4.22/5.04 desktop context menu shortcut to Fences not working

Hello,
I have forwarded your problem/question to Stardock Support Team for their assistance. Please keep an eye on this thread for any updates. We appreciate your feedback and patience.

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

Thanks. I look forward to the reply. 

I'm failing to reproduce with a fresh install of latest build of 4.22.  

Please see my video link:

https://cdn.stardock.us/support/uploads/WindowsSandboxClient_2024-05-16_15-15-34amcguinness.mp4

Because my video above was done with a fresh install of the same version, it's possible you have an outdated build file. 

I would suggest purging and reinstalling from your account page.  To be thorough, make sure to reboot after uninstalling and again after reinstalling.  Once booted back up, if issue persists, please let us know: 

• Anything else you could be doing differently than I'm doing in my video
• Anything you think you might have done with your Windows settings or Fences application file location

Thank you,

Adam McGuinness
Stardock Customer Support Specialist

It is repeatable on my end.

I uninstalled 4.22 then installed 5.0.4 from Stardock (My Keys) same issue.

Video Link for step

Thank for demonstrating your steps.  I watched your video and tested around a bit with what you're doing here. 

Referring back to two key bullet points from my previous post:

One rudimentary thing worth mentioning: I can't see if you rebooted after the uninstall and again after the reinstall.  The software should be prompting for you to do this, and maybe it's just not possible to have in your video.  This is however an essential step to confirm with certainty you've done so after the uninstall, and again after the reinstall.

On that point, the best way to control here, and for any other potential program interference, is to attempt to reproduce in a Windows Sandbox session.  If there's some conflict interference with your Windows context menu settings or some other program- you wouldn't see the issue in a Sandbox session.  If you do see it in the session, then it's more likely a bug in the program. 

So, if you've done the rebooting as recommended, then, if possible, I'd advise trying in a sandbox session and reporting back on your finding.

Adam McGuinness
Stardock Customer Support Specialist

I always reboot after any install.

I did not run the purge file after restart of uninstall

Nothing I can see I did different from you video.

Purge Steps Log
Note: This was done on my Gamer Rig with a clean install of Windows 11 pro on 04/02/24 and fully updated in everyway. Furthermore I get the same results on my daily rig which has not been formatted and reloaded in more than a year. Both are AMD CPUz and mostly the same software except Creative SB Command center on Gamer and Gamer has Nvidia GPU and the daily had AMD GPU.
No apps running throughout process except Windows Explorer & Programs and Features when needed.
1.    Opened Control Panel > Programs & Features > Uninstall Fences > Restart
2.    Opened Windows Explorer > Right Clicked Purge Fences Batch File unzipped to root of C:\ and clicked Run as Admin > Restarted
3.    Opened Windows Explorer  > Ran latest  Fences 5 Exe > Entered Key > Activation successful > Restarted
4.    Opened Fences 5 app > Created and organized fences to my liking > Adjusted Rules settings as needed & Snapshots settings to per-screen-resolution basis (all else left at defaults)  > Took snapshot > Restarted (all fences set to 60% opacity and sorted by name all else default). (It should be noted old snapshots were not purged)
5.    All settings maintained as desired after restart.
Attempted to open Fences 5 from desktop right click context menu > View > Configure Fences > Did not open.  
Reviewed Sandbox setup as prescribed.
Other than Windows the following backgrounds apps run
Asus Armory Crate
AIDA64 Extreme
AVAST AV
Bing Wallpaper
CCleaner
Corsair ICUE
Dropbox
Creative Sound Blaster Command
EA app
Epic app
Fences
Microsoft 365
Edge
One drive
MSI AB
Nvidia
Realtek HD Audio
Razer Snapse
RTSS
THX
Upon consideration of the sandbox approach I assume with only it running it would work.
Clearly there is a conflict somewhere so to troubleshoot within sand box would be a daunting task.
All the above would have to be installed and configured one at a time.
Then there are other apps like AudezeHQ,  games, HUE, Ecobee, HWINFO64.... etc. which could also be the source of conflict.
Considering how much time that would take its not my Idea of fun.

I guess the best solution is just open when needed from the desktop shortcut and call it a day.
Thanks anyway for your help.

Version Installed up to date

Rules I use

Purge file stored root of C:\ and run as admin

Batch file run

After Purge and Reinstall Snapshots were not purged and changed Layout Adjustments to Store on a per screen basis.

Checked remove settings when I uninstalled

Video Link context menu doesn't work.

