Hi Jorge. Until I read the thread Hotspot problem viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3815 I haven't attempted to really delve into the issue and kind of forgot about it since first using Winstep.

There was so much to learn and I dabbled into trying to use it, but couldn't figure it out and went to learning to use other more pending features like setting up themes, bump configurations, docks, modules, etc.

I did read the instructions under Nexus-The Hotspots Preferences Tab, and-The Startbar Tab.

I'm a little confused as to the real purpose of it. Is it like having more area/places to open something from the dock?

Does the fact that my Winstep taskbar is not enabled (only because of compatibility issues with my clock program) affect the use of it? I ask because in The Hotspots Preferences Tab instructions it refers the reader to The Startbar Tab instructions and in the past there was a feature that can't work if it isn't enabled. I think it was something to do with the Context Menu.

Also, in case it matters, I'm running XP.

Going to quote from the old NextSTART User Guide:

NextSTART relies on different ‘hotspots’ to show independent menus or perform actions. So what are hotspots?

Hotspots are areas on the desktop OR any other window that can be clicked on with the left, middle or right mouse buttons. Hotpots can also be screen edges and corners or 'buttons' on your desktop. Each hotspot can be associated to one of several actions:

1 - Show a menu displaying the contents of a folder.
2 - Show a pre-defined menu built with NextSTART's Menu Editor.
3 - Show a menu displaying all the currently running tasks.
4 - Launch a program.
5 - Run one of the over 80 NextSTART internal commands.
6 - Load and apply a specific NextSTART theme.
7 - Show a menu displaying all the available NextSTART themes.
8 - Show a menu displaying the contents of one of the following special shell folders:

Control Panel
Desktop
Favorites
Fonts
History
My Computer
My Documents
Network Neighborhood
Printers
Programs
Quick Launch
RAS Connections
Recent Documents
Recycle Bin
Templates

9 - Show a special menu that enables you to control the popular WinAmp MP3 player application.

Menus based on folder contents are self-explanatory: NextSTART reads the contents of the folder you specify and displays that as a menu structure. Entire disk drives can be navigated this way.

Pre-defined menus are extremely powerful: using the built in Menu Editor, or even drag & drop, you can construct virtually any menu structure you like. A good example is the default menu provided in NextSTART. Each item in a pre-defined menu can be one of the above items. Pre-defined Menus can also be chained together, creating complex menu structures if so required.

A task list menu is an alternative to the built in NextSTART Taskbar replacement. This menu holds a list of the currently running tasks and is automatically refreshed every second.

Hotspots can also be used to launch programs or run internal NextSTART commands instead of menus. Internal commands are items that do specific actions and can also be added to menus built with the Menu Editor.

Thanks! Did you change the UI for Hotspots? I was shocked at how quickly I was able to make one.
I don't remember it being this easy to setup. I was able to figure out how to do it in about 5 mins.

Well, v10.6 did add a Wizard to make new hotspots.

Great! It really made a huge difference. I also see that you addressed an issue I had because I couldn't lock the Context Menu, or as you've described it in the wizard, keep all menus open.

Under the setting, What should NextSTART do when you launch an item from this menu? I set it to: Keep all menus open--which is exactly the sort of setting I need when using the Context Menu when I view the tons of folders I have in My Pictures and especially if I want to drag and drop.

You've done an excellent job! I'm very impressed.

BTW, Can this setting be used for Dock items, or is this only available for Hotspots?

Only for hotspots, sorry.

Just wanted to say that since I started using the Hotspots I don't know how I got along without using them. I now have four of them and they really come in handy along with being able to keep the Context Menu open.

Using your features along with Irfanview which allows the opening of more than one picture at the same time really makes things 10x easier.

Thanks again Jorge, I feel like a kid in a candy shop! Here is a pic of mine from a previous post when I requested this feature to illustrate what I'm talking about for fellow posters. Note: Context Menu is behind pics.