where to look for ideas.

 

The issue lays in the protected registry keys, these need to be unprotected or you have to manually run the.reg file as it will not apply (even as admin) otherwise. So once I get a hold of it I'll make sure to share my findings, I am not going to tackle it myself until I can have it as my OS as I always run the OS I am modding so I can test properly.

 

The issue is fixed by uninstalling Notepad (modern app) in the sysprep VM, and replacing Notepad.exe with Notepad2-mod (renaming, so original Notepad.exe's in Windows and System32 folders remain).

It could be that, once having uninstalled Notepad modern app, that the original method of Notepad replacement as used by the pp/ssApp of Notepad2-mod still works -- I don't know. However, the "classic" Notepad.exe's in Win11, when started up, now have a message under menu bar saying a new version of Notepad is available (which is of course the modern app version). So I thought it better just to circumvent all of that. No regs were changed.

And importantly, this works without having to install Notepad2-mod pp/ssApp. And you can install Notepad2-mod pp/ssApp on top of it, it won't hurt anything (meaning you don't have to be discriminate as to what (not) to install).

 

Switching back to the original subject of this thread, Win11 tweaks, I ran across this - https://github.com/valinet/ExplorerPatcher - which I had not seen before. It claims to be totally free and approximately functionally equivalent to StartIsBack. If nothing else, it might be worthwhile reading the readme, since it also mentions other addons that work with it.

It is probably better to read the readme on github, since, as a new program, it is constantly changing, but here is a snapshot for convenience:

Spoiler: readme

Explorer Patcher for Windows 11

This project aims to bring back a productive working environment on Windows 11.

PayPal donations: here or using e-mail address valentingabrielradu@gmail.com

Spoiler: About ExplorerPatcher and StartIsBack

The well-known StartIsBack application recently introduced support for Windows 11. Currently, regarding Windows 11 functionality, it offers the same features as this patcher, plus all the functionalities from the older releases of the software; thus the differences between the two at the moment, besides their internal implementation (probably) resort in the cost, licensing, support and development model: StartIsBack is a paid app, proprietary, closed source and comes with support, while ExplorerPatcher is free (gratis and libre - as in free beer and free speech), open source and is provided as-is, with support offered in a best-effort attempt. ExplorerPatcher is offered more like a tool for people to study the source code and the techniques used, to learn and adapt it in order and to enable people to build each on top of the work of the others. The aim is to benefit both the community and its users. You are encouraged to take a look at the source and adapt it to your needs. While the source and the application in its current form will always be available here, I cannot make any guarantes over how long it will work in newer Windows 11 builds. Thus, these things being considered, if you would like, you can check out the beta test for StartIsBack here and report any issues and make suggestions to its developer. It will probably mature in a release that will be better supported from a consumer point of view than ExplorerPatcher.

The functionality of this software includes:

• Taskbar from Windows 10:
  • "always combine" / "combine when full" / "never combine" options for main and secondary taskbars
  • Search button
  • Task View button
  • optional skinned, centered and toggled pop-up menus, or non-skinned (useful for classic theme users)
  • open "Network and Sharing Center" when clicking "Open Network & Internet settings" in the pop-ip menu of the system tray network icon
  • hide Control Center button
  • Show People on the taskbar
  • Show touch keyboard button
• File Explorer
  • disable the Windows 11 command bar
  • disable the Windows 11 context menu
  • disable even the Windows 10 (immersive) context menu (useful for classic theme users)
  • disable modern search bar (reverts to the search bar in early Windows 10 builds or Windows 7/8)
  • disable search bar completely
• Start menu from Windows 11
  • open Start on monitor containing the cursor
  • open Start at logon
  • open Start in "All apps" by default
  • positioning on screen
  • maximum number of frequent apps to show
• Window switcher (Alt-Tab) from Windows 10:
  • choose whether to include desktop in the window list
  • ability to set opacity of the window list
  • set row size, maximum extents etc
• Others
  • Open the time and date flyout when pressing Win+C (instead of Microsoft Teams)
  • Set default shutdown action for Alt+F4 on the desktop
  • Show Command Prompt instead of PowerShell in the Win+X menu

