I will soon release the interim version 4.2 of Folders Popup. But, before that, I would like to test these new features with the FP beta users group. If you are not already part of this group, please join in! This beta test phase should last one or two weeks. See download instructions at the end of this post.
What's new in v4.2
Add custom special folders to your menu
(Someone with an English Windows could send me the same screen capture with all English names in the dropdown list?)
- Select the position of new favorite in the Add Favorite window
- A dropdown list in Add Favorite dialog box allows to select the position of the new favorites in the main menu or any submenu.
- This time saver feature is also available with Add This Folder or when you drag and drop favorites to the Settings windows.
- Custom Special Folders favorites (Windows 7 and more)
- Build your own special folders menus from a list of more than 50 special folders, for example: Libraries, Recent items, Recycle Bin, Startup folder, History, Favorites, Quick Launch, Downloads, Cookies, Temporary files, etc.
- Insert these custom special folders favorites in the main menu or in any submenu.
- The majority of these special folders can be open in file dialog boxes.
- Most Special Folders labels are read from your system in the language of your Windows version (others are -or will be- translated by the team of FP translators).
- Special Folders menu names and icons can be customized.
- When satisfied with your own custom special folders menus, you can disable the built-in menu (uncheck Display Menu: Special Folders in Options).
- Universal File Managers Support with FPconnect (BETA TEST)
- FPconnect is an universal file manager Folders Popup connector from Roland Toth.
- This Folders Popup addon allows integration of any file manager that supports commandline navigation (in addition to Directory Opus and Total Commander that are already supported by Folders Popup).
- FPconnect is automatically detected if installed under the Folders Popup program file folder. See installation instructions.
- Depending on file manager's capabilities, favorites folders can be open in the current tab/window of the file manager, or in a new tab/window.
- Also depending on file manager's capabilities, current version of Folders Popup offers only a limited support for Special Folders and no support for the following features: Add This Folder (folders have to be added using the Add Favorite dialog box), Current Folders and Groups of Folders.
- Support for FreeCommander XE has been removed from FP. It is now available with greater flexibility via FPconnect.
- Bug fixes and minor improvements
- Fix a bug hiding system menus icons in main menu under Windows XP.
- Fix bug when moving a favorite to another submenu.
- Augment delay for slow drives when loading group of folders.
- The FoldersPopup.exe files are now signed with the specific class name "JeanLalonde.ca".
- The check for update query now sends info about FP version and OS info.
- Language files updates.
Guidelines for beta-testers
Please, pay attention to the new custom Special Folders (see the Add Favorite dialog box). This feature has been well tested under Win 7, but not under Win 8. Literature says that Win 7 Special Folders are all supported under Win 8 but I would like this to be confirmed.
Also, for power users having their favorite non-Windows file manager (other than Directory Opus and Total Commander that are natively supported by FP) are invited to test the new FPconnect addon and give feedback to its author Roland Thot on his blog. Many thanks to Roland (nickname "tpr") for his very good work on this!
Make sure you have a backup version of the FoldersPopup.ini file. This beta version has been well tested but remember that the goal of beta testing is precisely to uncover the last bugs.
You will find the links to download the beta version in the comments below. They will be updated with a description of changes for each beta version.
You can report bugs, suggestions or comments here or by email at ahk@jeanlalonde.ca. Thanks in advance.
And, finally, let me wish you an Happy New Year 2015! And full of popup bubbles from Champagne, if not from your computer :-)
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Here is the first beta release of Folders Popup v4.2. It is released under the version number v4.1.8.3. See description above.
Download links
(updated below)
Thanks for joining the beta test!
PS: Be among the firsts to LIKE the brand new Folders Popup FACEBOOK page!
https://www.facebook.com/FoldersPopup
Hello Jean,
all special folder I add are opened by Windows explorer and not with the configured Total Commander.
Other configured folders are opened fine in TC.
I must correct myself.
Its the "Libraries" which are always loaded with explorer.
"This PC" loads wrong as long as I also hav FPconnect in the config.
All tests with portable version under Windows 8.1 x64
Hi Horst,
This is normal. Only a limited number of special folders are supported by TC: cm_OpenDesktop, cm_OpenDrives, cm_OpenControls, cm_OpenFonts, cm_OpenNetwork, cm_OpenPrinters, cm_OpenRecycled. Others are also available when I know can get the path to the special folder, for example: Quick Launch, Recent, etc. If these do not open in TC, this is not normal.
