CHANGELOG.md

Change Log for Windows 11 Drag & Drop to the Taskbar (Fix)

Don't read if you're sensitive to misspellings and grammatical errors.

[ver. 2.4.0.0] - 2023-10-25, 08:30 CET

Please remember that this program is most likely not needed if you're using Windows 11 version 22H2 or newer, because they restored the native drag & drop support (possibly thanks to me, because I made them feel ashamed. Just kidding.)

The program is still usefulf for people who turned UAC off with the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\EnableLUA registry key, so I released the new version for them:

• Addressed an issue, where the program stopped working correctly after windows updates that broke MSTaskSwWClass window position and coordinates. It solves issues #98, #99. Thanks for the solution idea to user @Mast3r0mid.
• Improved option: DetectKnownPixelColorsToPreventAccidentalEvents:
  • Disabled by default, because it's unpredictable, depending on user's configuration and themes.
  • Added support for Windows 11 23H2 Light and Dark themes.
• Added configuration: UseLowLevelMousePressProcThread=1. Please read CONFIGURATION for details.
• Possibly included some other tweaks that I experimented with in 2022/2023 before I got bored of this (useless for me now) program.

[ver. 2.3.0.0] - 2022-02-15, 17:30 CET

• Added the static build: Windows11DragAndDropToTaskbarFix_Static.exe, as requested in issue #57
• Compiled the program using the Visual Studio 2022 (v143) platform toolset.
• Added the new custom configuration variables. Please read CONFIGURATION for details:
  • FixForBugAfterSleepModeUseOldMethod=0. 1 = true, 0 = false.
  • FixForBugAfterSleepModeWindowDisplayTimeMilliseconds=100. Time in milliseconds. It reduces the time changed in ver. 2.2.0.0 which could make people notice the hotfix window more frequently.
  • CustomLogFile=. Custom log file name. If non-empty, it will redirect the program output to a file with the name defined after =.
• Improved the FixForBugAfterSleepMode function behaviour: it will no longer open the hotfix window when the drag-and-drop gesture is not currently being done. It will also make sure that the mouse pointer is hovered over the taskbar window before opening the hotfix window, in order to minimize the risk of full-screen programs being minimized when the taskbar size bug occurs. It solves issue #52
• Improved DetectKnownPixelColorsToPreventAccidentalEvents behaviour: It will no longer check for correct pixels, if the mouse button was pressed down on a different screen than the one where a file is being drag-and-dropped to. It might also fix issue #60.
• Fixed a bug where the program did not work when the Primary Mouse Button was changed to Right in Windows 11 Settings -> Bluetooth & Devices -> Mouse. Thanks for the report in discussion #64.
• Probably some other minor tweaks which I don't remember now.

[ver. 2.2.0.0] - 2022-01-10, 14:00 CET

• Added StartThisProgramAsAdministrator=0 configuration option (disabled by default), which allows you to start this program as administrator. It's useful when you often use the Drag & Drop from the other programs that are running as administrator.
• Added Restart as administrator... option to the Tray menu. It additionally shows the * asterix in front of the option to show which mode the program is currently running in.
• Improved DetectKnownPixelColorsToPreventAccidentalEvents behaviour:
  • It now additionally detects if the mouse icon has changed to the slashed circle or the drop icon. It works this way when a file is being dragged from a window created by the program that is running as administrator. It then looks different than the default Windows 11 taskbar error icon, that's why it wasn't working correctly. It solves issue #48.
  • Added a cookie file: W11DADTTPX_KnownPixelDetected.emptyfile created in the User's Temp folder. The DetectKnownPixelColorsToPreventAccidentalEvents option will remain disabled until the correct pixels are detected for the first time. It will then create a cookie file (so the program will know if it ever worked correctly after restart). It's because some users use the custom themes / skins which change the taskbar error icon, therefore the program thinks that no file is being dragged. I believe this allows us to keep this good checking method enabled by default, without giving the bad first impression to new users who are not aware how this option works.
• Increased the time of displaying the "fix" window from the UseFixForBugAfterSleepMode option. Discussed in issue #45. I'm still not sure if it will fix it, because I was not able to reproduce this issue myself, but it's worth a try.