Screenshots: <1> <2>


dxgi.dll - the patcher

In the Releases section, you will find a download for a DLL called dxgi.dll. It has been tested on the latest stable build of Windows 11 (22000.258), but it may work just fine on newer builds too. This is the runtime part of the application. You need to place this DLL in the following location: C:\Windows. This will enable the following functionality:

• use the classic taskbar from Windows 10 (without the nasty effects of UndockingDisabled)
• restores the classic power user menu (Win+X) when using the classic taskbar
• Start menu follows the taskbar alignment setting (Left/Center) specified in Settings\Personalization\Taskbar\Taskbar behaviors\Taskbar alignment
• ability to show the Start menu on the monitor containing the cursor when pressing the Windows key
• skin "Safe to Remove Hardware" and "Bluetooth" popup menus
• play log on sound, if enabled
• option to hide the search bar in File Explorer
• option to disable the control center button in the taskbar
• show the "All apps" list by default when opening the Start menu
• customize the maximum number of "Most used" apps displayed in the "All apps" list in Start
• disable the immersive contex menu system-wide
• disable the Windows 11 File Explorer command bar

After you have completed the above setup, make sure you have an active Internet connection and restart the Explorer process using Task Manager or by issuing the following command: taskkill /f /im explorer.exe. Once File Explorer restarts, some necessary files (symbol files) will be downloaded from Microsoft (around 50MB). This should be relatively quick, depending on your Internet connection speed. When this is done, File Explorer will restart again and will be ready for use. Notifications should show up informing you about the progress, and you can also use Task Manager to watch for network activity. This process only happens when a new Windows 11 build is installed on the machine.

Now, the classic taskbar should be enabled. Still, there is some more setup to do, depending on your preferences.

Important! As you may notice, the usual system tray icons are not enabled by default. To enable them, open the GUI (Win+X and choose "Enable missing system tray icons").


Configuration interface

To configure the most common options, the application now comes with a configuration user interface. To open it, right click the Start button (or press Win+X) and choose "Properties". Alternatively, to open the GUI standalone, run the following command: rundll32.exe C:\Windows\dxgi.dll,ZZGUI.
All of the options described above, and more, can be configured using the GUI. Below is a screenshot of the main page ("Taskbar") of the configuration interface.



The icon near an option signifies its current state:

• enabled
• disabled
• link to another resource

The links at the bottom allow you to perform the most frequent actions.


Recommended tools

Here is a list of things you may want to try to fix/enhance a few of the aspects which are not addressed by this patcher directly:

Fix the battery applet

As you will notice, the battery flyout in the taskbar is broken in Windows 11. You can replace it with a much better alternative called Battery Mode which has all the stock options and more.

Disable blue highlight in menus

To disable the blue highlight in the context menu and return to the classic gray highlight from early Windows 11 builds, read here.

Center taskbar icons

If you want the same behavior as the default one in Windows 11, which is to have the icons centered along with the Start button, but would like to use this proper classic taskbar which has features like button labels, toolbars and more, you can use my fork of the popular TaskbarX program which fixes compatibility with Windows 11 and adds this behavior; a guide about how to set it up is available here.

Disable window rounded corners

You can try one of my other utilities available here.


Manual configuration

To learn how to configure all the options manually, read on:

Enable system tray icons

As you have noticed, some system tray icons are missing (for example, the clock, notification center button, network, battery, sound etc). To enable these icons, open the following using Run:

Code:

%windir%\explorer.exe shell:::{05d7b0f4-2121-4eff-bf6b-ed3f69b894d9}\SystemIcons

In the window that appears, toggle to On whatever icons you would like to have enabled in the taskbar.

Show labels for taskbar buttons

One of the great features the old taskbar had was the ability to ungroup the taskbar buttons, showing a button with a label for each window that the user currently has open. To enable this functionality, run either of the following commands, depending on your preference.

