Support
With hundreds of millions of 32-bit Windows machines (and more all the
time), tens of thousands of applications, hundreds of peripherals, and all
sorts of other variables in the mix, statistically WindowBlinds will
probably get confused at times.
There are a vast variety of applications out there from thousands of
developers. Some follow Windows programming guidelines better than others,
which is important with WindowBlinds because hidden little problems that
might not otherwise be visible tend to creep out when WindowBlinds is
working its magic. If you are having problems with a specific application,
please try adding it to the exclusion list.
*A quick primer and note on the Enhanced
version for registered users
The WindowBlinds Configuration window is
accessed by right clicking on the WB icon in the system tray (next to the
clock) and selecting Configure WindowBlinds. You can also
double-click on the WindowBlinds icon in the Start menu to bring up the
config window if WB is already running.
Please note that the shareware version of
WindowBlinds does not include support for skinning scrollbars, progress
bars, notebook tabs, or the colorizing features. You must register
WindowBlinds and download the enhanced version for registered users. The
enhanced version is linked at the end of the order process and you can
always come to
http://www.windowblinds.net to download later updates (you'll
need the serial number from your registration email or jewel case
available). If you have lost your serial number and ordered online, visit
http://www.stardock.com/support or contact
sales@stardock.com.
Object Desktop Network customers should
download updates via the Component Manager or Stardock Central.
Getting in touch with Stardock
Should you find a bug or have additional comments, please get in touch with
Stardock so that we can help resolve them. The best place for bug
reports/suggestions/general chat is the WindowBlinds newsgroup.
Stardock maintains multiple newsgroups for
discussion and peer feedback on our products (as well as some groups purely
for discussion/entertainment value) on our news server at
news://news.stardock.com.
A newsreader program is required to access
these groups, Most Windows systems, especially those with Internet Explorer
4, have Outlook Express or some other program capable of viewing newsgroups
installed (Netscape Communicator would be another example).
Some newsgroups of note:
news://news.stardock.com/stardock.windowblinds
news://news.stardock.com/stardock.windowblinds.support
We are also found in the #stardock channel
on irc.stardock.com and you can e-mail us at
support@stardock.com. Information
on new releases, FAQ's, and additional downloadable personalities/skins can
be found on the Stardock web site at
http://www.stardock.com or at
http://www.windowblinds.net.
I thought WindowBlinds was freely
available, what's up with the registration dialog?
WindowBlinds is part of Stardock's Object Desktop for Windows (http://www.stardock.com/products/odnt/)
in addition to being available for registration as a standalone product.
Registrations are good for all 1.x versions (i.e. there will be no charge
for registered users to get WindowBlinds 1.1 or 1.5). As long as a
percentage of users register, WindowBlinds will continue to be freely
available (though you'll have to purchase it to get access to the enhanced
version which handles scrollbars, progress bars, and more!). After ordering
online via Stardock's Secure Commerce Server, you'll receive an email
(generally within 10 minutes) with your registration key.
Object Desktop users should download and install WindowBlinds from the
Component Manager servers, as that version will automatically register
itself on installation.
Can you give me a registration code?
Sure, visit www.stardock.com/order.html and
pay $20. Or see the order.txt file in your WindowBlinds directory for
options to order if you do not have a credit card (cheques/money orders
accepted).
We encourage the trial use and download of
the shareware version of WindowBlinds, but please register it if you find
yourself using it. Not only will you gain access to the enhanced version of
WindowBlinds for registered users (which includes the ability to skin
scrollbars, progress bars, and more), but you'll be supporting future
development and new features.
Stardock would also like to encourage you
to consider purchasing Object Desktop instead. For slightly more than the
cost of WindowBlinds alone, you gain access to the Object Desktop Network
and its many other components (like Control Center, IconPackager, NetScan,
Object DriveScan, and more!). You can also upgrade to Object Desktop after
purchasing WindowBlinds.
Upgrading to Object Desktop
If you have purchased a standalone
component of Object Desktop (WindowBlinds, IconPackager, or Control Center
currently), you can upgrade to the full Object Desktop package at a reduced
price. Visit
http://www.stardock.com/order.html for more information.
What is the proper way to install a new
WB version?
In order to work its magic, WindowBlinds
goes pretty deep into the system while its running (don't worry, if you
unload WB it's like it was never there). But, a consequence of this is that
the WBLIND.DLL file becomes locked from changes, even if you unload WB. If
you attempt to update WB and this file isn't replaced... things can get
funky.
Suggested WB update method: open the config
window, disable Run WindowBlinds automatically on startup on the Startup
Settings & News Page, and then reboot the computer. When the computer
restarts, WindowBlinds will not be loaded and you can simply install the
update and start using it immediately. If, for whatever reason, you get a
message to reboot after installing the update, please do so to ensure all
the files were updated correctly.
None of my scrollbars are skinned!
You must be a registered WindowBlinds user
and have downloaded the enhanced version for registered users (linked at the
end of your order and also available from
http://www.windowblinds.net
(you'll need the serial number from your order to download it).
Some known Issues (some of them actual
problems, some just things to be aware of -- see the Troubleshooting section
of this file as well)
Application X is not getting any WindowBlinds effects
Unfortunately, some applications (due to how they handle their window
creation) have certain issues with WindowBlinds on some systems. We have had
to exclude these from being changed by WindowBlinds. Some of these
exclusions can be modified/removed by users, as the issues may not happen on
all systems. See the Per Application section of the help file for more
information.
Feel free to try experimenting with
removing some of the exclusions. For instance, Telnet is excluded by default
but it is really only needed as an exclusion on Windows 95 (we've yet to fix
a bug with respect to it resizing itself). If you look at the wbdg.ini
file directly you'll see comments associated with many of the exclusions
that can help you gauge whether removing a particular one may impact your
system.
Application X is crashing, help!
If a particular application has problems when WindowBlinds is loaded, try
adding the .EXE for that program to the WindowBlinds exclusion list. We've
included several programs in the default exclusion list that are known to
currently cause problems for some users (and we'll continue to try and work
around these problems if possible in future releases).
Unloading WindowBlinds
Unloading WindowBlinds should function properly and not cause any running
applications to crash. If this is not working correctly, please contact us
so that we can fix any remaining problems.
Should WindowBlinds be crashing on unloading, try closing open applications
beforehand. Alternatively, apply the "disabled" option on the Personality
configuration tab to remove the enhanced effects.
If WindowBlinds is crashing on shutdown, you may want to unload it prior to
starting to shutdown. What's happening is that Windows is trying to unload
other applications as WindowBlinds is still being removed from memory.
What's up with 16-bit applications?
All 16-bit applications are excluded from being impacted by WindowBlinds (it
is not always possible to detect and handle them appropriately). This also
applies to "32-bit" applications like Freecell and the Clipboard Viewer
(which are really not true 32-bit apps).
I'm not interested, I want it off my system!
Well, we're certainly sorry to hear that and we hope you'll check out future
WindowBlinds releases down the road. Simply use the Uninstall icon in the
WindowBlinds folder or Add/Remove Programs (in your Control Panel) to
uninstall WindowBlinds. If you have configured WindowBlinds to start from
the registry, please disable this option prior to uninstalling. We also
recommend that you reboot without WindowBlinds before uninstalling to make
sure locked files are removed. If you have added additional skins, you'll
need to delete the \Program Files\Stardock\Object Desktop\WindowBlinds
directory to remove them. We've played it safe with the uninstall and not
attempted to remove additional files.
My system slows to a crawl
There's likely a conflict with one specific
app or something has hung in the background. See the Troubleshooting section
of the help file for how to narrow down the culprit. |