I have enjoyed using Winstep for a long time but a problem has showed itself and I cannot find any other reference to the problem in these forums.

1 Dell XPS laptop, Win7 64bit, GeForce GT435M, nVidia 310 drivers (most recent).
2 Running a Java based IDE for embedded code development.
3 JRE6 32bit and JRE7 64bit installed. Java app is using JRE6.
4 Winstep setup so all Docks pop up from screen edges on mouse bump.

When any menu in the Java IDE pops up, any part of that menu that overlays a Winstep Dock will be left on the screen as an artifact. Any part of the artifact within the client area of the IDE will remain there even if the client window is moved.

Minimizing and restoring the client window removes the artifact. The parts of the artifact on the screen, that is the parts that overlayed a Winstep Dock, are only removed when the IDE is closed.

This is not a life altering problem, but is is a bit annoying and should not be present in high end commercial software.

Hope this helps. Happy hunting

jfitter, first if you have a need to run two versions of JRE there is something wrong. second you have ide leaving artifacts where your docks are and where there aren't any docks. if the problem was winstep the only artifacts that you would see would be in the areas that the docks are, so that said you're blaming the wrong program.

1. Two versions of jre just happened to be there and I did not find out until chasing this problem. No big deal and it is certainly not the cause of the problem. I will fix it in due course.
2. There appears to be some confusion. It IS Winstep. Turn it off and the problem goes away. Turn it on and the problem returns. Reliable as a switch.

The artifacts being referred to are the parts of the menus that overlap the Winstep Dock regions, ie. the screen regions where the docks pop up into. These artifacts are left on the screen, permanently. Furthermore, any part of a menu that both overlaps a dock region AND exists within the application client area, remains permanently in the client area regardless of where the application window is moved.

just because it's there only when winstep is on does not mean it is winstep causing it. more than likely whatever program is actually causing the problem it is conflicting with something in winstep. again like i said if it was winstep the artifacts would only appear in the areas the docks are and nowhere else.

Here are the screen captures.


When Winstep is shut down, or the dock is turned off, this problem does not exist.
The problem also applies to any other docks, ie. the dock that pops out from the rhs of the screen.
Hope this makes things clear.

Hi, I'm not familiar with the JRE program you're using so do me a favor. Hopefully it has a full trial version. If so, please post the link and I will install it to see if it does the same thing on my PC.

It appears you're using Winstep Xtreme which I also have, so it will make things easier.

Since I'm not familiar with the JRE program, please give step by instructions on what you've done to produce the problem.

Oh, before posting the link, change your themes (I'm assuming you use different themes for the Context Menu, Docks, Modules, WorkShelf etc. as I do) checking one at a time and see if the same problem exists and let us know. It's possible that one of them could have a conflict with the program.

To clarify. when I said "checking one at a time", I mean change ONE theme then check to see if it still produces the problem, then change another until they're all changed. Don't change ALL of the themes first, then check.

No need for a trial version - it's public license sware. The link is http://arduino.cc/en/Main/Software. It's a custom IDE for code development for the Arduino range of embedded controllers. No installation is necessary - just run the executable and ensure the necessary environment is available - net4 and java. That's all.

I ran the program and everything works perfectly. This leads me to believe that it's something on your system that's causing the problem.

The only possibility that it's the fault of something with Winstep is if it's a theme(s) or a particular setting you're using.

Please tell me EXACTLY what actions you took to produce the problem to see if I can produce the problem also.

It will make it easier for me to understand if you number each step.

For future reference: this is not a problem with the Winstep software itself. It's up to *Windows* itself to automatically erase and take care of any artifacts and left-overs that appear on the screen.

This could be either a video driver problem and/or an issue with JRE and layered windows (semi-transparent windows). Layered windows are a special type of window used to display the dock/Shelf. If the problem is the latter, you will also run into it when using any other dock application (such as ObjectDock, for instance).

Hi Jorge, I've just found out that the Arduino program wreaks havoc on Winstep and I'm sure at some level Windows.

Here's the rundown. After testing the program and using System Restore (made a restore point beforehand) to make sure my system would be in the same state once testing was complete, I didn't have a problem until a couple of weeks ago until I used the left-click and hold feature on a folder on my Dock that brings up the Context Menu.

What happened next although isn't a major problem, is strange indeed. When I placed the cursor on a folder with an animated icon about a second later there would be a slight pause, then the animation would continue. The really strange part is I noticed it wouldn't do that on the ones that are virtual folders (Documents, Pictures instead of My Documents & My Pictures). I guess it's because the Context Menu can't be pulled up using that feature with virtual folders.

It took me 2 weeks to figure out what caused the problem since there was so much time between when I tested the Arduino program. In actual troubleshooting it took about 2 hours. I waited until I was in the mood to get to the bottom of it since it wasn't a major problem but started thinking it might be affecting other things that I might not be aware of.

Being as I stated earlier I used System Restore and the lapse in time, the thought that it was the problem didn't dawn on me. It wasn't until I decided to check into the two folders (one a parent and the other a sub-folder) both on the Dock. One of them has my installers, so I made a new folder, dragged the bottom half of them into it and placed it on the Dock with the same animated icon. No problem! I then did the same thing with the top half and sure enough, the problem occurred but the one I just dragged from worked fine.

Fortunately the program starts with an "A" instead of a "Z" so I removed the culprit almost immediately. It was the installer and the extracted contents that was causing the problem. Once I removed them, everything went back to normal!

Can you explain what in the heck is the reason for that? Was it what you posted or something else? Maybe you should test it on your PC and it might help you figure it out if you don't already know.

I just changed the virtual folders to regular ones and I'm having the same problem but not with the other one I fixed. Don't know if there is some hidden remnant or if it's because both of those folders are large.