I downloaded 10.4 beta today after reading something about it on cnet and I really like it (also tried 9.5 which I didn't like. It wasn't as quick as 10.4, didn't have good AA so I gained jaggies on folder icons). My question is: When does the full version of 10 release and what is the difference between the full version and the beta? Are there more new things coming or is it just the language that needs to be improved (if so I could help with the dutch version) and is there a 64bit version.

Looking forward.

Regards,
Robert-Jan van Eijk
The Netherlands

Lots of questions in a single phrase, so I'll try to answer them in turn:

1. The full/official release is comming out soon.

2. The major difference between the official version and the beta will be that the official version will ship with documentation updated to the new User Interface.

3. There are always more things comming, regardless of the current version being a beta or an official version. Winstep software is continuously being updated with new features.

4. There is no 64 bit version, nor is there any reason that there should be one. Unlike popular belief dictates, the only real advantage a 64 bit app has over a 32 bit app is that the former can use more than 2 GB of RAM. I would like to think Winstep Xtreme is a bit less bloated than that.

On the other hand, there are a lot of disadvantages: 64 bit versions use way MORE memory, have trouble living in a world where most applications are still 32 bit, and I could go on...

Have you noticed that Explorer itself in Vista/7 x64 is a 32 bit application? Same for IE (and if you run the 64 bit version of IE none of the plug-ins work - because they are all 32 bit).

Hey

Just want to know will the official release include the stack feature?

thanks

Probably not - but the relesase after it will, for sure.

Anyway, not like Stacks is an 'essential' need with Winstep Xtreme, as the latter already provides support for multiple docks *and* nested sub-docks.

K 3 more questions.
*Will the beta automatically update to the full version if auto update is enabled or do I need to uninstall it?
*Is it possible to have more icon lines in 1 shift (I mean 1 above the other, cause there is only place for around 10 icons now )
*Lastly, what does the nexus icon does? It doesn't do anything on my pc and when I click on the stertmenu icon it sais that nexus is not running or incompatible (I use win 7 64bit ultimate).

Thanks!

That's four, actually.

1. Yes, the Winstep Update Manager will notify you of all new versions (and make sure 'Notify me of beta (test) versions' is also enabled), and no, no uninstall is needed. When the time comes, the Update Manager will take care of everything, i.e.; warning you that a new version is available and then downloading and installing the update.

2. Are you talking about Nexus (the dock) or the Shelf? If the former, a dock can only have a single line of icons, but, on the other hand, the Nexus version in Winstep Xtreme allows you to have sub-docks (categorized sub-docks, i.e.; an icon in the dock which opens a sub-dock when clicked on) and more than one dock.

3. The Nexus control icon, as it tells you in the balloon tooltip when you mouse over it, allows you to manually hide/collapse/uncollapse a dock and also gives you quick access to the main Nexus menu. It can also be used to, say, quickly turn that dock into a sub-dock of another by dragging and dropping the control icon into the other dock. You can even quickly delete a whole dock by dragging its control icon into the Recycle Bin module. I suggest you first backup your current settings (WorkShelf Preferences -> Advanced -> Backup) before you start experimenting with that, hehe.

4. You mean it says 'NextSTART is not running or is an incompatible version'. That's because the default Start Menu icon in the Xtreme version of the Nexus dock actually tries to open the main NextSTART menu - it won't be able to if NextSTART is not running. You can either run NextSTART or replace that icon with a 'Show Start Menu' internal command, which will show the *Windows* Start Menu.

Thanks for the support. I will try it out in the next 2 weeks and if I still like it I will purchase the package. Now I have 1 final question. When I download theme packages i get a bunch of files. How do i install them?

Thanks

How to install Winstep themes/skins:

Winstep themes come in one of two formats: as zip files or self-installable .xtreme files. In the later case, all you have to do to install the new theme is double click the .xtreme file - the new theme will be automatically added to the list of available themes.

Unfortunately things get a bit more complicated if the theme is still using the older .zip file format (the .xtreme theme format is still fairly recent). To know what to do with it, you will first have to open the zip file and look at its contents. This is because theme authors are the ones who ultimately decide what is actually inside the zip file: sometimes a single zip file will even hold several variations of the same theme.

When you open the theme zip file, you will usually see one of two things: either one or more folders (this is where things get more complicated) or a bunch of bitmaps and configuration files. In the later case, installing the theme is relatively easy: click on the Import button, navigate to where you've saved the downloaded zip file and double click it. The contents of the zip file will be automatically imported and the new theme should appear in the list of available themes (try refreshing the Themes page in Preferences if it does not).

If the zip file contains a folder, however, this means the theme author chose to manually export the theme. This means you will have to import the theme manually as well. In order to do this, you need to know where Winstep themes are stored on your hard drive:

Open the My Documents folder. Inside the My Documents folder you will find a shortcut to the Winstep user data folder. Double click the shortcut to open that folder. Inside the Winstep user data folder you should see a folder called 'Themes'. Now drag all the folders inside the zip file into the Themes folder. Everything having gone well, all you need to do to see the new theme is refresh the list of themes by re-opening the Themes tab in Preferences.

Thanks for the quick reply. Im sry to say but I have 1 new question. How can I lock new docks. Now I can click on them and take them through the whole screen but I want to hold it on 1 place. And I don't mean lock them on the left, right side I mean lock them in the middle of the screen

thanks

Hmmm... You can't currently, but that's a nice idea for the next release: 'Lock floating dock'.

Btw there are still a few things tarnslated wrongely in dutch. When you want to shutdown windows it asks: Weet U zeker dat U Shutdown Windows....This needs to be: Weet U zeker dat U Windows wilt afsluiten. The same is for restart and some other things.

What gives a nice combi is Rocked Dock (free app with community Icon Pack) and Winstep Xtreme (Shafts disabled):

I think you haven't realized it yet that with Winstep Xtreme you can also have as many docks as you want, and each dock can have its own skin - you don't need RocketDock for anything.

Open WorkShelf Preferences -> Dock & Shelf Management

Ah I see. But the problem is I can't lock those extra bars on that location and also can't use those cool icons :S

Or can I?

Locking a floating dock will be implemented soon as per an other thread, I believe, those icons are likely available to be used in Winstep. Not sure how, since I don't have the files (can you send the community Icon Pack to me so I can look into it? kutagh[at]kutaghs.co.cc )

Those icons ship with RocketDock. Of course you can use them - just copy them from their original location to another folder so you can uninstall RocketDock, or drag & drop them from the current location into the dock item you want to apply that icon to.

As for locking, docked (non-floating) docks are locked by definition. RocketDock and all the other docks do NOT allow floating docks, FYI.