May I know, what application you have to change your taskbar on Windows 11 to the left of your screen? Just curious if that is causing the conflict.

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

As a side note: I have this same issue on my Win11 VM system. And, I just found out, it was due to Nilesoft/shell. I don't really remember when I installed it, but I did. The issue resolved when I uninstall NileSoft.

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

owcraftsman1,

I appreciate your posts here and thank you for going through the steps here to narrow down the most likely cause of the issue.  

As you've said (and can see from basj's example in the above post), conflict with one of your various programs is quite likely the cause.  For your situation, the solution of a desktop shortcut seems reasonable. 

Please also know that your posts here have been genuinely helpful to our ongoing efforts.  Should you seek to identify which program exactly is the culprit, Sandbox testing and Clean Boot options will be there.  It's for circumstances such as those demonstrated by this thread, that the Sandbox testing and Clean Boot support options are well documented in our Stardock Help Center.  I've linked them both below, should anyone coming across this post have a similar issue. 

https://support.stardock.com/space/SHC/1416560645/Testing+Fences+in+Sandbox

https://support.stardock.com/space/SHC/1332445272/Fences+Clean+Boot

Thank you again for the helpful feedback.

Adam McGuinness
Stardock Customer Support Specialist

@basj StartAllBack 3.6.16 recently updated to 3.7.9 is what I use for task bar left. Wish it still worked in Stardock Start11

Uninstalling it is not an option as a matter of preference.

However if it also affects the Fences issue I'm having I may have to reconsider.

From Dev recent comment on my Nilesoft compatibility issue. He mentioned the he added compatibility with NileSoft Shell for next issue. Did you verify if StartAllBack is indeed the issue on your system?

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

As expected "Fences Configuration" works in sandbox desktop context menu when StartAllBack 3.7.9 is not installed but not when it is installed, so Yes StartAllBack appears to be the issue.

Given that Fences also has an issue with restoring snapshots after a GPU driver update plus this context menu shortcut issue it may be time to look for an alternative to Fences 4 or 5.

I already had to dump (after paying for it) Start11 because it won't move task bar to right or left of screen in Windows 11. Its been near 2 years and still not resolved or plans to resolve it.

I guess moving on from Stardock has become the only way to go.  Sad to see.

Sad to hear that too. Perhaps, you should try latest Fences 5.53 released few hours ago: https://forums.stardock.com/528046 and in this release issue with Nilesoft Shell context menu was resolved. Perhaps it might also resolved issue with StartallBack too.

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

Uninstalling StartAllBack did indeed resolve the issue with context menu. I tried it for a week to see if other minor bugs were resolved due to StartAllBack. I can say two issues were resolved one, was the context menu shortcut and two, was Fences restore after GPU driver update from snapshots. Both Stardock apps, however, having the task bar left is way more important to me. I'd say a good portion of the customization's are centered around the task bar left ability. It would make sense to fix it.

At this point I have installed 5.53 and StartAllBack latest ver. 3.7.10 which was also recently released but the context menu and snapshot restore issues remain.

To be clear, taskbar left with StartAllBack is way more important than just moving the task bar to the left. The same functionality exist with Start11 except for taskbar left. Again, It would make sense to fix it.

1) Better use of screen real estate with a 16:9 aspect ratio there is way more width than height. Robbing from height for task bar is less than desirable. Windows 11 task bar you can't even adjust the height. Less is not more. I wish M$ would wake up.

2) Start menu customization's are limited at best with Windows 11. Both apps (SAB & S11) restore what Windows took away.

3) System tray icons are mostly hidden with Windows 11 with task bar left resizing and UN-hidding all of them is easy without taking too much away from screen real estate a no brainier IMHO.

4) Explorer Style less is not always better being able to select my personal preference is why I came to Stardock to begin with. For me it's all about minimizing clicks. Mostly having to open explorer is an extra step but when needed I want all functionality quickly clearly and easily accessible, so Ribbon UI is my go to for that. The same is true for the menu bar in my browser which is why I use Firefox. Its not default but a simple right click it can be exposed. Minimalist is for dimwits on a phone not a PC. I multi task and use a minimum of 2-27" monitors with every workstation.

5) Start's ability to display menus for documents, picture, music, control panel, most recent etc etc is also a click saver and indispensable in terms of fast uncluttered navigation.

I could go on as you are no doubt aware as features continue to be added, but you need to bring back task bar left/right.