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Winaero Tweaker 0.5 is out, features significant improvements

Winaero Tweaker 0.5 is out now. This new version comes with a lot of changes you will definitely like. I worked hard to incorporate changes as per the feedback I got. Let's see the application change log in detail.

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The main long-awaited change is the merging of This PC Tweaker. Now you will be able to customize which folders appear inside This PC/Computer folder in File Explorer using Winaero Tweaker. You can remove any pre-defined folders like Desktop, Videos etc, and add ANY custom folder you want.
Customize This PC folders

Additionally, you can add shell locations to your This PC/Computer folders. For example, you can add there Action Center, Godmode (All Tasks) folder, any Control Panel applet and so on. This improves ease of access to various items from File Explorer.

This PC Customized

To access these options, go to Appearance\Customize This PC Folders (or Customize Computer Folders, on Windows 7).

Since this feature supports Windows 7 too, you will be able to add custom folders inside the Computer folder in Windows 7 and make Explorer look like in Windows 10 or Windows 8. This is really useful.

Actually, I re-used the code from This PC Tweaker only partially. Most of the code was almost completely rewritten. Now folders will be added per-user, it does not perform registry ownership changes and works faster and is more stable.
Note: This PC Tweaker's customizations are not compatible with Winaero Tweaker:

  1. You will not see folders you added through This PC Tweaker in Winaero Tweaker.
  2. You will not be able to restore items removed using This PC Tweaker using the new option of Winaero Tweaker. To migrate properly from This PC Tweaker to Winaero Tweaker, press Reset defaults in This PC Tweaker and then customize your folders using Winaero Tweaker.

Other new features include:

The ability to disable blue arrows overlay icon with one click, as users requested. We had a nice article about this trick here: Disable blue arrows icon on folders and files in Windows 10.
Compressed Overlay Icon

Go to Appearance - Compressed Overlay Icon to disable those icons. Since these icons are shown only on Windows 10, this option of Winaero Tweaker is accessible only on Windows 10.

Do this for all current items

Do this for all current items checkbox

Using this option, you can enable "Do this for all current items" checkbox by default in the file operation conflict dialog. That checkbox is present in the copy/move file confirmation dialog or in the conflict resolution dialog. The following article describes the tweak in detail: Set Do this for all current items checkbox by default in Windows 10 copy dialog.
This option works in Windows 10, Windows 8 and Windows 7.

Chkdsk Timeout at Boot
Chkdsk Timeout at Boot

If your disk drive partition was marked dirty due to an improper shutdown, or due to corruption or bad sectors, Chkdsk runs automatically while Windows is booting to fix any drive errors. Here you can set the timeout before Chkdsk starts and the "Press any key to cancel..." text disappears. So you will get some time to cancel the disk check.
Chkdsk Timeout at Boot
More details about this tweak can be found HERE.
This option is available in Windows 10, Windows 8 and Windows 7.

Winaero Tweaker also comes with a bugfix. On high DPI screens, the toolbar becomes messed up. I fixed this issue.

Also, items in the left pane of Winaero Tweaker are now sorted by alphabet. This makes it look nicer and you can find the required item more quickly.

Download Winaero Tweaker | The list of Winaero Tweaker features | Winaero Tweaker FAQ

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Author: Sergey Tkachenko

Sergey Tkachenko is a software developer who started Winaero back in 2011. On this blog, Sergey is writing about everything connected to Microsoft, Windows and popular software. Follow him on Telegram, Twitter, and YouTube.

17 thoughts on “Winaero Tweaker 0.5 is out, features significant improvements”

  1. Great app!
    MS should buy it from you! (BILLIONS!)
    Suggestion: give us a way to SAVE the changes in a txt or xml file so we can make a standard setup & apply it lots of places, or reload it if we make a major change. The last win10 update cleared my winareo settings out & I had to start over. Thanks again!

  2. Sergey, first of all, thank you for creating and posting Winaerotweaker. I never thank you before, but I been using your software since Windows 8, and I also say that it is a privilege to be alive in this period of history where software is still free and open developed, where we can find all type of people like you that is selfless and good enough do this for all of us.

    I came inform of a bug/crash (or something that I am doing it wrong (?)). I used Winaerotweaker 0.5 (latest update), and here is the scenario:

    1. Applied ‘Enable Colored Title Bar’. All works fine with the change of colors for activate and no-activate (background window) border.
    1.a. Detail: as we go to Settings>Personalization>Background, we see that in the preview, the title bar for the floating window with the ‘Sample Text’ written, IS WHITE. This also happens to Settings>Personalization>Colors.

    2. When trying to restore it to ‘Disable Colored Title Bar’, we never get back to the now colored title bar that comes with Window 1511 (10586). Even if I try to change colors again in Windows by normal procedure in Personalization, I can’t go back to what is the normal colored title bar in Windows 1511 (10586), and the colors don’t change. The title bar color is now just pure WHITE, as it was in other versions of Windows, before the now normal colored title bar in 1511 (10586).
    2.a. Detail: also, if Windows is applied with this option (Disable Colored Title Bar) using Winaerotweaker ONCE (for the first time), I can see that the title bar also changes the font color to BLACK, as in other old version of Windows before the normal colored title bar (as in latest public release of Windows – 10586). If I ‘Enable Colored Title Bar’ again, the title font remains black, and the colors work again (not the normal with 10586) but the ones enabled by Winaerotweaker and the now “broke-back-to-the-old-title-bar-color-scheme-of-an-older-Windows”.

    Please, let me know if you need me to do something, or send something.

    Thank you, once again.