[ver. 2.1.0.0] - 2021-12-13, 16:00 CET

• Added AutoOpenPinnedAppsEvenWhenNoWindowActive=0 configuration option (disabled by default), which allows you to open pinned apps, even when they have no active window. It solves discussion #37.
• Updated the ConfigFileChangeTimeMonitorAllowed configuration option. When it's set to 2, the program will automatically restart itself when you make changes to the configuration file. It was requested in issue #35.
• Added an additional detection if the left/right mouse button is pressed in order to minimize the risk of issues that may occur when the Low Level Mouse Hook thread gets terminated by Windows (???). Discussed in issue #36
• Added program autorestarts in case when Low Level Mouse Hook terminates. But it doesn't work anyway :D (because it's still waiting for messages, I'm just sentimental and I don't like removing things already added).
• Probably some other minor fixes. Please read CONFIGURATION for details about the newly added options.

[ver. 2.0.0.0] - 2021-11-28, 15:30 CET

• Added DetectKnownPixelColorsToPreventAccidentalEvents=1 configuration option (enabled by default) which prevents the accidental events when no item is being dragged. It fixes issues #1 and #28
  • The function checks a few colors of pixels above the mouse pointer on the taskbar. It detects the "incorrect" sign that is shown when something is being dragged over Windows 11 taskbar. When the sign is not detected, the program will not restore the window from the icon. It's useful when selecting files by the drag gesture, or when selecting text / rows in Word / Excel, and probably many other programs.
• Changed the status of option IgnorePotentiallyUnwantedDragsFromCertainCursorIcons to 0 (disabled by default), because it's not longer needed with the new pixels detection method.
• Fixed an issue where the taskbar icons could not be selected when the mouse pointer was on the very bottom of the taskbar, when DPI scaling settings were set to 175% or more. It's because function WindowFromPoint was returning NULL, so as a workaround we now also check the mouse POINT Y that is 1 above the original one.

[ver. 1.9.2.1] - 2021-11-27, 14:35 CET

• Added IgnorePotentiallyUnwantedDragsFromCertainCursorIcons=1 configuration option (enabled by default). It solves issue #28.
  • This option blocks potentially unwanted drags, for example when the mouse curosr icon is the I-beam (e.g. selecting a text in the Word document).

[ver. 1.9.1.0] - 2021-11-19, 06:00 CET

• Fixed the program crash (present since version 1.7.0) which could occur when UseFixForBugAfterSleepMode was enabled (default), caused by clearing the vector and not pushing updated screen windows to it. It could be identified in Event Viewer by the Application Error offset 000000000000c366 (at least on ver. 1.9).

[ver. 1.9.0.0] - 2021-11-15, 06:00 CET

• Added UseAlternativeTrayIcon=0 configuration option that allows you to use the alternative program icon, modified by QuestYouCraft. Please read CONFIGURATION for details.
• When AutoOpenFirstWindowInBestMethodEver=2 (default), and there is only 1 window under the icon - the program will no longer show the preview window after restoring the app window. This way the program has exactly the same drag & drop behaviour as in previous versions of Windows.
• Clicking Configure... from the tray menu will now open your default text editor instead of Windows Notepad.
• Source code: added file Windows11DragAndDropToTaskbarFix.h. Moved variables and function definitions to it.
• Some other stability changes.
• Compiled the program using Visual Studio 2022, but kept the 2019 (v142) toolset, because the program crashed for me a few times when it was compiled with the 2022 (v143) toolset. Idk why.
• The development process has slowed a bit, because most likely there's nothing left to do. I tried to add the Drop to Pin feature, unfortunately there are very limited possibilities and it's impossible to add different files than .exe links. So it's pointless as pinning ordinary files is what users are looking for the most.

[ver. 1.8.0.0] - 2021-11-02, 07:00 CET

• Added ShowTrayIcon=1 configuration option that allows you to disable the new Mona Lisa Megan Fox tray icon. Please read CONFIGURATION for details. It solves issue #15.
• Added a possibility to remap keyboard keys used by the program to simulate hotkeys. Please read CONFIGURATION for details. It solves issue #17.
• Added Open program folder... option to the tray menu, so you can easily find out where your Windows11DragAndDropToTaskbarFix.exe is. Useful when you're downloading updates.
• Fixed a bug where the T key press was not released when simulated the Win+T hotkey.
• Optimized the program by caching the MapVirtualKey results. Obviously it won't be noticeable, as the program used less than 0.1% CPU when dragging files.
• Maybe something else that I don't remember. I don't like writing changelog. It's boring and annoying.