Ungroup icons on all taskbars

Run this command as administrator:

Code:

reg.exe add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer" /f /v "NoTaskGrouping" /t REG_DWORD /d 1

Ungroup icons on main taskbar only

Code:

reg.exe add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced" /f /v "TaskbarGlomLevel" /t REG_DWORD /d 2

Ungroup icons on secondary taskbars

Code:

reg.exe add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced" /f /v "MMTaskbarGlomLevel" /t REG_DWORD /d 2

In the commands above, change 2 to 0 for "Always combine" and 2 to 1 for "Combine when taskbar is full`.

Disable the immersive context menu

As you probably have noticed, Windows 11 introduced a simplified context menu in File Explorer. To get to the old menu which contains all entries from shell extensions, one has to click on "Show more options" or type Shift+F10. To disable this new menu, run the following command:

Code:

reg.exe add "HKCU\Software\Classes\CLSID\{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}\InprocServer32" /f /ve

To restore back the immersive menu, run:

Code:

reg.exe delete "HKCU\Software\Classes\CLSID\{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}" /f

Disable the command bar in File Explorer

In Windows 11, File Explorer comes with a command bar instead of the traditional ribbon. To disable this and get back the ribbon, run the following command:

Code:

reg.exe add "HKCU\Software\Classes\CLSID\{d93ed569-3b3e-4bff-8355-3c44f6a52bb5}\InprocServer32" /f /ve

To restore back the command bar, run:

Code:

reg.exe delete "HKCU\Software\Classes\CLSID\{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}" /f

If you want to get back the command bar from Windows 7, after enabling back the ribbon, OldNewExplorer will allow you to do so, and many more options, like drive ungrouping in This PC, as it used to be prior to Windows 8.1.

Disable the modern search box in File Explorer

In Windows 10 1903, Microsoft introduced a new search box in File Explorer. This new search control is clunky, does not search automatically and usually is kind of broken. The old search box remains available, but only in Control Panel windows. To enable it on all File Explorer windows, run the following command:

Code:

reg.exe add "HKCU\Software\Classes\CLSID\{1d64637d-31e9-4b06-9124-e83fb178ac6e}\TreatAs" /f /ve /t REG_SZ /d "{64bc32b5-4eec-4de7-972d-bd8bd0324537}"

To restore the modern search box, run:

Code:

reg.exe delete "HKCU\Software\Classes\CLSID\{1d64637d-31e9-4b06-9124-e83fb178ac6e}" /f

Also, in the next section, which desribes the configuration options for the software, you will learn about how to disable the search box altogether, should you want to.

Patcher settings

Now that you have set up the basic stuff, you can choose to enable additional settings to enhance the experience even more. For this, customize the following commands by changing the number acording to your needs:

• HideExplorerSearchBar completely removes the search box in File Explorer (default = 0)
  
  Code:

  reg.exe add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ExplorerPatcher" /f /v "HideExplorerSearchBar" /t REG_DWORD /d 1

• HideControlCenterButton disables the Control Center button and its associated shortcut key (Win+A) (default = 0)
  
  Code:

  reg.exe add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ExplorerPatcher" /f /v "HideControlCenterButton" /t REG_DWORD /d 1

• SkinMenus applies the immersive skin to "Safe to Remove Hardware" and "Bluetooth" pop-up menus (default = 1)
  
  Code:

  reg.exe add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ExplorerPatcher" /f /v "SkinMenus" /t REG_DWORD /d 1

• ReplaceNetwork makes right clicking the system tray network icon and choosing "Open Network & Internet settings" open the "Network and Sharing Center" page in Control Panel instead of the network section of the Settings app (default = 0)
  
  Code:

  reg.exe add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ExplorerPatcher" /f /v "ReplaceNetwork" /t REG_DWORD /d 1

• AllocConsole will display a console window (for debugging purposes) (default = 0, for advanced users only)
  
  Code:

  reg.exe add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ExplorerPatcher" /f /v "AllocConsole" /t REG_DWORD /d 1

