Standalone Stack 2

[ChristianS]

StandaloneStack 2.0.7 is released !

StandaloneStack 2 ( i've just modify my old page )

New :

- Base on new stack library from Matonga

- Better customization dialog.

- Special folder ( for now, no control panel for windows XP, sorry )

- Video preview with "animation" (.AVI )

- Folder navigation in stack ( hold CTRL key to enter in folder - but no go back)

- Image loading in background

New 2.0.1 :

- Go back button when navigate in folder

- you can choose how enter in folder ( single click or click+CTRL )

- choose to keep standalonestack in memory or not

- show or not hidden files

( old version 2.0 can be found here :old 2.0 )

New 2.0.2 :

- option : don't close stack on focus lost.

( run shortcut again to close the stack )

( old version 2.0.1 can be found here :old 2.0.1 )

New : 2.0.3 - fix release

- fix the bug reported by Smaky : stack doesn't open.

- you can now open many stack at same time ( check "don't close stack on focus lost" )

( old version 2.0.2 can be found here :old 2.0.2 )

New : 2.0.4

- better folder browsing. you can now explore drive, drive shortcut, directory shortcut and zip fles in stack.

- new "go back" icon - and the text is now "Go Back <previous folder>"

- go back to first folder : hold CTRL key while clicking on "Go Back"

( old version 2.0.3 can be found here :old 2.0.3 )

New : 2.0.5 - fix release

- fix the bug with shortcuts, "office" like shortcut works now, i hope the others too...

- fix the bug with files without extension ( explorer option : "hide file extension for know file types" ) and custom icons

- Control panel shortcuts work now in windows XP

( old version 2.0.4 can be found here :old 2.0.4 )

New : 2.0.6 - small release before my holidays

- Stacks can now overides default options

- Add X,Y offset to set open position with mouse

( old version 2.0.5 can be found here :old 2.0.5 )

New : 2.0.7

- Open speed improvment. Check "keep in memory when stack is closed" to activate cache. The file list is not reloaded from filesystem.

- Custom icon name is now like "_.doc" with underscore (XP can't create file without prefix like .doc )

- Fix location of stack if you force the position and then change screen resolution.

- Right click context menu.

- "click thru" on transparent part of the icon (for stack mode) now open the shortcut.

- Keep mouse button settings if button is swapped ( for lefty )

- you can force stack position on screen

- numerical sorting for filename. when filename begin with a number, it is used to sort the file.

- don't run shortcut if you hold down mouse button more than 2 seconds

- video shorcut preview and animation

- you can turn off video preview

- "A stack/folder in the stack can not be opened if it contains the shortcut of deleted application" should work ?

- stack shortcut creation can be made in any folder ( instead of desktop folder only)

sorry for 64bit application, i can't compile standalone stack in 64bit because stack lib dll from Matonga is 32bit so i can't load it.

i will try another thing later...

( old version 2.0.6 can be found here :old 2.0.6 )

Edited November 26, 2009 by ChristianS

[Ghostwalker]

Nice, I would like to see some of this in Matonga's stack docklet.

[handofra]

Whoa, this is certainly useful for me as I don't use any dock. Thanks for the program!

Also, it seems like the direction option isn't working.

[scissorhands7]

Whoa, this is certainly useful for me as I don't use any dock. Thanks for the program!

Also, it seems like the direction option isn't working.

That's because the direction option of the stackslib.dll that its based on has a problem with the direction of the stack. Don't worry, when Matonga updates the stacklib.dll, this problem will be fixed, its not an error in the standalone stack coding.

[technosinner]

The direction works for me...

Here is a little bug report for you Christian: if you click on the stack shortcut and there is already a standalonestack2.exe process running, it will still start a second one. It will kill the second process if you click out of the stack, but the first one stays there. FYI.

Très bien comme petit programme mon ami, bravo!

[vhanla]

I copied some shortcuts inside a directory and created a Stack to access them, when clicked, it shows perfectly their icons, but it doesn't launch the application, instead it shows "move items" and "copy items" dialog.

[ChristianS]

@technosinner : yes, in fact, for a faster open, one standalonestack.exe keep running.

i can put an option to keep or not a process running.

[technosinner]

@technosinner : yes, in fact, for a faster open, one standalonestack.exe keep running.

i can put an option to keep or not a process running.

No actually that's fine; I was just wondering if that was intended or not. The option to have running or not would be nice however.

[scissorhands7]

Things in my mind that would take this standalone app to the next level.

1. Backward button

2. Instead of control+Clicking on a folder to keep it in stack mode, change the Control + Click to open the folder in explorer and the regular click to open the folder in Stack mode.

3. It shows my hidden folders and files even though I don't want it to show them. Is there a way so that it doesn't display my hidden folders?

4. .Avi preview is really choppy

Edited June 1, 2009 by scissorhands7

[Skrell]

i am in love with you!

edit: arg!! it wont stay open? this is the same problem i had with standalone stack 1 is there anyway you can make it so that you have to click on teh desktop in order for the popup to close?

Edited June 1, 2009 by Skrell

[ChristianS]

that's what it suppose to do...

it close when it lost focus, so when you click anywhere out the stack.

[Skrell]

I guess i wasn't clear, the popup closes IMMEDIATELY leaving no time to even click on an icon. It won't stay open at all.

that's what it suppose to do...

it close when it lost focus, so when you click anywhere out the stack.

