So, what's next after v26.4 ?

nexter · **Posted:** Sat May 16, 2026 2:53 am

winstep wrote:

Betas of v26.6 are out:

Winstep Xtreme beta:
https://www.winstep.net/xtreme-beta.zip

Nexus Ultimate beta:
https://www.winstep.net/ultimate-beta.zip

Nexus free beta:
https://www.winstep.net/nexus-beta.zip

This is a beta and MUST be installed ON TOP of a full v26.4 OR LATER installation. Do NOT uninstall anything first, just exit all running Winstep applications and run the beta setup file.

There is no need to backup your settings first, but it does not hurt if you do either.

####

I’ve added the extended‑width dock background option, but the main focus of this beta is the overhaul of the weather feeds.

We’ve transitioned from the old Weather.com location codes to a latitude/longitude system. The internal locations database has been updated accordingly, removing the legacy Weather.com codes and replacing them with coordinate‑based entries.

Because of this change, a large portion of the weather code has been rewritten. In theory, the migration should be seamless: your existing weather location should automatically resolve its correct latitude and longitude. This is the most important thing I need you to test - please confirm that your location picked up the proper coordinates, and report immediately if it didn’t.

To replace the now‑obsolete Weather.com field in the Weather Settings panel, there is a new “Get Coordinates” button.

If your location didn’t automatically acquire valid coordinates, this button may fix it. Note that the coordinates returned by the button may differ slightly from those stored in the internal database - this is normal, and the differences are too small to affect the actual weather data.

The button is also useful for locations not included in the internal database. Just type your city name (after selecting the correct country and state, if applicable) and click the button to retrieve its coordinates.

With this change, the internal database becomes more of a convenience feature rather than a strict requirement, since it no longer needs to store Weather.com codes.

Got the beta but nowhere to go with it right now as can't go into Windows right now. "Man Flu" aka rotten cold has struck me down again so only online for very short stints, alas. But shall try to run beta ASAP - keen to see what happens with the Weather.com transition.

winstep · **Joined:** Thu Feb 26, 2004 8:30 pm **Posts:** 13079

New Betas of v26.6 are out:

Winstep Xtreme beta:
https://www.winstep.net/xtreme-beta.zip

Nexus Ultimate beta:
https://www.winstep.net/ultimate-beta.zip

Nexus free beta:
https://www.winstep.net/nexus-beta.zip

This is a beta and MUST be installed ON TOP of a full v26.4 OR LATER installation. Do NOT uninstall anything first, just exit all running Winstep applications and run the beta setup file.

There is no need to backup your settings first, but it does not hurt if you do either.

####

New beta barely a couple of days after the last beta (still waiting to get some feedback, good, bad or neutral, otherwise I'll just stop posting the betas).

The new beta adds full support for Ms Edge and Chrome PWAs (Progressive Web Applications).

If you are running the Brave browser you will have to wait a bit more, sorry.

nexter · **Posted:** Tue May 19, 2026 1:13 am

winstep wrote:

New Betas of v26.6 are out:

Winstep Xtreme beta:
https://www.winstep.net/xtreme-beta.zip

Nexus Ultimate beta:
https://www.winstep.net/ultimate-beta.zip

Nexus free beta:
https://www.winstep.net/nexus-beta.zip

This is a beta and MUST be installed ON TOP of a full v26.4 OR LATER installation. Do NOT uninstall anything first, just exit all running Winstep applications and run the beta setup file.

There is no need to backup your settings first, but it does not hurt if you do either.

####

New beta barely a couple of days after the last beta (still waiting to get some feedback, good, bad or neutral, otherwise I'll just stop posting the betas).

The new beta adds full support for Ms Edge and Chrome PWAs (Progressive Web Applications).

If you are running the Brave browser you will have to wait a bit more, sorry.

Think I'm out of things for the count, likely for the rest of the week, sorry Jorge. However, shall try to get around to the first beta ASAP and comment here.

winstep · **Joined:** Thu Feb 26, 2004 8:30 pm **Posts:** 13079

nexter wrote:

Think I'm out of things for the count, likely for the rest of the week, sorry Jorge. However, shall try to get around to the first beta ASAP and comment here.

Don't worry my friend, get some rest and take care of yourself.

Now that the PWA work is essentially wrapped up - the only remaining task is adding support for Brave PWAs, which should be straightforward since it’s Chromium‑based - I can finally shift my focus back to integrating built‑in support for the Winstep Theme Builder.

I’ve already separated shared resources (bitmaps, icons, and so on) into a dedicated resource DLL that all applications can access.

Each application will include its own embedded version of the Theme Builder, limited to the components relevant to that application. For example, the free version of Nexus will only allow creating dock themes, just like the old monolithic alpha of the Theme Builder.

The Theme Builder embedded in WorkShelf will handle everything WorkShelf related - shelves, docks, and desktop modules - but not NextSTART. To work on the NextSTART portion of a theme, you’ll need to run the Theme Builder embedded in NextSTART.

Hopefully this clarifies the structure. In practice, it’s not very different from how things worked until v9.5, where each application managed its own theme‑specific settings within its UI.

