I just dl the program and start experimenting with it. I am familiar with the dock having used a similar program before but I don't quite get the point of the shelf. It seems to me that it duplicates functions that are either easily available elsewhere (start = quicklaunch) or are not often required (Themes)
How are users configuring this to best take advantage of it?

I can see the idea of using desktop or frequently used files but any other pointers? Also, why is the shelf not even mentioned in the help file apart from one sentence?

You are right, there are many parts of Nexus Ultimate/Winstep Xtreme that, functionality-wise, overlap themselves. But, then again, so does the Quick Launch area in the taskbar - after all menus, docks, shelves and quick launch areas are all there to essentially perform the same function: launch programs.

The difference is on how they do it, as each method has specific advantages and disadvantges. Furthermore, you have personal preference, as some users prefer icons to launch their stuff while others are more into text and prefer menus.

Nexus and Xtreme catter to all the types of users - *you* choose the tool you feel more confortable using.

The Shelf, just to give you an example, has many uses that would be awkward to achieve with a dock: it can, for instance, display the contents of a folder in your hard drive in one of its tabs - imagine displaying a large group of files in a dock - and makes it easy to move those files between different tabs. Because itens in the Shelf have labels, it also makes it easier to distinguish between similar goups of files all sharing the same icon...

I could go on, but I think you got it already.

As for the Help file, that is only a temporary 'placeholder' help file oriented more for the free version of Nexus than Nexus Ultimate - the full help file is currently under construction. The reason is that the User Interface of Winstep applications suffered a MAJOR reorganization in a very short time to make it simpler and add multi-language support, forcing the old Help file to be re-written from scratch.

Most other Windows customization software doesn't even have one (or at least one that you can actually call a 'Help file').

I see what you mean, Mouse. When I started with Winstep Xtreme, I had two docks, one for applications, one for games. Basically with a shelf, those two disappeared and I can now access my favourite games quickly, as well as having the less played games in a growing list at the shelf by double-clicking it, as well as an application tab and so on.

If you prefer to use docks then you don't have to use a shelf
Likewise if you prefer to use desktop shortcuts, you don't have to use docks either. In the end, you can choose how you want to be able to access your programs. With shelves you can choose to get access to a big list of programs or a small list, you can choose to have a folder in a tab (for example if you do a lot of work you could have all your work-related files in a folder tab so you can quickly access them).

Thanks guys,

I am getting the hang of it - just a bit confusing to have so many different options. Still, I agree users will find different ways of operating and if the dock or shelf can be adapted, that will make it more useful to more users.

If you can't find how to do something, just ask. Jorge will always try to help out (though it's annoying if you don't at least put a bit of effort in it by trying it yourself and at least reading the recent topics and sticky topics) and it might just happen that another user knows it.