Windows Explorer Issue....and an annoying one!!

[Topcat]

Ok, this is server 2008 R1, which is the Windows Vista UI when it comes to themes and Aero. It doesn't in R2, which is the Win7 UI. It's not an Aero thing, as it does this with Aero off, but using the basic theme. Note in the image below how browsing files in a list, the highlight doesn't just select the file, but also the entire line in the grid....IE there's no 'dead space' to click to unselect or drag anything without moving the selected. This is insanely annoying!!



Where is the setting to change this to select/highlight the folder/file ONLY, and not the entire space in the grid?!?

Like this (shown using windows classic theme):



The setting is probably stupid simple, but for the life of me I can't seem to find it.... Normally, I'd just leave the 'classic' theme on and call it a day, but this computer isn't for me, and it's user really wants the vista/aero theme, if this little quirk can be figured out...

[selldoor]

Re: Windows Explorer Issue....and an annoying one!!

Whilst not an answer if you can view as "Tile" instead of a list can you select a single tile

[Per Hansson]

Re: Windows Explorer Issue....and an annoying one!!

It's the same in Windows 7.
AFAIK it can't be configured.
And yea I've seen firsthand how lots of people have issues with this.
Never really thought much about it before I saw your screenshots now...

EDIT: Found this but it's not without caveats...
http://www.winhelponline.com/blog/di...rer-windows-7/

EDIT2:
Server 2008 R1 = Vista
Server 2008 R2 = Win7

Keep that in mind when reading the above link.

[Topcat]

Re: Windows Explorer Issue....and an annoying one!!

^
Thanks. That didn't really help in list view.....but it sure did make the details view much more usable.....

[lti]

Re: Windows Explorer Issue....and an annoying one!!

I was wondering about this. I don't like being able to select a file by clicking anywhere in the grid, but you have to right-click directly on the file name or icon. I've had a lot of issues with copying and pasting in Windows 7 as well because of this.

I could never figure out why double-clicking on the file name sometimes opens the file and sometimes highlights the name so the file can be renamed. It seemed completely random to me. Clicking once on the file before double-clicking like that article said doesn't seem to help.

[Mad_Professor]

Re: Windows Explorer Issue....and an annoying one!!

I have mine set to details.

Actually I have tried list, and it doesn't do what it does in vista in your screen shot.

[Topcat]

Re: Windows Explorer Issue....and an annoying one!!

Any ideas on how to disable the mouseover / hover? With that gone, I think the problem would be gone too.....couldn't seem to find an answer to that question either.

[selldoor]

Re: Windows Explorer Issue....and an annoying one!!

A few ideas here - not had to try them fortunately

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/w...6875fe0?page=1

[Topcat]

Re: Windows Explorer Issue....and an annoying one!!

A few ideas here - not had to try them fortunately

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/w...6875fe0?page=1

Been there, done that. The mouseover thing is part of the theme, only does it with the vista (with and without aero) theme selected. WIth the windows classic theme, its just like normal....its an eye candy thing, not a mouse problem. Win7 does it too, but only the file/folder name in explorer. S2K8 (like Vista) does it like the image in my initial post, it highlights the whole grid line....which is asinine!!

[Mad_Professor]

Re: Windows Explorer Issue....and an annoying one!!

It doesn't do it in windows 7, well for me it doesn't.



I'll load up a vista VM and see if I can get rid of it.

[ReverendJones]

Re: Windows Explorer Issue....and an annoying one!!

I am running x64 Windows 7, sp1 and while in 'detail view' the whole row is selected but in 'list view' it is not. (See attached)

I would like to note here that the basic theme still uses aero while the classic does not. You can open basic.theme in notepad and scroll down to the
[VisualStyles] section and see it is using Aero.msstyles

While in the themes folder, I noticed all the files are dated 6/10/2009 except for aero.msstyles, which is dated 11/20/2010. It appears MS updated aero. Perhaps the version of aero.msstyles is affecting how the folders are highlighted.

[RJARRRPCGP]

Re: Windows Explorer Issue....and an annoying one!!

If S2K8's file explorer worked like 7's, we wouldn't he having this conversation......

I would think that R2's would...

[Topcat]

Re: Windows Explorer Issue....and an annoying one!!

I would think that R2's would...

Its not....

I am running x64 Windows 7, sp1 and while in 'detail view' the whole row is selected but in 'list view' it is not. (See attached)

I would like to note here that the basic theme still uses aero while the classic does not. You can open basic.theme in notepad and scroll down to the
[VisualStyles] section and see it is using Aero.msstyles

While in the themes folder, I noticed all the files are dated 6/10/2009 except for aero.msstyles, which is dated 11/20/2010. It appears MS updated aero. Perhaps the version of aero.msstyles is affecting how the folders are highlighted.

I agree... the key to this whole mess is in the aero.msstyles, and I'm sure its nothing but a simple setting......now to find something that can edit it...its in hex, which I know nothing about (I am not a programmer in any way shape or form, and have no desire to be one). Using the aero.styles from win7 renders the desktop pretty much unusable when that theme is selected, aero won't even run in this configuration....so its a matter of working with the one that came with the OS......

[Mad_Professor]

Re: Windows Explorer Issue....and an annoying one!!

actually I might be on something in the registry to disable it.

Will let you know more.

[Topcat]

Re: Windows Explorer Issue....and an annoying one!!

^
I've been all through potential regitry hacks......... this thing is a vendetta now, I will conquer it!!

I cna decompile the .msstyles files wit resource hacker, but I have no idea what setting this one is. If I knew, I could simply copy and paste the code from the 7 version into the S2K8 version

[momaka]

Re: Windows Explorer Issue....and an annoying one!!

I'm not sure if this will work, but if you go to the system properties (in XP, you right-click my computer and click on Properties, then click the "Advanced" tab, and click on the Settings button under "Performance" box.) I think in Windows Vista and 7, it's called Advanced System Properties. But anyways. Once you get to that, it will open another Window with a bunch of checkboxes. Look for the one that says "show transculent selection rectangle" or something similar (that's the name in XP, at least) and uncheck it. See if that works. I wish I could try this on our university computers since I think they do the same thing with the list view. Unfortunately, they have disabled anyone from going into the system properties. I don't know why they have the computers so locked up. I can't even change the resolution or taskbar grouping options (annoys the crap out of me).

I think I really should get me a computer with Windows Vista/7 soon. I'm way behind the technology curve. It still takes me forever to find things in Vista/7. And when I do, I still find it that it's much more complicated than in XP, so that's why I prefer sticking to XP for now.

[goontron]

Re: Windows Explorer Issue....and an annoying one!!

^
I've been all through potential regitry hacks......... this thing is a vendetta now, I will conquer it!!

I cna decompile the .msstyles files wit resource hacker, but I have no idea what setting this one is. If I knew, I could simply copy and paste the code from the 7 version into the S2K8 version

it could just be a wrong date in the msstyles, or a checksum somewhere.....
oh and you can get that level of customisation from KDE btw

[Per Hansson]

Re: Windows Explorer Issue....and an annoying one!!

This might be a better way to do it, depending on what you prefer, it's a daemon that always runs in the background and hopefully doing a little bit better job of tweaking this vs the registry change.
No promises though, I did not try it myself, just stumbled across it...

http://www.autohotkey.com/board/topi...for-windows-7/