Jean
Pictures starts the TC but doesn't open the Pictures dir.
Others as My Music opens fine.
Btw. I can open Libraries in TC itself with cd ::{031E4825-7B94-4dc3-B131-E946B44C8DD5}
Hum. Good to know. I tested TC using the same command as in Explorer "shell:::{CLSID}". For TC, I now use "::{CLSID}" and, yes, it works for Librairies and about 4-5 others special folders. Many others CLSIDs could not open in TC however. In these cases, FP continues to open them in Explorer.
And "Pictures" was a bug. Fixed.
All this will be in the next beta release. Thanks for this, Horst.
Yes. Normally, you should only select one third-party file manage support. If you select more than one, the priority is given to FPconnect.
Hi Jean,
I'm really glad about the new feature: "Select the position of new favorite in the Add Favorite window" - believe it or not I was just about to make this feature request, and I can report that, so far, it's working.
Thanks
Paul
Hi Paul,
Funny! Someone suggested to select the column when add a favorite. I opt to give position selection (including, column if you use them) which gives more flexibility.
Thanks for the feedback.
Jean
I like the new Special Folders option and there have been no problems here so far: I've been having fun adding lots of them and editing the icons along the way. I'm using Windows 7 btw.
Thanks
Paul
Good. I know you use Win XP sometimes. Special Folders management under XP is quite different than Win 7+. I choose not to support it, at least for the moment.
Hi!
The Custom Special Folders is a REALLY great feature.
It works on:
Win7 Pro x64 w/Explorer
Win 8.1 Pro x64 w/Explorer
Win 10 Tech Preview x64 w/Explorer
Win 8.1 Pro x64 w/Directory Opus v.11,10 x64
Cheers
Opie
Hi!
The Special Folder "Performance Information and Tools" does not work on Win81/Win10.
This is to be expected since Microsoft, as I understand it, pretty much have dropped this feature from the Control Panel.
The WinSAT command-line tool is still available though.
Cheers
Opie
Thank you for your test report, Opie. It is good to know that it works well on Win8.1 and even Win 10!
I will reserve Performance Information and Tool for Win7.
It's me again (sorry for the spam).
FP, FPconnect and FreeCommander XE works flawlessly on Win81 Pro x64.
...and I will now shut up for a while! :-)
-Opie
No spam. Just valuable feedback :-)
You cal also send your comments to FPconnect author on his blog.
I've been quite prolific in the last days, thanks to holidays!
What's new in v4.1.8.4
HOTKEYS
* add hotkeys to Gui to manage favorites in the main window
* add shortcuts help in main window, new layout for drag & drop help
- Down: Select next favorite
- Up: Select previous favorite
- Ctrl-N: Add a new favorite
- Enter: Edit favorite
- Shift-Up/Down: Select contiguous favorites
- Ctrl-Click: Select non-contiguous favorites
- Ctrl-A: Select all favorites
- Ctrl-Down: Move favorite(s) down
- Ctrl-Up: Move favorite(s) up
- Del: Remove favorite(s)
- Ctrl-Right: Open submenu
- Ctrl-Left: Open parent submenu
MULTIPLE SELECTION
* allow multiple selection of favorites to move them in the current list, move to other menu or remove them
* favorites moved to another menu are added at end of the destination menu
* Up/Down arrow buttons and Ctrl-Up/Down can move multiple favorites in the current list
* adding separators and column breaks is not allowed when multiple favorites are selected
OTHER FIXES
* special folder Performance Information and Tool is now reserved to Win7 (not available on Win8 and more)
* add support for six special folders in TC with use of :: instead of shell:::
* fix bug special folder "Images" with Total Commander
* fix bug in manage groups, "Select a group" was sorted with list of groups
Download links:
Easy one-step installation:
http://code.jeanlalonde.ca/ahk/folderspopup/folderspopup-4_1_8_4-beta-setup.exe
Portable installation
http://code.jeanlalonde.ca/ahk/folderspopup/folderspopup-4_1_8_4-beta.zip
Thank you for your feedbacks, bug reports and suggestions!
