Re: Tooltips behind taskbar - FIXED!
- From: MrAnon <varazman@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 19 Mar 2006 08:47:02 -0800
First, the disclaimer: I am not a programmer; my code experience was BASIC
many, many years ago. But after staying at a Holiday Inn Express
last....er, spending 30 years working on PCs, you do pick up a few things. I
have noticed that many registry entries are identical to the API calls used
by the code jockeys. So I thought I'd experiment a bit.
I've been researching this problem for a couple of days and every fix seen
so far has either not worked or only worked until the next reboot. Many
posts around the 'Net indicated that the problem is created by the taskbar
and tooltips fighting over who gets to be top of the Z order. Logically, it
seemed to me, since the tooltips are "on call" there should be some way to
include a specific "be on top" command to their instructions that would
override the Taskbar's global topmost command during their invocation.
So I read up on the tooltip programming by researching the command strings
found in the registry pertaining to the tooltips. Information found here:
http://blogs.msdn.com/oldnewthing/archive/2005/11/21/495246.aspx
led me here:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/winui/winui/windowsuserinterface/windowing/windows/windowreference/windowfunctions/
which led to the experiment: After backing up (natch!), I made this
regedit:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\VisualEffects\TooltipAnimation]
"SetWindowPos"="HwndInsertAfter, Hwnd_Top"
"SetForegroundWindow"=dword:00000001
The related HKCU values were of the "read defaults" nature so logically,
there had to be some defaults SOMEWHERE - HKLM seemed the reasonable place.
So far, so good - 3 days and some 10 reboots along and my tooltips are still
atop the taskbar with no killing the shell, reordering menus, sacrificing
goats or other hassles. Will it last? Who knows? I certainly don't claim
it will. But you're welcome to give it a whirl. Likely it's only one of
those entries that makes it work right - dunno which and don't care
(remember, I'm not a programmer so I don't sweat an extra line of code :) ).
Oh yeah - SP1+, Taskbar autohide/on top, ballontips off but all visual
effects on, no 3d party WindowsBlinds-ish toys.
Luck to you! Thanks for those who came before and posted...
"Paul Pedersen" wrote:
Hey, thanks!.
<applause>
But you know, this is such a quick fix that I'm sure Microsoft could add it
in a heartbeat if they wanted to. Maybe in SP3...
"Micky" <micky@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:dqdtmp$jsv$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
According to Micro$oft, tooltips appear behind the taskbar because both
are trying to be the topmost window in the Z-order. Fair enough. But, to
this day, there has been NO attempt by Micro$oft to fix this particular
problem. WHY IS THIS SO DIFFICULT TO FIX? Simply give tooltip windows
Z-order priority over ALL other windows!
OK, there are some workarounds, but none of them work universally and most
are nothing more than the ramblings of amateur dabblers.
By far the most popular "fix" is disabling the "Keep the taskbar on top of
other windows" option, and then re-enabling the option. Fine and dandy
except that it has NEVER, EVER worked on ANY of my systems (and quite
likely yours as well). Indeed, permanently disabling the option has been
(until now) the ONLY "workaround" that is guaranteed to work every time.
If only we didn't want the taskbar on top...
Furthermore, Micro$oft's KB article on the subject
(http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;912650&sd=rss&spid=3223)
states that the problem occurs when right-clicking and opening a My
Document or a Recent Document in the Start menu. Apart from anything else,
the problem occurs in many more ways than simply opening a document. Show
Desktop is just one. Sorting the menu is another. However, the real killer
is that Micro$oft then go on to recommend logging off or rebooting...
Logoff? Reboot?? Sheesh! Give us a break Micro$oft! Just fix the damn
problem!!
OK, enough of my rants ... here's the REAL workaround:
Click Start
Click All Programs
Right-click ANY folder OR shortcut that appears ABOVE the taskbar*
Click Sort by Name
*Clicking items that appear OVER the taskbar simply results in the context
menu itself being hidden BEHIND the taskbar. This is yet another symptom
of different windows fighting to be "on top" of each other.
Every time you sort the start menu, the taskbar and the tooltips will swap
their Z-orders around. So if tooltips are already hidden behind the
taskbar, sorting the menu will bring them in front of the taskbar again.
But if you ever need to sort the menu in future, remember to do it TWICE
unless tooltips are already behind the taskbar. Repeating the sort
naturally has no effect on the menu order, but it fixes the Z-order
problem.
That's it! No logoff and certainly no reboot required. Just a simple
little workaround--and it will ALWAYS WORK on EVERY XP SYSTEM!
[PAUSE FOR APPLAUSE]
Thank you and good night.
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