Will it be possible to run these actions using the cli? I guess it's not currently possible for Nexus.exe to be used as a cli, but it'd be very convenient to trigger those actions from script, besides just forcibly stopping Nexus process.

I was thinking recently about handling explorer restarts, as when 'Minimize windows to the dock' is enabled and Explorer happens to be restarted, this option stops working for obvious reason, and I wonder how can I handle this automatically. Being able to force Nexus to restart automatically if Explorer restarts, without having to for example setup task in task scheduler would be nice.

I actually did not know that. How about me making "minimize windows to dock" continue to work even if Explorer restarts or is restarted? Much better no?

Definitely better I'd guess this happens because once Explorer restarts, its PID changes so Nexus can't detect Explorer by its previous PID.

Check the latest betas to confirm if "minimize windows to dock" now keeps on working even if Explorer crashes, please...

I wanted to showcase the behaviour I've requested quite a while ago, as I've managed to recreate it with help of AutoHotkey. Currently when hiding dock with keyboard shortcut, it only hides a dock, leaving reserved space empty.

Same thing happens with the Windows taskbar, the only difference is that with the Windows taskbar it only reserves screen space area if NOT set to auto-hide.

See, in your second animated screenshot you seem to be expecting the maximized window to smoothly expand to occupy the previously reserved area and that is not how it happens *at all*. Changes to reserved screen areas are quite "brutal" and even affect non-maximized windows when the reserved area is created (they are "pushed out" of the reserved area when the area is created, but they stay put when the area is reclaimed, i.e. they are not moved back).

Furthermore, the idea is for this to work in a way similar to the Windows taskbar: if auto-hide is enabled, then the dock should NOT be reserving screen space (and you can set it to always-on-top, like the Windows taskbar, if you want). The dock should only be made to reserve screen area when auto-hide is DISABLED.

Okay I see, thanks for explanation. Is there a way to gracefully end Nexus process without using GUI, so the changes made before killing it will be saved? As currently when I add new items or move them around, kill the process and starting it again, it doesn't retain the changes. It'd make my workaround actually useful and good enough to me.

You shouldn't just kill processes unless there is no other choice, that's cold blooded murder! You'll get in trouble for it.

Since there a are a ton of settings, saving them is CPU intensive and might takes a relative long time, so Nexus usually only does it on exit OR when the system has been idle for 10 minutes or so.

Add a "Quick Exit Nexus" internal command to the dock (Insert New Dock Item -> Internal Command -> Nexus -> Quick Exit Nexus) and use that to cleanly exit Nexus.

Sure but that would require me to click a dock icon to achieve this, which is not an optimal solution, as I'd like to fully automate this without having to use UI, with something as simple as for example nexus.exe -shutdown command in cmd, instead of killing a process. If settings are saved automatically after 10 minutes then I guess it's fine. Is there a way to decrease that time, or is it hardcoded?

Time is hard coded. And it's not after 10 minutes, it's after 10 minutes of the PC BEING IDLE (i.e. no user activity).

You can also assign a keyboard shortcut to the IC, either option is already much faster and safer than killing Nexis via the Windows Task Manager, however automating it is not possible unless you write an external application to make Nexus exit cleanly (rather than killing the process violently).

Anyway, what are you trying to accomplish and why would you have to do it so many times that simple clicking an icon in the dock is "too much work"?

Ah of course, I completely forgot about it, this would kinda solve my issue, but I still need to have this IC pinned as an icon to dock, which is unfortunate. My end goal here is to be able to trigger that AHK script I've mentioned above, and shutdown Nexus process safely to ensure it'll save all of the changes I've made while doing so.

@LUBIERZCA - Reading through your posts I find myself having to wonder just what you think a GUI is for!? Providing it's well thought out and well designed, it's the quickest and easiest, most intuitive way to do things. While I'm by no means a stranger to the CLI - heck I was working with Bourne and Korn shells in Unix when Windows was a real bad joke that sat on top of DOS and wasn't worth using, and Linux hadn't even been thought of yet! - A GUI is there for a purpose, and the more I can do things through it the better by far!

What you want to do sounds like wanting to put wagon wheels on a motor vehicle like a Lamborghini or Ferrari.

There's nothing wrong with having an additional option to interact with software using keyboard shortcuts or with other means in general, especially with an app like dock. I don't necessarily need a CLI here (it was just an example), but being able to trigger ICs with just keyboard shortcuts and not have to pin icons to a dock to use them would be quite cool to be honest.

KB shortcuts I can understand, just about. Instead of pinning ICs to the dock, have you thought of putting them in a Nextstart menu? That's exactly where I kept all mine, a special little menu always on screen, when I was still using them and Windows a good deal.

I don't use any paid versions. It's fine for now, it's not like I change something in dock every day, and when I do I just exit and run it again. Now I'm thinking that having at least an option to restart it from dock or tray icon context menu instead of just exiting it would be great.

Although I still think that having an option to trigger ICs without pinning them to dock (while still keeping that option for users which prefer it) would be a fantastic addition. I'd use at least five if not more of available ICs, but knowing I have to pin each of them to dock as separate items doesn't look appealing anymore.