Hello Jean,
thanks for fixing all my special folder problems with TC.
I've one suggestion for document links.
I can even start tools with it but unfortunately we can't add parameters.
Adding this would make FP much more versatile.
Hi Horst,
Interesting suggestion. I'll add a new favorite type to handle this and give it a special treatment. How should this be named? "Application", "Command line", "Executable"?
BTW, you can achieve what you want now using the URL fav type. But you will not have the correct icon. In the "Link (URL)" field, type something like: "c:\windows\notepad.exe c:\autoexec.bat". This is not a clean solution but this should work :-)
Hello Jean,
I would name it Command line.
Thanks for the tip with URL as a workaround.
The new beta version v4.9.2 adds a new favorite type for applications that support working directory (“Start in”) and parameters (argument string). Please see details here:
http://code.jeanlalonde.ca/folderspopup-v5-beta-tests/
Nice bug found when moving groups of favorites... Fixed!
What’s new in v4.1.8.5
* fix a bug when moving multiple favorites with Up/Down or Ctrl-Up/Ctrl-Down, favorites selection is now preserved
* prevent double-click on Up/Down arrows buttons to overwrite the clipboard
Download links:
(see updated links below)
This should be the last beta release before I release the official v4.2.
Version: 4.1.8.6 BETA (2015-01-06)
* improve performance when moving large number of favorite from one submenu to another
* fix bug character "&" not being displayed in menu names
* fix bug in add favorite when changing favorite type, default icon and location not being properly set
* fix bug when moving out all favorites from a submenu, menu item is now grayed out
* Korean language updates
Download links:
(see updated links below)
Thank you for your feedbacks, bug reports and suggestions!
In v4.1 the ampersand is handled just normally (Windows, Linux, Android … style):
&Handle creates a hotkey (underlined H)
&& displays the ampersand
I can't see a bug and I hope this won't change.
Note:
The ampersand not being displayed can (just) look like a bug when underlining of keyboard shortcuts is switched off (which is the default setting - I think - in Windows 7). This behaviour can be changed via Control Panel > All Control Panel Items > Ease of Access Center > Make the keyboard easier to use.
I did not know this Control Panel option. Underscores are easier to check when always visible. Thanks for pointing to it.
When set to invisible just press the Alt key to show the underlining / keyboard shortcuts temporarily. BTW - pressing the Alt key will also reveal any hidden menu bars (e.g. in Firefox, Thunderbird, …). Of course this does not work with FP because pressing the Alt key closes FP. Well, it probably works but you aint got no chance to see it :-)
This is how I was checking the shortcut keys. But I find showing them permanently more convenient.
Also, when you open the FP menu with the keyboard shortcut (Win-A or Shift-Win-A), the keyboard menu shortcuts are always visible.
Hi Jörg,
This is my bad. I knew it forever but it skipped my mind at some point. This must be the age.
v4.1.9.3 fixes that.
It is good to know that beta testers are there to check me :-)
One more beta release with a few new features that I would like to check with you. Now that the Special Folders favorite type seems to work well, I replaced the built-in Special Folders menu with a new customizable My Special Folders menu created the first time you run FP (or the first time you run the new version).
Version: 4.1.8.7 BETA (2015-01-08)
* add the new customizable My Special Folders menu as last item in the user's main menu
* add a variable in the ini file to track that the new My Special Folders was created
* if user already has a My Special Folders menu before FP creates it, the new menu is named My Special Folders+
* remove the old Special Folders menu
* remove option to display special folders menu (users can nmow customize or remove the new My Special Folders menu)
* in Settings, Ctrl-Left shortcut is now as clicking on on the left arrow (instead of the up arrow) beside the menu dropdown list
* in Settings, FP remembers the last menu position when returning to a previously displayed menu with left arrow or Ctrl-Left
* fix bug when moving up/down or removing favorite, the items list in Add favorite is now updated
* fix error message bug when trying to move a folder under itself
* swedish translation update (thanks Åke!)
Download links:
(see updated links below)
We are close to official release 4.2. Thank you for your help!
Just a tiny issue. I have FP's program folder in my FP menu and I have the icon to show FP's 'heart within a folder' icon instead of the usual plain Jane yellow folder.
