Default file manager stops working properly after a while

[admin]

Looks like a Windows bug to me. Why would a functionality stop working after several hours or so? XY doesn't get tired. Anyways, I'll try to reproduce it.

PS: When you right-click the folder to open, the context menu shows XYplorer as the bold default item?

[Bruce_Dickinson]

I'm not in the wonky state now, so I'm not sure there, but in the non-wonky state, XYplorer is the default item. I'll check again when it fails again.

[Bruce_Dickinson]

Back in wonky state after a nice stretch of expected functionality, which I'd hoped meant everything had worked itself out. But not so. To answer your question, yes, XYplorer still appears as the default program to open the desktop folder, even in the wonky state.

[admin]

Maybe some other app sneaked in and overwrote XYplorer as default file manager in the registry.

Does this registry node exist and point to a valid XYplorer location? HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Directory\Shell\XYplorer\Command

And does the Default key in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Directory\Shell point to "XYplorer"?

You can use these scripts to find out (expected returns are shown in the //-comment):
echo reg_get(1, "Software\Classes\Directory\Shell\XYplorer\Command"); //"C:\Program Files\XYplorer\XYplorer.exe" "%1"
echo reg_get(1, "Software\Classes\Directory\Shell"); //XYplorer

[Bruce_Dickinson]

Both of those items are exactly as they should be.

FWIW: As stated before, when in the wonky state, the wonky behavior happens when I double-click a folder sitting on the Windows desktop. I have also determined that, when in the wonky state, the wonky behavior is also produced by running any given path in the Win 11 "Run" box. Strangely enough though, when the AutoHotkey v1 "Run" command is used with a specified path (e.g. "Run, C:\ExamplePath"), the specified path *does* successfully open in XYplorer. (But note that the wonky state persists regardless of whether an AutoHotkey script is running.) I have no idea what goes on under the hood with respect to these two different ways of running a path, but thought it might possibly be a bit of a clue.

[admin]

Whatever it is, I doubt it can be fixed in XYplorer.

[Bruce_Dickinson]

Has anyone else besides myself and the original poster reported having this problem? I'll check the forums of the other major replacement file managers to see if others have reported similar issues. Presumably, if this is a windows problem, it will have manifested with other file manager replacements.

[jupe]

Do you usually have a resident AHK script running, because that is exactly the type of thing that could trigger this issue, and I know you said it still happens while the script is ended, but once it has triggered then it's too late.

[Bruce_Dickinson]

Yes, I have a resident AHK script always running (I couldn't live without it ). Could you say a bit more about why you think AHK might be the culprit? Many thanks for tuning in to this thread.

[jupe]

AHK is very powerful, but scripting issues can cause problems, things like file/registry handles being left open etc can persist even after ending.