Hi,

I’m currently using Nexus Ultimate on Windows 11.
I cannot drag and drop file onto the application icon in the Nexus dock (to open a file with its associated application)

I’ve experimented with all possible combinations of the following actions:
• Dragging an image onto Paint
• Dragging a .txt file onto Notepad
• Running the applications both with and without administrator privileges.
• Running Nexus both with and without administrator privileges (just want to try all the possibilities here)
• Restarting Nexus and my PC
• Holding the “Alt” key while dragging
• Toggle the "Accept drag and drop icon customization only when ALT key is pressed" option

No matter what, when I attempt to drag a file onto the application icon, a “blocked” icon appears.

I still can successfully drag and drop files in the following scenarios:
• When not using Nexus.
• When using Nexus, but dropping the file onto the application window instead of the app icon in the dock.

As a new Nexus user, I’ve searched and read other discussions related to this issue, but I haven’t found a solution for my case yet. I’m hoping someone can help me.

Thank you!

That's rather strange, working fine here also Windows 11. Can you drag & drop new items/applications into the dock? Try also with one of the files you are trying to launch in one of the target applications.

Also, can you please post a screenshot of the Item Properties dialog for one of the items NOT accepting a document file?

Hello.
Thank you for your reply.

> "Can you drag & drop new items/applications into the dock?"
Yes, I can drag & drop items to pin it to the dock.

Properties of the pinned Notepad shortcut: https://imgur.com/vYCsMWe.jpg

Here is an 8-second video where I try to drop the file onto the pinned shortcut, then onto the running application: https://streamable.com/zs8qfi

ALL items in the dock are not accepting drag-and-drop any document files, it’s not limited to just Notepad.

Thanks for the screenshot and the video.

Seems to me that the problem only happens with UWP (Universal) apps.

Try adding in the dock a link to the Win32 version of Notepad (C:\Windows\System32\notepad.exe) instead and see if that works then.

P.S. Thanks to your screenshot I just fixed the issue that caused the 'Run as Administrator' text in the dialog box to appear cropped when running at 150% scaling, but unfortunately not in time for the v24.4 release.

You’re correct; drag-and-drop functionality does work when using shortcuts that point to an executable file. However, this only applies to apps that are pinned, not those that are currently running.

Furthermore, it doesn’t work as expected:
Typically, when you drag a file over an app icon, Windows will restore the app’s window, allowing users to decide where to drop the file within the app (this is crucial for cases like Chrome, which requires dropping a file onto a specific area, or for graphic design apps like Photoshop).

Video: https://streamable.com/wtvvqx
In the video, when I drop a file onto Discord or Chrome, the file does get dropped, but it occurs silently in the background, without allowing me to choose the drop location within the app.

I honestly believe this is most likely a compatibility issue with Windows 11.
Nexus is a very well-crafted software, but with the ongoing changes in Windows 11—often breaking compatibility—it’s challenging to keep up.
I initially purchased Nexus to replace the native Windows taskbar, but I later discovered that Nexus cannot display any tray items and has issues with file drag-and-drop.

Please consider my case as a low priority on your to-do list (especially since it seems I’m the only one experiencing this issue, lol). Solving the problems isn’t necessary; just regard this as an casual use case report. Feel free to address it at your convenience.

Thank you for dedicating your time to this matter!

If the app is running and you have the dock set to show running applications, you just have to hold the file being dragged OVER the icon in the dock for a little bit (like half a second or so). After a short pause either the running application is restored/comes to the foreground or, if you are showing the live thumbnails, the live thumbnail pops up. You can then drag the file over the live thumbnail and hold for the application to be brought to the foreground. You can then drag & drop the file into the application itself.



Yes it is unfortunate how many changes Microsoft is making to the core of Windows, which mostly only complicates matters (for instance, UWP apps only exist because MS wanted to unify phones and the desktop (creating a "walled garden" like the Apple store in the process), made a mess of it and eventually abandoned the phone environment altogether, which is what they always do when things don't immediately work out as they expect them to).

So now you have Win32 and UWP apps co-existing side by side in two different eco-systems that are completely alien to each other. As for the tray, they changed it for purely cosmetic reasons. It is rather frustrating, but ah well...

You’re right once again. I hovered the icon, and it worked. The hover time is a bit longer than I expected, and it’s not very reliable.

By the way, I’ve encountered a whole new level of nonsense:
After releasing the mouse, the hover "thumbnail" gets stuck. It won’t go away even if I click outside, click inside, or close the associated program. It does disappear when exiting Nexus. This issue occurs with both Windows UWP apps and normal apps.

Video: https://streamable.com/2m6pwf

That "thumbnail" is actually Windows responsibility, but let me try to reproduce here. The video you provided should be a great help for this, thanks!

Yesterday, I was a bit hasty, but now I’ve figured it out.

Video 1: https://streamable.com/rvtgts
The bug occurs when I accidentally drop a file onto the app’s peek thumbnail. In the video, during the first attempt, I didn’t intend to drop the file on the app peek thumbnail, but it happened anyway, the peek thumbnail is kinda buggy lol. If I wait until the app window fully opens and then drop the file onto the app window, everything works fine.

Video 2: https://streamable.com/bf7zo1
If the file-hovering-thumbnail gets stuck, any “drag-type” interaction with the Nexus dock will cause the thumbnail to disappear. For example:
• Dragging any file over the Nexus dock
• Dragging any Nexus dock item

You can consider this case closed. Feel free to look into the trivial bug whenever you have time.

I still want to discuss about another matter:
I’d like to place the Nexus dock over the Windows 11 native taskbar. The idea is to use the Windows native tray icons on the right while having the Nexus dock on the left.
However, when I click on the Windows native taskbar, the Nexus dock is no longer in front. It does comes back to the front when I hover my mouse over the edge (as set in Nexus’s settings). Is there a way to keep the Nexus dock always in front of the Windows native taskbar?

Thank you.