But when I upgraded to 4_1_8_7-beta (portable version) the customised icon became lost and when I tried to alter it FP complained that it could not find the icon.
I know how to fix this: just go to the custom icon dialog and manually navigate to the FP program folder then choose the desired icon.
No biggie.
Paul
It is probably because the name of the exe file containing the icon changed when you upgraded to v4.1.8.7.
In the next portable package, I'll add the icon file FoldersPopup.ico. You should take the icon in this file because its filename won't change.
For XP users (how many are you?), I re-introduced the "Special Folders" built-in menu. I forgot these users when I cleaned up things in v4.1.8.7... This is v4.1.9.2. There was no public beta release between v4.1.8.7 and v4.1.9.2.
Version: 4.1.9.2 BETA (2015-01-10)
* re-enabled the Special Folders menu in Windows XP
* Italian translation update
* Korean translation update
* Swedish translation fix
* Added the FP ico file to the portable package
Download links:
Easy one-step installation:
http://code.jeanlalonde.ca/ahk/folderspopup/folderspopup-4_1_9_2-beta-setup.exe
Portable installation
http://code.jeanlalonde.ca/ahk/folderspopup/folderspopup-4_1_9_2-beta.zip
We are even closer to official release 4.2 :-)
Reverting a "false-bug" fix...
Version: 4.1.9.3 BETA (2015-01-11)
* revert ampersand (&) handling in menu as it was in 4.1, one & for shortcut, && to display an ampersand
Easy one-step installation:
http://code.jeanlalonde.ca/ahk/folderspopup/folderspopup-4_1_9_3-beta-setup.exe
Portable installation
http://code.jeanlalonde.ca/ahk/folderspopup/folderspopup-4_1_9_3-beta.zip
Hello Jean,
The following items under Special Folders "All Control Panel Items"
are shown as useless empty directories under Windows 8.1 with Total Commander:
Action Center
Administrative Tools
AutoPlay
Credential Manager
Default Programs
Devices and Printers
Display
Ease of Access Center
Family Safety
File History
Fonts
HomeGroup
Language
Location Settings
Network and Sharing Center
Notification Area Icons
Personalization
Power Options
Programs and Features
Recovery
RemoteApp and Desktop Connections
Speech Recognition
Storage Spaces
Sync Center
System
Troubleshooting
User Accounts
Windows Firewall
Windows Update
Work Folders
Only the items after this list are not dirs and work as links.
Hi Horst,
I tend to say that this is a TC issue because I get the same list of empty dirs when I enter the command cm_OpenControls in the TC command line (bottom of TC window). This is under Win 7. But let me know if you think I should at this closer.
Hello Jean,
you are right, TC does this.
The TC forums already have some discussions about this.
So we have to live with it for the time being.
I've found some nice way to display all Control Panel items in FP.
First I create a folder on the Desktop and name it:
All Commands.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}
For my userid I can then add a URL entry in FP as follows:
C:\Users\horst_000\Desktop\All Commands.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}
This makes use of the so called godmode CLSID link.
Interesting. I did not know about this "All Commands.{...}" way to create a CLSID folder shortcut in Windows.
In the FP Special folders list, there is also the "All Tasks" (label could differ depending on your Windows language) that uses the CLSID you mentioned.
I see, but the name All Tasks seems misleading for me.
I would expect the scheduled tasks list or something like that under such a name.
The name "All tasks" is returned by Windows when you ask for the localized name of a CLSID (this is in the registry, HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{...}). In FP, it can be changed by the user when he add it to his menu. But this cannot be changed in the dropdown list (in the current FP version).
Mainly a language files update to allow translators to take a last look at their work. I take the opportunity here to thank them a lot. This update to 4.2 was not an easy one from a language point of view.
Version: 4.1.9.5 BETA (2015-01-14) -- v4.1.9.4 was an invalid package --
* German, Dutch and Italian language updates (all languages translated)
* change landing page URL in FP code for a redirect page easier to manage from the website
* remove timeout from dialog box Check for update
The beta test for v4.2 is now OVER! Thank you very much to all beta testers for your bug reports, your comments, your suggestions and your help!
v4.2 is available on the main FP page:
http://code.jeanlalonde.ca/folderspopup/