      1. Thank you for your reply, Sergey.

        One thing I can’t remember, that is causing me confusion:

        1. As long as I can remember, a already BLACK taskbar/start menu with a BLUE title bar, is permanent/out of the box with Windows 10 1511-10586.
        2. After the use with the new Winaerotweaker 0.5, a “crash” (maybe some registry parameter) happens to make the differences I pointed out earlier, making the BLACK taskbar/start menu only works with the WHITE title bar (never getting to the topic n.1 scenario).
        3. If we use the registry tweak of the parameter ColorPrevalence to 1, with a BLACK taskbar/start menu to get a BLUE title bar to work together, the text of folders become BLACK (and as I am confused, I remember that this normal-behavior-out-of-the-box-BLACK-taskbar/startmenu-with-BLUE-title-bar came with the folders text WHITE, as in topic n.1. The same strangeness caught the attention of two other users, with this BLACK TEXT that keeps permanent with BLUE title bar tweak, here: https://winaero.com/blog/set-colored-title-bars-but-keep-black-taskbar-and-start-menu-in-windows-10/#comment-8883

        As for the other tweaks of Winaerotweaker, I must say, Sergey, that is very well implemented, a hard work indeed, didn’t find no issues. Congratulations on the development and for the effort in updating this tool, and again, thank you very much. As soon as I get my international credit card to work again with a possible new job, I will donate.

        Cheers!

  3. Thank you, Sergey, for this update.
    One thing I only noticed now : main window, left side —> title “Behavior” should be “Behaviour”.

  4. Hi Sergey,
    You may recall I recently posted in a previous release of TW that the “Navigation Pane” >Default Items worked EXCEPT for HomeGroup. I have heard nothing since and note this latest version has not resolved.
    I have an UPDATE that may be of assistance.
    I have found something interesting which leads me to ask what setting(s) Winaearo Tweaker is adjusting and to what, for “Navigation Pane” > HomeGroup?

    I ask because your other webpage suggestion on how to remove the HomeGroup Icon in Windows Explorer on an X64 Windows 10 PC (for hiding icon but NOT DISABLING) seems to work PERFECTLY for me (did the changes a few minutes ago when I found the link: https://winaero.com/blog/how-to-remove-homegroup-icon-windows-10-file-explorer/

    After I made the two Registry Attribute DWord changes below the HomeGroup icon disappeared as expected and desired. (I did NOT touch or change any settings in Services.msc)

    I did do changes advised in “However, if you want to keep using the HomeGroup feature, but get rid of the navigation pane icon only, here is how you can remove the HomeGroup icon from the navigation pane in Windows 10.”

    I found each of the Registry entries:
    HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{B4FB3F98-C1EA-428d-A78A-D1F5659CBA93}\ShellFolder
    And as I have Win 10 (X64) also:
    HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Wow6432Node\CLSID\{B4FB3F98-C1EA-428d-A78A-D1F5659CBA93}\ShellFolder

    I took ownership of the Key in each, using the RegOwnershipEx app (recommended).
    Set the DWORD parameter Attributes to b094010c. (from b084010c for both)

    Then I restored Ownership using the RegOwnershipEx app

    Upon completion I opened Windows Explorer and the HomeGroup had disappeared :)

    I decided to see what would now happen if I then went into Winaero Tweaker and ticked HomeGroup (to be displayed) and restarted Windows. I could now see HomeGroup in windows Explorer. However, when I looked at the two registry settings I had just changed I noted they had NOT been reset to the original b084010c but remained on my new settings (b094010c) which surprised me. I then via Winaero Tweaker unticked the HomeGroup icon, restarted Windows and then when I went into Windows Explorer the HomeGroup had disappeared again as desired. Once again I wen tinto the Registry and noted my new settings (b094010c) remained and untouched.

    This suggests to me that for the Winaero Tweaker “Navigation Pane” > HomeGroup tick/untick (show/hide) to work correctly that the two registry settings of b094010c (from default of b084010c) MUST ALSO BE MADE (unless already previously set to b094010c).
    Clearly Winaero Tweaker “Navigation Pane” > HomeGroup does not check or change these two settings if needed, hence why it did not work for me via Winaero Tweaker “Navigation Pane” > HomeGroup UNTIL I made these additional registry changes manually myself FIRST.

    When you have the time Sergey I would appreciate you comments on this, and would like to know whether you intend a future WT release to make these registry changes as well (if not already b094010c).

    Many Thanks Sergey

    Even more thanks for your wonderful Winaero Tweaker and other apps and Tweaks and advice on your Website. Some of which have been of great use to me, especially the SUPERB, Reliable and easy to use, RegOwnershipEx and TakeOwnershipEX which make taking ownership and restoring SO EASY for people like me, who know when this is needed, but have no idea or real understanding how to do this manually and correctly without using these two apps.
    Kindest Regards
    DKO

    1. Hi DKO
      Thank you for your useful feedback.
      Actually, the homegroup issue is just a bug in the app.
      I fixed it some time ago, but not released a new version yet. I expect to release it this weekend.

      1. Terrific Sergey.
        May I ask. When released, should I leave the two manual registry changes I made to b094010c or, should I change them back to their original setting (or does the bug fix include changing them to b094010c anyway, if not that already)?

        I ask because I wish to have my Registry settings as Winaero Tweaker expects them to be.
        Many thanks.

        1. Winaero Tweaker operates with the NOT_ENUM SFGAO flag. It sets it to hide the homegroup item, and removes to restore everything to defaults.

          1. Thanks Sergey,
            Not being a programmer, I looked up NOT_ENUM SFGAO flag, but regretfully was still none the wiser on whether after your next release with fix for HomeGroup, what I should keep in the two Registry settings (either b094010c or the original b084010c) AND not sure whether your NOT_ENUM SFGAO flag will work if I reset the entries back to b084010c or must they be b094010c for NOT_ENUM SFGAO flag to work.

            I apologize for my lack of expertise and understanding Sergey

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