I have tried Object dock, as well as Rocket dock, but prefer Nexus. The problem is I need multiple docks for all my items. The free version does not have this feature, and I understand your reasons as to why. However, I would be willing to pay for Nexus if it had multiple dock functionality.

I tried Winstep extreme, and to be quite honest, I feel like it is overkill for what I need. I even spent a good three solid hours configuring it to my needs. I really only need the Nexus dock with multiple docks.

I have seen other people here in the forums asking the same thing. I really think you could sell this as a separate deal.

I may have not spent enough time with Winstep extreme to get used to it. After setting it up though, I felt like I was locked out of basic navigation of my system. That's pretty odd since Winstep is supposed to create better navigation. Most of that was just the way the start menu was changed. I kept finding myself going back to the standard start menu so I could find what I needed. Control panel for example was no where to be found. And, trying to add a control panel shelf resulted in a bunch of ? icons that did nothing when you clicked on them.

Anyway, just some food for thought, that there are some of us willing to pay for just Nexus with more features.

Winstep Xtreme is a suite of applications, which means it takes a 'modular' approach to components (you run what you need/want and can disable/ignore the rest, if that is what you want).

You never mentioned this, but my guess is that you tried Winstep Xtreme 9.5 under a 64 bit version of Windows (most probably Win7). The latest WSX 9.10 beta, which you can find HERE (but needs to be installed ON TOP of a previous 9.5 installation, which you can download from the Winstep web site) has fixed a lot of the problems with 64 bit versions of Windows and WSX 9.5.

You'll find that adding a Control Panel shelf under 9.10 will actually work - although, truth be said, because of the Registry re-direction enforced by 64 bit Windows on 32 bit applications, you will find that most of the Control Panel items will be in there but not all.

This can be quickly worked around by creating a regular shelf, opening Control Panel in an Explorer window in Classic View, and then dragging all the items in it into the newly created Regular shelf.

You can do the same with the NextSTART replacement of the Start Menu (you will also find an entry to the Windows Control Panel in the Preferences sub-menu of the main NextSTART menu). Heck, you can even right click the Start Button and set it to display the Windows Start Menu instead of the NextSTART menu, if you want - or even not run NextSTART at all.

In essence, please give the new WSX 9.10 a try - you will find that the Nexus version in it supports not only multiple docks as well as categorized sub-docks. In addition, once you begin to figure out the true power of NextSTART (with all its configurable menus and hotspots), I'm pretty sure you will find it a tool you won't be able to live without.

Anyway, most people here use ALL the components of Winstep Xtreme, others only use WorkShelf + Nexus, and yet others only NextSTART. A bit like the Microsoft Office suite - you get a bunch of applications but then you only use those you want, i.e.; you cannot buy MS Word separately, even if that is the only app you use out of the whole Office suite.

Thanks for the reply. I will give the beta a try. Yes you are correct, I am running Win 7 64. Do to the fact that it takes awhile to get everything set up with Winstep extreme, what happens when the beta becomes a final release? Do I need to uninstall the beta and lose all my custom settings? Or, will I be able to install the final over the top of the beta?

I did notice that you can save your config, but will this work ok going from the beta to a final release? I just don't want to invest the hours of tweaking and have to do it all over again later.

All Winstep Xtreme releases are 100% backwards compatible and can be installed on top of each other.

Let me know what you think of the new WorkShelf User Interface, please - I think you will find it a huge step forward in relation to the 9.5 UI.

That's good to know since there is quite a time investment in getting everything set up. Well, at least there was for me since I had never ran the software before.

I will install the beta, and try again and let you know how I make out. I really didn't find too many issues with the 9.5 version, so I am looking forward to this beta.

So just install the 9.5 final, and turn right around and install the beta on top?

Yep.

Hey, so far so good with the 9.10 beta on my Win 7 64 system. The new GUI for work shelf is much cleaner and easier to navigate. I also found a short cut to control panel on the desktop shelf. That's really all I needed instead of having all the separate items in control panel stuffed on to a shelf.

I'll keep plugging away with setting this up.

Thanks for the feedback!

Well, after some work, I have the basics all set up. After being exposed to Winstep Extreme a little more, I have decided that I enjoy the shelf system more than the dock system. I actually don't have a dock set up, but instead just the shelf's.

Hehe. Now take some time off to read the WorkShelf and NextSTART's User Guides - I'm pretty sure that will expand your horizons and give you some neat ideas on things you could try.

Just don't forget: when playing around, it's always a good idea to backup your settings first. That way you can go back easily in case you get in way over your head. Ah, and remember WorkShelf and NextSTART settings are *separate*, so you need to backup in both applications.