Help! Using right button for gestures is breaking other apps

Something strange has started happening... I know when I say that you all will ask "Well, what did you change on your system", and I really can't say... I installed one new app (OmniPage Pro 14) and updated ZoneAlarm,and I have tried backing out both those changes without effect.

The problem I'm seeing is this: If I go to any app's File Open dialog and right-click a folder and go to Open, that app will hang so determinedly that it can't even be closed with Task Manager.

Why would I want to do that? Well, it's a test... I first noticed this problem with one of my favorite freeware apps, Xplorer2, an Explorer replacement. If I right-clicked any folder in its view and went to Open I would hang that instance of the program. I then tried the test I described above to see if it was xplorer2 in particular; it wasn't.

There is no problem using Windows Explorer in any of its incarnations.

If I don't run StrokeIt this doesn't happen. If I set it to use the middle button to draw, there is no problem.

Does this make any sense to anybody? Please?

I see this is also haping on my laptop (which is configured very similarly to my desktop). I don'tthink it has been this way since I installed StrokeIt, but I know nothing has changed onthe laptop in quite a while.

It's possible that it has always been this way and I never noticed it, but I don't think so... Would someone else (who has StrokeIt set to use the right button) please try the experiment?

It works okay with the middle button but the righ button is more comfortable...

Can anyone shed some light on this?

It might have something to do with the strokeit mouse hook not calling the next hook. if xplorer2 uses a mouse hook (for some odd reason) that could potentially cause the problem you're seeing.

Try running xplorer2, then starting strokeit, and seeing if the problem still happens.

-Scott

Thanks for your reply, Scott. It's not just Xplorer2, though - I can duplicate this problem with every app I've tried. For example, Notepad:

- go to the File Open dialog
- go to a view with a folder in it
- right-click the folder and go to Open

... but be warned, if it hangs for you like it does for me you'll have to reboot to get rid of it!

No hang for me.

Scott wrote:

> No hang for me.

Sigh. It happens the same way for me on two systems...

So what's different? Windows version? (XP here). Installed apps? (Hopeless question ;-)

I'd appreciate any suggestions you might have...

XP. Very hopeless question indeed. :)

Did you try what I asked you to try?

Did you try what I asked you to try?

Yes, no difference.

Okay, I tried this on my "vanilla" system. This is a Win2K system with the bare minimum of software installed. No shareware (to speak of ;-), no mouse or keyboard hookers, nothing fancy. Has never had StrokeIt installed.

I installed StrokeIt and ran it. I started Notepad, went to File Open, right-clicked a folder, went to Open. Hung.

Can no one else see this problem?

I can't see it, which makes it very difficult for me to fix it. I believe that it's happening to you, but I don't have any idea *why* it would be happening.

Just to be 100% clear about what you're doing:

- OS: WinXP or Win2k

- StrokeIt is installed and configured to use the right mouse button for gestures.

1) Open Notepad

2) Using the left mouse button, press left mouse button over File, move mouse to Open, release left mouse button to select Open

3) Move mouse over any folder in Open Dialog, press and release right mouse button to activate popup menu.

4) Move mouse to the Open item, press and release left mouse button

5) System hangs


A few questions:

Does the system hang instantly when you press the left mouse button on the Open item, or does it wait until you release the mouse button?

Does the system hang if you select a different option, like Explore or Rename or Properties?

Does your "vanilla" system have Xplorer2 installed?

Thanks,

Jeff

Hey, Jeff, thanks for taking the time to look at this. I realize a problem that affects one user can't claim much attention, even if he has three computers! ;-)

Your recipe is correct except in one detail: it's not that the system hangs, it's just that instance of the app that hangs. However it hangs in a funny way: its window can be moved, resized, and minimized, but doesn't repaint; and the app can't be killed by any means at my disposal except rebooting. And note this behavior goes away as soon as I set StrokeIt to use the middle button...

Does the system hang instantly when you press the left mouse button on the Open item, or does it wait until you release the mouse button?

The app hangs when I release the left button. The popup menu disappears but the app doesn't repaint the exposed area.

Does the system hang if you select a different option, like Explore or Rename or Properties?

The app hangs if I select Explore but not if I select Rename or Properties.

Does your "vanilla" system have Xplorer2 installed?

No.

Can you possiblly make any sense of this?

(I say again, pleadingly) Can no one else see this problem?

I can't duplicate it, sorry Michael.

I found this forum while trying to find out what's wrong with my system. It does the same thing; every app hangs when right-clicking a folder. Doesn't matter if it's windows explorer, Xplorer2, or just a file dialog box. However, I am able to end it with the task manager. I'm using XP home. Did anybody ever find a solution to this?? If so, plz help!

I blush to confess this problem has disappeared on my system.

Using MB2 as my StrokeIt button seemed to make the problem go away, so I blamed some obscure StrokeIt interaction, but I was never able to figure out anything more. Then one day I decided to see if it would still happen if I set StrokeIt to MB3 again, and it didn't.

So I for one am happier but no wiser.