XYplorer not always showing as tab (XP)

[highstream]

In the last three builds or so, I've had a few cases where I opened XYplorer via a folder desktop icon, gone on to do other browser things in the meantime and come back to find no tab open for XYplorer. Yet, when I click on the folder again, the program comes up immediately, indicating it really was already loaded. I'm thinking this has occurred on the first usage of the program in any computer session, but can't say that for sure. In any case, it wasn't happening before sometime last week.

[nas8e9]

In the last three builds or so, I've had a few cases where I opened XYplorer via a folder desktop icon, gone on to do other browser things in the meantime and come back to find no tab open for XYplorer. Yet, when I click on the folder again, the program comes up immediately, indicating it really was already loaded. I'm thinking this has occurred on the first usage of the program in any computer session, but can't say that for sure. In any case, it wasn't happening before sometime last week.

Do you mean by tab the button in the Windows taskbar? In other words, there's no indication that XYplorer is loaded until you click on a folder in Windows Explorer?

If so, do you see XYplorer.exe in Task Manager or Sysinternals' Process Explorer when it's hidden from view?

[highstream]

Yes, I meant tab on the taskbar. I will check next time it happens, but my assumption is that the process must be running because how could it come up on screen so quickly when I click on the same folder again - and I mean instantly, as if it were already open (for some reason, XYplorer seems relatively slow to load on my computer, i.e., not exactly slow, but slower than I would expect from this type of app, or its main competition, Windows Explorer).

[nas8e9]

You may want to check the settings in Configuration > Startup & Exit; specifically Minimize to tray and Minimize to tray on X close. Also, when XYplorer plays hide and seek, do you see it in the notification area (not all the notification area's icons may be shown initially on your computer)?

[highstream]

I'm talking tab on the taskbar here, not icon in notification tray; I do not load XYplorer at computer start up. Unless there's something odd going on with my computer - and only with this app - I'm sensing the possiblity of a bug. One time I can understand, but three times in the past few days with two new builds and, if I'm not mistaken, soon after initial start up each time, seems more than random error.

[nas8e9]

I'm talking tab on the taskbar here, not icon in notification tray; I do not load XYplorer at computer start up. Unless there's something odd going on with my computer - and only with this app - I'm sensing the possiblity of a bug. One time I can understand, but three times in the past few days with two new builds and, if I'm not mistaken, soon after initial start up each time, seems more than random error.

Sorry if I wasn't clear. I meant that it's possible that when XYplorer is invisible, it may have minimized to the notification area/tray. Since the default is for the tray not to show all icons immediately (pressing the left-pointing chevron displays all), it's possible that XYplorer's tray icon is hidden from view. If that were the case (Task Manager to the rescue as to whether XYplorer.exe is still loaded when the window disappears), there'd still be the question how XYplorer gets minimized.

Either way, I'm not saying there isn't a bug somewhere. Three remaining questions (which the developer, which I'm definitely not, would probably have as well) are: when XYplorer seems to go AWOL,
- is the process (XYplorer.exe) still active;
- is XYplorer's icon visible, if hidden by the notification area's shrinking, in the notification area;
- regardless of the answer to the second question, could you post your settings in Configuration > Startup & Exit (a screen shot would be great)?

[highstream]

I will check both next time it happens. I've never seen the icon in the Notification Tray, and don't have any settings to put it there, AFAICT. Thanks for your suggestions.

[highstream]

It happened again this morning, the first time I opened my "downloads" folder, after downloading the latest beta. After clicking on that folder, I absent-mindedly switched back to my browser via its taskbar tab and then a moment later looked back and there was no XYplorer tab. I checked processes and it was there, and then used Alt-tab and brought it up - and then tab then finally appeared in the taskbar.

I will try opening a different folder next time I boot the computer to be sure the problem is not on my end. I can say that downloading betas is something I've been typically doing very first thing in the morning, based on the email notice for that thread (I use Mailwasher Pro and open the link from its viewer). This tab behavior is new, something that started sometime in the middle of last week.

[admin]

It happened again this morning, the first time I opened my "downloads" folder, after downloading the latest beta. After clicking on that folder, I absent-mindedly switched back to my browser via its taskbar tab and then a moment later looked back and there was no XYplorer tab. I checked processes and it was there, and then used Alt-tab and brought it up - and then tab then finally appeared in the taskbar.

I will try opening a different folder next time I boot the computer to be sure the problem is not on my end. I can say that downloading betas is something I've been typically doing very first thing in the morning, based on the email notice for that thread (I use Mailwasher Pro and open the link from its viewer). This tab behavior is new, something that started sometime in the middle of last week.

I don't think anything in XY's code is responsible for the change of behavior you are observing. I doubt that I could influence this even if I wanted to.

[highstream]

At the time I had to accept your reply of July 28 as authoritative, but now I wonder. Just now, at the beginning of a computer session, I downloaded and installed the latest beta (Installer Package). I did it by choosing Run from the download dialog box and then double clicking the file in the IZArc box. At the end I left the start XYplorer checked but nothing appeared to indicate it had started, i.e., no tab, no change of focus to XYplorer. So I used Alt-Tab to cycle through everything open and after two rounds didn't find any XYplorer. Then I clicked on the program's icon in the Taskbar (XP/SP3) and the program popped to the foreground instantly, indicating that it was already open.

Since this behavior doesn't happens with any other of the many applications/utilities I use, it's hard to escape the conclusion that there's something about XYplorer that's either directly causing it, or at minimum getting XP to misbehave. And given that I've been told hundreds of times in my life that "it couldn't be," when in fact it turned out that it was, I'm going to suggest that you take a closer look (I don't know how, but could this be another MSE-linked problem?).

[nas8e9]

At the time I had to accept your reply of July 28 as authoritative, but now I wonder. Just now, at the beginning of a computer session, I downloaded and installed the latest beta (Installer Package). I did it by choosing Run from the download dialog box and then double clicking the file in the IZArc box. At the end I left the start XYplorer checked but nothing appeared to indicate it had started, i.e., no tab, no change of focus to XYplorer. So I used Alt-Tab to cycle through everything open and after two rounds didn't find any XYplorer. Then I clicked on the program's icon in the Taskbar (XP/SP3) and the program popped to the foreground instantly, indicating that it was already open.

I can reproduce this when the following two settings are enabled in Configuration > Startup & Exit:
- Startup minimized;
- Minimize to tray.

Could you check your settings or even better, post a screenshot of your settings?

[highstream]

Glad you posted that. Seems the problem is not just your choice of settings...

XYplorer Startup & Exit.jpg (63.92 KiB) Viewed 1673 times

[nas8e9]

Glad you posted that. Seems the problem is not just your choice of settings...

XYplorer Startup & Exit.jpg

Your settings are indeed not the problem here. If I understand you correctly, *only* XYplorer does this vanishing act?

Also, if you haven't already done so, could you see if you can reproduce this when using a clean profile? The easiest way is to copy only XYplorer.exe to an empty folder and run it from there.

[highstream]

I'll try, but it's hard to replicate quickly since the behavior is intermittent. To do so, where's the license file? It or something is needed to bypass the trial period screen.

[nas8e9]

I'll try, but it's hard to replicate quickly since the behavior is intermittent. To do so, where's the license file? It or something is needed to bypass the trial period screen.

The registration details (name and key) can be entered after startup via Help > Unlock Trial Version. They're encrypted and stored in xyplorer.ini.