[pedobear]

This implementation is the first time that Stack Docklet 2.0 has worked for me. Thanks a lot to you and Motonga! Now I'm just waiting for his C++ version that hopefully will not crash every dock program I try it with on Vista.

[Skrell]

can anyone help me? i'm dying to use this

[Smaky]

Christian,

I have noticed that under some cicrumstances (I have not been able to reproduce it all the time) more than one fan or grid is shown. The best way to do it is to rapidly click multiple times on the shortcut.

[ChristianS]

New 2.0.1 : (download with first link)

- Go back button when navigate in folder

- you can choose how enter in folder ( single click or click+CTRL )

- choose to keep standalonestack in memory or not

- show or not hidden files

( old version 2.0 can be found here :old 2.0 )

[ChristianS]

@Smaky :

yes, if you click many times, you can have many stack.

i can prevent this.

@Skrell :

it's hard to understand, have you unzip all files in a simple folder, like "c:\standalonestack2" ?

if you just select the shortcut and press enter to run it , does the stack stay open ?

which config ? xp, vista ?

[Skrell]

Thank you for your response ChristianS. I have standalonestack extracted to the C:\ as you showed. If i hit enter to execute the shortcut it still closes immediately. It's as if the stack is fighting with another window that is trying to always be on top. That is why i asked if you could make an option to force it to stay open. I use WinXP SP3.

edit: also, it stays in memory after i execute the shortcut. Shouldn't it stop running once the stack goes away?

Edited June 4, 2009 by Skrell

[ChristianS]

Thank you for your response ChristianS. I have standalonestack extracted to the C:\ as you showed. If i hit enter to execute the shortcut it still closes immediately. It's as if the stack is fighting with another window that is trying to always be on top. That is why i asked if you could make an option to force it to stay open. I use WinXP SP3.

edit: also, it stays in memory after i execute the shortcut. Shouldn't it stop running once the stack goes away?

ok, i will think about an option to stay the stack open. i just need to find an idea how close the stack !?

[Skrell]

any idea what could be causing this problem?

[ChristianS]

No, maybe an application which take the focus. The stack close when the focus is lost.

see new version for your problem...

[ChristianS]

new 2.0.2 :

- option : don't close stack on focus lost.

( run shortcut again to close the stack )

[Skrell]

you've done it you magnificent bastard!! i can finally use this excellent tool! what about the option to close the stack upon the left mouse button being pressed a second time since you can use ctrl+left click to browse folders? or am i being greedy?

PS: the delete stack function does not work..it simply closes standalonestack.exe

PPS: Also, when the stack opens it opens ON TOP of the shortcut so i can't double click it again. Basically the distance from the shortcut to the stack needs to be greater.

Edited June 5, 2009 by Skrell

[Smaky]

@ChristianS,

It seems there is still some bug in the new version. Although it now prevents stacks from opening more than once, it now takes many clicks to actually get the stack to open, it works a bit better when you double click the icon, but that's a bit odd for a docklet, but still you have to double click at least twice to get the stack to show.

I'm testing it under Windows 7 RC, both, as a desktop shortcut and as pinned to the taskbar. In both cases I need to double click repeatedly to get the stack shown.

Update I'm not sure why, but it seems it is working now... I just killed the Standalonestack process and openend the stacks again, and now I am not facing the double click thing anymore... I'll post if I am able to reproduce it again.

It seems to me that if you are controlling the show/hide of the stack via a flag then it must be getting updated wrongly.

Edit. Another little thingy... how come it is not possible to rename stacks... once you have saved it, it is not possible to rename them. Of course, it is possible to edit the .ini file manually, it was just it seemed odd. It might be related to the fact that after renaming a stack, all shortcuts already created will not work anymore... but I think that a warning or something similar would suffice to alert the user of that.

Edit. One more... although you can change the stacks setting to show the fan downwards, and to the left & right, currently matonga's stacklib does not support it. I think it might be useful to disable the direction combo when fan is selected, and or revert to grid if any of those directions are selected.

Edit. And another... When you have created multiple stack shortcuts on your desktop, and you open one but does not close it (either because you did not lost the focus or because the option not to hide was is set), and then you click on another shortcut (in my case pinned to the taskbar), the previously opened stack will be hidden but the new is not being shown. it would be nice if the previously openen stack gets hidden but the new one is shown. Of course if you click the very same stack shortcut tha opened it in the first place, then it will be simply hidden.

Suggestion. I've noticed that when an application does not have a nice vista compatible icon (say 256x256) then you revert to show the normal icon (I believe it might be the 32x32 or 48x48 one) scaled to whatever size is selected. I believe that It would be better to show something similar to what explorer.exe does, it does not scale the icon but show it at its normal resolution centered in an squate sized to the rest of the icons... do you think it may be possible to do something like this with your app?

BTW I love the directory broswing stuff!

Edited June 5, 2009 by Smaky

[glitch00]

Hi ChristianS!

I've been subscribed in your RSS feed ever since I discovered your first version of Standalone Stack. I really love your version 2 and even associated it with one of my multimedia hotkeys. Very very useful!

I have a couple of suggestions though. First, can the hover color apply to every icon and not just the ones with long filenames?

Also, can each stack have its own unique grid settings. So far the only workaround is to make two copies of the program each with different settings so this change isn't that important.

Thanks so much, this has to be one of the best mini-tools ever.