• ExplorerReadyDelay adds even more delay before the shell is announced that Explorer is ready loading (helps if you experience a delay at logon) - the unit is ms (milliseconds), 1000ms = 1 second (default = 0, for advanced users only)
  
  Code:

  reg.exe add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ExplorerPatcher" /f /v "ExplorerReadyDelay" /t REG_DWORD /d 1000

Also, if you chose to place the patcher in C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.StartMenuExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy as well, use the following commands to configure Start menu options:

• Open Start menu to "All apps" directly (replace with 0 to disable)
  
  Code:

  reg.exe add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\StartPage" /f /v "MakeAllAppsDefault" /t REG_DWORD /d 1

• Show only 4 most recent apps (change the number to customize)
  
  Code:

  reg.exe add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced" /f /v "Start_MaximumFrequentApps" /t REG_DWORD /d 4

More configuration

Even more registry configuration settings are described in the following document, make sure to take a look on it here.


Uninstallation
First, move the taskbar to the bottom, if you have moved it to the top or to the sides. This is so that the Windows 11 taskbar can render correctly.

Then, to uninstall, rename the DLL in the locations where you placed it from dxgi.dll to dxgio.dll. Then, reboot the computer and delete the dxgio.dll file from the locations where it is placed. You can also then safely delete the %appdata%\ExplorerPatcher directory as well.


More details

A changelog is available here.

Spoiler: How does this work?

A detailed description of how this works is available on my web site [here](https://valinet.ro/2021/08/09/Restore-Windows-11-to-working-Windows-10-UI.html).

The way the application gets loaded is by exploiting the DLL search order in Windows. I take advantage of the fact that Explorer is one of the few system processes located in %windir% and not in %windir%\System32, so it does not affect most apps. Also, %windir% is not first in the search path. Read more about this technique here. The main advantage here is that you do not have to keep an extra process running in the memory; plus, due to the diverse nature of how Explorer is launched, hooking it can be difficult.

I picked dxgi.dll because it is not on the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\KnownDLLs list, because it has few exports and is loaded very early by Explorer, when calling the DXGIDeclareAdapterRemovalSupport() function.

Spoiler: A note on antivirus false positives

The DLL you download may trigger a false positive alert in your antivirus program. This is fairly normal, a sign that the product you are using is decently capable, since it features detection methods a bit more advanced than what was state of the art in 1999. The program being flagged is usually done through heuristic analysis, not via a database of know viruses. That means that the antivirus program thinks that due to the nature of the code in this application, it likely may be a virus, a program that the user does not really mean to run. Injecting code into other executables is rarely done by legitimate programs. One such kind of legitimate programs is this patcher, that you deliberately choose to run and let it alter Explorer's code and memory in a controlled manner so that you achieve a certain effect. Thus, this patcher falls in the category of false positives: your antivirus thought such a program was not something you meant to run, but that's not the case this time.

License

Hooking is done using the excellent funchook library (GPLv2 with linking exception), which in turn is powered by the diStorm3 (3-clause BSD) disassembler. Thus, I am offering this under GNU General Public License Version 2.0, which I believe is compatible.


Compiling

The following prerequisites are necessary in order to compile this project:

• Microsoft C/C++ Optimizing Compiler - this can be obtained by installing either of these packages:
  • Visual Studio - this is a fully featured IDE; you'll need to check "C/C++ application development role" when installing. If you do not require the full suite, use the package bellow.
  • Build Tools for Visual Studio - this just installs the compiler, which you'll be able to use from the command line, or from other applications like CMake
  Download either of those here. The guide assumes you have installed either Visual Studio 2019, either Build Tools for Visual Studio 2019.
  
  
• A recent version of the Windows SDK - for development, version 10.0.19041.0 was used, available here (this may also be offered as an option when installing Visual Studio)
  
  
• CMake - for easier usage, make sure to have it added to PATH during installation
  
  
• Git - you can use Git for Windows, or git command via the Windows Subsystem for Linux.

