KrrShell v0.5.1 (Colorization Update)

📰Update changelogs in v0.5.1

Welcome to a "Colorization Update"! Here are some bug fixes, total UI redesign and some little features added!

📗Features/Improvements:

Desktop Improvements:

• Added features like Hide Desktop.ini or if you hide "hidden files" in File Explorer, it will hide as well.
• Now instead a Wallpaper/any other Icon change, it will happen now automatically without pressing "Refresh" yourself!

Tip

Did you know, that the Desktop supports Animated/GIF Images? That is the one benefit of what the classic Explorer's Desktop didn't have... And also this is one of the reasons I cannot use classic "ListView" as there the Transparency doesn't work.

• Added real Windows background features alignment. So something like "Fill" or "Span" will work!
• When you have "Automatically" changing DWM color by changing wallpaper, you can do that! (+ it is synced with explorer.exe so if you had that setting on before, it will work here as well!)

Shutdown now relays on Win32 API

• That means no longer shutdown.exe native commands, but the Shutdown calls are going straight to user32.dll,ExitWindowsEx!
  • So it has more features to pick:
    • Custom Shutdown reason.
    • "Brutal" Force mode (a deadly shutdown if system will be unstable)
    • Disable wake events
    • Restart to Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) - Now you can go into it without using Settings App!
    • Restart to UEFI (BIOS)

DWM take control:

• All of those features you before required a Settings App that needs explorer to run, now you can modify directly in the shell itself!
  • Synced a DWM Accent Color changing.
  • Option to change a custom DWM Inactive Accent Color.
  • Let you change Dark and Light Theme!
  • Enable/Disable caption colors (or all of the settings that were included in Settings app are now here.)

Icons and UI:

• Instead showing Tray Icons of Windows 7' now it has a "simplier" design.
• Start button improved.
• Start menu UI improved.
  • Icons were upscaled.
  • Command buttons can be customizable
  • When in the TreeView will be an item that has long name, it will be shortened to disable a Horizontal Scrollbar, so if you have AeroGlass, it looks super cool and clean!

Other:

• Added a little option to Appbar Properties in Hotkeys tab, a whole new checkbox that let you choose if you want to launch Apps from your pinned bar (similar to Windows, so pressing for exp. WIN+1 will open first item that is presented in the pinned section. Or you can make your own list.)
• Added a Touch screen keyboard button to Appbar (can be disabled)
• Now pressing Volume Up, Down or Mute key will display you a volume slider,... Try it out!
• WIN+X menu now shows Session and Power menus!

EXPERIMENTAL:

• Remember Print key? Or the "unused pause/break" key? You may use the Print key but for a little experiment, that the key will have Finally some use, I made it that when you press it in a current active window you can that way capture the whole Window! But not included in the Appbar Properties, cuz some applications may still impact on the key press itself. So use it by your own risk.
  • You can enable/disable it in this Registry path: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Shell and value: PauseKeyToCaptureWindow 0 - Disable, 1 - Enable.
• Added an option to change your Monitor's contrast. (In Appbar Properties under "Shutdown and Screen" tab) Again remember, I didn't really tested this feature if it will support "all monitors" as it calls directly a Windows DLL dxva2.dll that communicates with Drivers, it may occur some "flickering" or errors but I am not really sure. So rather don't touch this option as it will in default be disabled. But otherwise yeah, now you can modify your Contrast from the shell as well!

🐛Bug Fixes:

• Appbar:
  • Tray icons always open up a new instance. (Still cannot figure out how to get the Application's menu for exp...)
  • Better fixed contrast of control's texts (logic to display White or Black text)
• Startmenu
  • Icons now have Big quality.
  • When you create a folder/link, it sometimes creates it in a different folder than it supposed to be.
  • Icons also will be Disposed to reduce more RAM usage!

If you find any bugs, please report them here or on our Discord Server, Thank you!

🍿Upcoming Features:

Here is a list of features that will be added (and are working on) in the uncoming next update!

• Support for other languages.
• Custom Theme packages. - Partically done
• Custom Appbar Sizing.
• Small Icon support.
• Auto hide rewrote.
• Having Desktop Properties as like a normal "Properties Window" where you can change any Windows colors as you want!
• Fixing the Tray items.
• Alarms support.
• More Animations (not just Fading)
• More appearance in the Shutdown dialog. (and a way to replace it with your own!)
• And many more!

Important

When you want to run Shell Installer, please remember that this installer is still IN BETA and still may contain bugs of installing the shell directly from this installer.

Installing it still Manually is still good and recommended and it is not that so hard anyway. Here I made an up-to-date video explaining how to install it:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/Dn630Xe8fRg?si=xjf39Cu2C9JpuCHE

Before you go...

Our goal of this project is to completelly untatch Explorer.exe from Windows and give the User more freedom to customize your OS, without switching something like to Linux, also a proof of concept this can be still done in Windows!

And by this, we (or expect those 3 years it was me xd) are making this Shell even possible. As this shell was made from Scratch.
So it will be really nice to support this project to I have more motivation and time for it :)

💸Support types:

• For montly subscription, you can become Channel Member - Which you'll unlock early updates for the development and more!
• For just donating once, you can send a donate here!
• Or for those who want support "free" you can join our Discord Server!