A unified monolithic tool isn’t feasible, since theme settings must integrate directly with the application they belong to, e.g. this separation is necessary because the Theme Builder relies on the same internal code each application uses to access its own theme settings. Since NextSTART doesn’t contain any WorkShelf‑specific theme logic, the embedded Builder in NextSTART can’t edit WorkShelf themes - and vice‑versa.

winstep · **Joined:** Thu Feb 26, 2004 8:30 pm **Posts:** 13079

winstep wrote:

Now that the PWA work is essentially wrapped up - the only remaining task is adding support for Brave PWAs, which should be straightforward since it’s Chromium‑based

And just as expected, also adding support for Brave PWAs was a breeze. Winstep applications now fully support Edge, Chrome and Brave Progressive Web Apps.

winstep · **Joined:** Thu Feb 26, 2004 8:30 pm **Posts:** 13079

Also going to add this (window dodge, or auto-hide when covered by window):

winstep · **Joined:** Thu Feb 26, 2004 8:30 pm **Posts:** 13079

And done! Actually works better than I expected.

"Auto-hide the dock after a short delay" and "Auto-hide when the active window covers the dock" are, of course, mutually exclusive settings. Selecting one unselects the other.

Still not sure what to do with the "Enable/Disable Auto-Hide" in the dock's main context menu though. These are essentially two different "modes" of auto-hide, so the current "Enable/Disable Auto Hide" menu option might turn into a "Auto-Hide" sub-menu with "Never / After a short delay / when a window covers the dock"

nexter · **Posted:** Thu May 21, 2026 1:51 am

winstep wrote:

nexter wrote:

Think I'm out of things for the count, likely for the rest of the week, sorry Jorge. However, shall try to get around to the first beta ASAP and comment here.

Don't worry my friend, get some rest and take care of yourself.

Thanks Jorge - looks like I need it - last two days spent exactly 15 mins. at computer, and just bed rest.

winstep wrote:

Now that the PWA work is essentially wrapped up - the only remaining task is adding support for Brave PWAs, which should be straightforward since it’s Chromium‑based - I can finally shift my focus back to integrating built‑in support for the Winstep Theme Builder.

I’ve already separated shared resources (bitmaps, icons, and so on) into a dedicated resource DLL that all applications can access.

Each application will include its own embedded version of the Theme Builder, limited to the components relevant to that application. For example, the free version of Nexus will only allow creating dock themes, just like the old monolithic alpha of the Theme Builder.

The Theme Builder embedded in WorkShelf will handle everything WorkShelf related - shelves, docks, and desktop modules - but not NextSTART. To work on the NextSTART portion of a theme, you’ll need to run the Theme Builder embedded in NextSTART.

Hopefully this clarifies the structure. In practice, it’s not very different from how things worked until v9.5, where each application managed its own theme‑specific settings within its UI.

A unified monolithic tool isn’t feasible, since theme settings must integrate directly with the application they belong to, e.g. this separation is necessary because the Theme Builder relies on the same internal code each application uses to access its own theme settings. Since NextSTART doesn’t contain any WorkShelf‑specific theme logic, the embedded Builder in NextSTART can’t edit WorkShelf themes - and vice‑versa.

Don't get me started on Brave browser. Damn thing masquerading as a privacy browser when really it's ad-driven and Chromium based! :/

As for Theme Builder, yeah, seems obvious that a monolithic tool wouldn't be feasible. Does it matter? Don't thinks so myself.

winstep · **Joined:** Thu Feb 26, 2004 8:30 pm **Posts:** 13079

New Betas of v26.6 are out (Beta 3):

Winstep Xtreme beta:
https://www.winstep.net/xtreme-beta.zip

Nexus Ultimate beta:
https://www.winstep.net/ultimate-beta.zip

Nexus free beta:
https://www.winstep.net/nexus-beta.zip

This is a beta and MUST be installed ON TOP of a full v26.4 OR LATER installation. Do NOT uninstall anything first, just exit all running Winstep applications and run the beta setup file.

There is no need to backup your settings first, but it does not hurt if you do either.

####

Besides adding PWA support to Brave browsers, this one adds the new "Auto hide when active window covers the dock" setting.

Not bad, but personally I would be driven crazy by the constant hide/collapse and show/expand sounds lol. Fortunately you can turn those off or set them to nothing.

Nezbit · **Joined:** Mon Sep 19, 2022 6:08 pm **Posts:** 105

Winstep wrote:

New Betas of v26.6 are out (Beta 3)

Installed Winstep Xtreme v26.6 Beta 3 on a fresh install of Windows 11 25H2 with Start11, WindowBlinds11, and ExplorerPatcher installed. Everything is still working Ok. The Weather Monitor found my location by itself. I might also install Rainmeter next week, just to push my luck. I'll let you know if that causes any problems.

I don't use PWA's and I don't hide the dock, so I can't comment on those. As for the "thing that can now be named", the Theme Builder, I can't wait to play with it when it arrives. I don't have any artistic talent, but that shouldn't stop me from creating something ghastly.

winstep · **Joined:** Thu Feb 26, 2004 8:30 pm **Posts:** 13079

Nezbit wrote:

As for the "thing that can now be named", the Theme Builder, I can't wait to play with it when it arrives. I don't have any artistic talent, but that shouldn't stop me from creating something ghastly.

LOL Thanks for the feedback.

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So, what's next after v26.4 ?