[ver. 1.7.0.0] - 2021-10-31, 17:10 CET

• Happy Halloween.
• Added the taskbar Tray Icon for Windows 11 Drag & Drop to the Taskbar (Fix), identified by the Mona Lisa Megan Fox icon:
  • It's possible to: "Check for updates", "Read the changelog", "Configure", "Restart" and "Quit" the program from the tray icon menu. Most options open the project GitHub pages (the program does not connect to the Internet at any stage).
  • The console window won't longer open by default.
• Added additional checks if the Windows 11 taskbar bug occurred, as discussed in issue #10. The bug causes window MSTaskSwWClass to return an incorrect RECT. Windows11DragAndDropToTaskbarFix now opens a small self-created window, for ~100 milliseconds in order to force the taskbar update. Please note that this is a Windows 11 bug, not caused by this program.
• Added a new option (enabled by default): AutoOpenFirstWindowInBestMethodEver=2. When it's set to 2, the program will not auto-open the first window, if there are 2 or more windows under the same icon. This generally restores exactly the same drag-and-drop behaviour as in previous versions of Windows.
• Probably some other minor improvements.
• The source code still looks awful, sometimes the configuration variable names still make no sense. All this might be improved in the future, but I prefer to focus on important things, especially when we won't need this fix in 1 year (Windows 11 22H2 release).

[ver. 1.6.0.0] - 2021-10-28, 08:40 CET

• Added support for the right mouse button drag and drop, issue #14.
  • Right-button drag-n-drop is usable when dragging a file and you don't want the default action on drop. E.g. you want to select "Move" from the context menu on mouse button release instead of default "Copy" when dropping file on a folder on the same drive.

[ver. 1.5.1.0] - 2021-10-27, 20:20 CET

• Fixed an issue where the program did not work correctly after wake up from the Sleep Mode.
  • The problem was caused by another Windows 11 bug, where often window MSTaskSwWClass has incorrect RECT after the Sleep Mode.
  • After detecting the bug, the fix starts an empty CMD.exe window that auto-disappears, in order to force the taskbar window update. After that MSTaskSwWClass returns correct RECT again, and Windows11DragAndDropToTaskbarFix is able to continue working correctly.
  • The new fix can be disabled by the configuration line: UseFixForBugAfterSleepMode=0 (but why?).

[ver. 1.5.0.0] - 2021-10-27, 15:00 CET

• Added support for multiple screens, Issue #9.
• Minor optimizations & bug fixes.

[ver. 1.4.0.0] - 2021-10-21, 13:00 CET

• Disabled AutomaticallyRunThisProgramOnStartup by default. Users can enable it manually, by following the: CONFIGURATION.
  • It seem to be the main reason of false-positives, according to Virustotal.com.
• Added a new option: HowLongKeepMouseOverAppIconBeforeAutoOpeningMilliseconds. Thanks to this, when AutoOpenFirstWindowInBestMethodEver is enabled (default), the program will wait before auto opening the first window. It prevents accidental opening of all windows when just moving the cursor with dragged file to the next icon on the taskbar.
• Configuration file: fixed an issue where variables containing a number of milliseconds were not loaded by the program. It's because the function is_number() was called with a string containing new line characters, therefore always returning false.
• Compiled the program with Multi-threaded DLL Runtime Library (MD).
  • It reverts the change made in version 1.1.2.0, so executables should have smaller size again.
  • The runtime error: "The procedure entry point __std_tzdb_delete_leap_seconds could not be located in the dynamic link library..." has been fixed by replacing the code which used C++20 standard.
• Added some minor optimizations, but the full optimization will be done in the future.

[ver. 1.3.1.0] - 2021-10-19, 13:00 CET

• Fixed an issue where in certain circumstances hotkeys stopped working after restoring the first preview window. For example, the Task Manager window was causing this problem. The fix sets the Shell_TrayWnd window as foreground, so hotkeys are activated correctly. It possibly fixes the different reported issues about incorrect position detection.