Steps:

1. Clone git repo along with all submodules
   
   git clone --recursive https://github.com/valinet/ExplorerPatcher
   
   If "git" is not found as a command, type its full path, or have its folder added to PATH, or open Git command window in the respective folder if using Git for Windows.
   
   
2. Compile funchook
   
   cd libs
   cd funchook
   md build
   cd build
   cmake -G "Visual Studio 16 2019" -A x64 ..
   
   If "cmake" is not found as a command, type its full path, or have its folder added to PATH.
   
   Type "Win32" instead of "x64" above, if compiling for x86. The command above works for x64.
   
   Now, in the libs\funchook\build folder, open the file funchook-static.vcxproj with any text editor, search and replace all occurences of <RuntimeLibrary>MultiThreadedDLL</RuntimeLibrary> with <RuntimeLibrary>MultiThreaded</RuntimeLibrary>.
   
   Once done, you can now compile funchook:
   
   cmake --build . --config Release
   
   
3. Compile ExplorerPatcher
   • Double click the ExplorerPatcher.sln to open the solution in Visual Studio. Choose Release and your processor architecture in the toolbar. Press F6 to compile.
     
     
   • Open an "x86 Native Tools Command Prompt for VS 2019" (for x86), or "x64 Native Tools Command Prompt for VS 2019" (for x64) (search that in Start), go to folder containing solution file and type:
     • For x86:
       
       msbuild ExplorerPatcher.sln /property:Configuration=Release /propertylatform=x86
       
       
     • For x64:
       
       msbuild ExplorerPatcher.sln /property:Configuration=Release /propertylatform=x64
   The resulting exe and dll will be in "Release" folder (if you chose x86), or "x64\Release" (if you chose x64) in the folder containing the solution file.

That's it. later, if you want to recompile, make sure to update the repository and the submodules first:

git pull
git submodule update --init --recursive

 

I saw that too by chance, when reading about an app called ThisIsWin11 (or something) which started out as a simple app explaining Win11 features but then started to include some tweaks too like this app. I'm kind of trying to figure out what exactly is useful about this one. Maybe that the Win11 start menu (if you use that) opens in Apps by default. You can really tell when these people with 4K screens are making screenshots

I'm slowly (very slowly) uploading a 11 image right now, in which I had included StartAllBack which I think, so far, has the best alternative start menu and explorer tweaks. There is one weakness to look out for when it comes to taskbar tweaking/customizing via third party apps, and that is that it may mess up UI responsiveness: StartAllBack (under advanced options) has 2 sliders that can set Start Menu and Taskbar colors, transparency, and clear/blur/acrylic effects. When you set the Taskbar on "blur" effect, and you move an explorer windows down against the taskbar, the entire UI will go into slowmotion mode -- mouse cursor becomes superslow, as if a sloth has taken over your desktop. Now, I liked that particular look, but found that I could have the Start Menu set to "blur", but change the taskbar to "clear" with higher opacity, and it make for about the same look as I originally set for the two. However, I figured that out after I finalized the image, so either change that taskbar setting to "clear" or else get the new ssApp for it that I'll upload later (new version is out, but it doesn't fix that issue, but I will reg it for "clear" taskbar).

 

Win11 is feature-frozen for a year now, so all we will see it security updates and bug fixes. Right now, an annoying bug is when you have your wallpapers set to rotate at intervals, whenever the wallpaper changes, and you're looking inside a folder with many files/folders, say half-way down the list, it will reset your view to the top of the folder contents again. Quite annoying. How a wallpaper change is that integral to viewing position inside an explorer window beats me). To note, the wallpaper interval in the image I made is somehow set to 1 minute, which is not right, so you'd want to change that if using the themes with multiple walls.

The dark theme for explorer is a good thing (Win10 also had this in its own way), but the light explorer themes are so ugly. It's hard to fathom how they looked at that and thought "this is it." Win7 was really ahead of its time when you look at UI design (or Win11 is behind). But, Win10 Glam-Shell is upon us, so we better learn how to live with it