Start11 - Quick Launch Toolbar feature » Forum Post by JLFItzpatrick

FWIW, I also really miss having true Quick Launch on a double-height taskbar. I can't believe Start 11 doesn't have this feature.

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Start 11 v2 has the ability to pin folders to the taskbar now. Pinning the Quick Launch folder is a built-in option.

Version 2 is not free and upgrade pricing is available.

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I have Start11 V2.03 installed and just installed ExplorerPatcher 22621.2861.62.1

My Quick Launch Toolbar instantly reappeared and survived a restart! Start11 appears unaffected. When I first installed ExplorerPatcher, Start11 asked for my license key but that was only once.

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Start11v2 allows you to pin files, folders, folder menus, and apps to the taskbar. What more could you want?

+2

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What more could I want? The Quick Launch Toolbar. If you've used it, you'll appreciate the convenience it provides. All my open apps (programs) appear to the right of the Quick Launch area and are not interspersed with the unopened icons.

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Quoting fquist,

reply 30

What more could I want? The Quick Launch Toolbar. If you've used it, you'll appreciate the convenience it provides. All my open apps (programs) appear to the right of the Quick Launch area and are not interspersed with the unopened icons.

I completely agree. I've used the Desktop toolbar on my taskbars for decades. While PinMenu was a nicely styled menu with almost the same capability, invoking it was disappointing. Having it next to the systray icons is where I actually wanted it instead of in the middle of other application icons. (It also did not appear on my 2nd monitor's taskbar handled by DisplayFusion)

In the short term, I made my own systray program that simply launches PinMenu in the same way the shortcuts in the Start11 taskbar did. In the long term, I'm trying to figure out what thread to request a "better" way to invoke PinMenu. My hackish way is passable for me; I'd rather have a more native way for everyone.

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The approach I took is still working. The only catch is sometimes if you change settings in Start11 it messes things up a little. But if I just restart the process to reload the taskbar, it usually brings everything back.

I just don't have any plans to upgrade Start11 to v2 or any future version until Quick Launch is figured out without having to use additional applications/fixes. That way I can just use the one and I won't have to worry about two apps fighting over the Taskbar if I update a setting somewhere.

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I haven't seen what the developer's response is, but I think ExplorerPatcher may be on the way out. Experimental builds of Windows 11 have a toggle to completely disable the Windows 10 taskbar code so that ExplorerPatcher either loads the Windows 11 taskbar anyways or Explorer crashes. I expect that this is in preparation to physically remove the files/code that make up the Windows 10 taskbar. My understanding is that ExplorerPatcher only downloads Microsoft provided symbol files to hook into the right places. After this takes hold, it would have to download the taskbar code that Microsoft has removed and integrate it somehow. I'm not sure how well that will go.

As a side note, I'll leave a screenshot of the Windows 10 feature that a few of us are talking about to illustrate how it is different than Start11v2's PinMenu implementation. (I wanted to add a screenshot of PinMenu, but maybe creating one is bugged in 2.04 beta?)

Windows 10 Desktop Toolbar feature

You could use the line to the left of "Desktop" to drag it to next to the Start button as well... and it would work well with vertical(left/right) taskbars as well. Some people would prefer having it near the start button? So my systray icon method would be lacking. Either way, PinMenu's implementation has it as an icon randomly in the middle of other applications depending on what applications are running. (bad for muscle memory)

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Quoting JLJTGR,

reply 33

I haven't seen what the developer's response is, but I think ExplorerPatcher may be on the way out. Experimental builds of Windows 11 have a toggle to completely disable the Windows 10 taskbar code so that ExplorerPatcher either loads the Windows 11 taskbar anyways or Explorer crashes.

You are correct.

Quoted from Neowin, Nov. 30, 2023

"As spotted by @PhantomOfEarth on X (Twitter), Windows 11 build 26002 contains a hidden feature called DisableWin10Taskbar. As the name implies, it makes it impossible to fall back to the Windows 10-era taskbar. Moreover, enabling the ID breaks third-party apps, such as StartAllBack or ExplorerPatcher.

"Windows 11 build 26002 ships with DisableWin10Taskbar turned off by default, so you need to enable it manually with the ViVeTool app. Therefore, it is hard to tell if Microsoft indeed plans to block Windows 11 users from restoring the old taskbar. Future Windows 11 preview updates will most likely give more insights into the matter."

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Quoting JLJTGR,

reply 33

Either way, PinMenu's implementation has it as an icon randomly in the middle of other applications depending on what applications are running. (bad for muscle memory)

Yes, when you first pin the menu, it is added to the end of other pinned apps in the taskbar, but you can move it anywhere you want afterwards. I moved mine to the left for as you say muscle memory. It would be nice to have an option to right justify the pinned menus.

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Quoting jbstardock26137,

reply 35

Yes, when you first pin the menu, it is added to the end of other pinned apps in the taskbar, but you can move it anywhere you want afterwards. I moved mine to the left for as you say muscle memory. It would be nice to have an option to right justify the pinned menus.

I was used to having the Desktop toolbar on the right side, so that's where I had the PinMenu icon... but any application that is not pinned to the taskbar shows up after all pinned items... so the PinMenu item would end up in the middle. It was also a bit weird because I use centered taskbar icons. (one of the only things I liked about Windows 11) So that's why, in the end... I made my own systray icon program to invoke PinMenu. It was the closest thing I could manage to the right-side toolbar menu.

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Oh no, I installed in the hope this would do it as I miss it so much. Never mind, on to the next.
Explorer patcher does it well, but you can't use the true Win11 start menu/tasker, it has to be Win10'ish.

Can anyone from Stardock let us know if this is on the cards at all?

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Quoting Geofferz,

reply 37

Oh no, I installed in the hope this would do it as I miss it so much. Never mind, on to the next.
Explorer patcher does it well, but you can't use the true Win11 start menu/tasker, it has to be Win10'ish.

Can anyone from Stardock let us know if this is on the cards at all?

Hello,
Which feature was you referring to exactly?

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant.

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Quoting basj,

reply 38

Hello,
Which feature was you referring to exactly?

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant.

Assuming we're all talking about the same thing, the second part of my post here describes it: https://forums.stardock.com/514937/get;3915296

It was available up until Windows 10 and probably started around Windows 2k.

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I installed ExplorerPatcher on Win11 and set it to Win10 task bar. It works with quick launch except when I change an icon in IconPackager. Then I lose the middle of the taskbar but quick launch stays visable. I have to right click on the toolbar area and select properties and at the bottom of ExplorerPatcher select Restart File Explorer and the bar comes back. I uninstalled Start11 v2 and reinstalled it but still have problems when I change an icon in IconPackager. It's workable though. Would love to have the QuickLaunch feature available with Start11???

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