[ver. 1.3.0.0] - 2021-10-19, 08:30 CET

• Added a new option (enabled by default) AutoOpenFirstWindowInBestMethodEver=1:
  • It restores the first window under the hovered app icon, then shows the list of windows again. Works for all icons on the taskbar (not limited to 10).
  • It uses the ArrowUp and Enter keys simulation to work.
  • It correctly detects if the program under the icon has no window (pinned apps), using another "complicated" method.
• Compiled without unused functions in the code, using #define DONT_INCLUDE_UNUSED_FUNCTIONS_TO_PREVENT_PSEUDO_ANTIVIRUSES_FROM_THROWING_FALSE_POSITIVES:
  • Hopefully pseudo-Antiviruses like Kaspersky won't longer trigger false positives. Issue #5.
• If you use the configuration file, please remember to restore variables to default, before you test this version. Then tweak it again as you like.

[ver. 1.2.1.0] - 2021-10-18, 15:00 CET

• Fixed ShowConsoleWindowOnStartup configuration line not working. Issue #4.

[ver. 1.2.0.0] - 2021-10-18, 13:25 CET

• Renamed the project from Windows11DragAndDropToTaskbarPartialFix to Windows11DragAndDropToTaskbarFix. For a good reason!
• Changed the hotkeys working method from Win+Number to the advanced Win+T method.
• Basically fixed all limitations. I'm not saying it's bug-free, but in my tests everything worked correctly:
  • Multiple windows under the icon are now supported.
  • Pinned apps with no active window will no longer start.
  • And of course: support for all taskbar icons, not limited to 10.
• Traditionally, the code contains a lot of new, unused functions from my tests. Before I found the Win+T method, I created some complicated stuff to simulate mouse cursor clicks and switching between windows. It can be vieved under function Experimental_Workaround_for_buttons_Eleven_Plus().
• And probably some other changes that I don't remember now.

[ver. 1.1.2.0] - 2021-10-16, 19:00 CET

• Fixed issue #2, runtime error: "The procedure entry point __std_tzdb_delete_leap_seconds could not be located in the dynamic link library...":
  • Compiled the program with multithread, static version of the run-time library (MT). It will make the executable size much greater, but I have not much time to investigate this problem more. It's most likely caused by using the C++ 20 standard in function ReturnConfigFileTime().

[ver. 1.1.1.0] - 2021-10-15, 05:50 CET

• Fixed the high CPU usage problem when moving icons on the taskbar, after update 1.1. It was caused by the missing Sleep() before continue.

[ver. 1.1.0.0] - 2021-10-15, 04:55 CET

• Fixed dropping files to the "Show desktop" button (bottom-right of the screen). Seems like it stopped working right before ver 1.0 release when I added an extra check that prevents the program from working when playing games or using full-screen apps.
• Added support for the configuration file Windows11DragAndDropToTaskbarPartialFixConfig.txt with auto program restarts when changes are made to the configuration file. Please read READ ME for details.
• Added an option allowing to run Windows11DragAndDropToTaskbarPartialFix.exe on Windows startup (enabled by default).
• Added the LowLevelMouseProc callback, in order to detect the coordinates of the left mouse click instantly. For optimization reasons it's running in a separate thread, because LowLevelMouseProc might really slow the mouse movements if the thread it's hooked to has some sleeps or other functions.
• Partially fixed issue #1. The fix won't activate If the left mouse button was clicked on the taskbar area. It should prevent accidental windows restoration when changing icons positions.
• Reduced the default main loop sleep times a little bit, but it really should have no effects on performance. You can anyway configure these values now.
• Please note that the source code now contains a lot of unused functions. It's because I'm still working on a workaround that would prevent opening programs if their main window can't be found. What I've done now is:
  • Reading .lnk files from AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar and getting their absolute .exe path.
  • Listing running programs, and getting their PIDs (only if their absolute path matches, so we won't get tricked by processes with the same name).
  • Finding the main window of the PIDs, to know if the fix should activate when hovering the mouse over their icon.
  • Unfortunately, for now that's all I could do. I need to understand the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Taskband\Favorites registry key value to see if it stores the current icon position. Some help would be appreciated!
• Please note that the source code will be cleaned when there are less serious things to focus on.

[ver. 1.0.0.0] - 2021-10-13, 10:20 CET

• Initial release
• The program detects if you're currently pressing the left mouse button and determines which icon on the taskbar you hover the mouse pointer on. If the cursor stays in the same area for X milliseconds - it simulates the Win+Ctrl+Number hotkey (open the desktop and switch to the last active window of the app pinned to the taskbar in the position indicated by the number), in order to restore the intended window. It also supports dropping files to the "Show desktop" button (bottom-right of the screen).