Hello,

how is it looking, is the problem being worked on? Version 5.56 has meanwhile been released and the problem still exists.

I would be very happy if the most important feature of Fences would finally work.

Best regards,

Thomas

My goodness. It can't really be that difficult. When will the error finally be fixed? The current version is 5.59 and the error is still there.

Hi thomas-k,

We appreciate your patience on this one and have been actively working to try and isolate what exactly is going on here.

One thing I'm still not sure about, is how you weren't able to resolve the issue of icons snapping back from the last slot by extending the width of your Fence to larger than 6x.  This works each time I've tried it, and I've just reproduced the issue, with this 'fix' again.  If changing the width works for me and doesn't for you, it might suggest something fundamentally different in your Windows configuration or perhaps some other software conflict. 

Another relevant point I should make- is that I'd welcome anyone to demonstrate this issue in Windows 11.  I haven't been able to reproduce anything like this at all there, and I don't see others claiming the same problem.  I don't mean this to invalidate your experience, but I am saying this to demonstrate how rare the issue actually seems to be.

Please know that we've engaged in troubleshooting to try and work with this one.  Perhaps it might help to find some useful answers if you can reproduce your findings in a clean environment, such as through testing your software in the Windows Sandbox client.  

Again, we do appreciate your feedback and your patience.  If you can work with us with the above suggestion, perhaps that will help to isolate why exactly this is occurring for you.

Best regards.

Adam McGuinness
Stardock Customer Support Specialist

Quoting Abisnabidam, reply 28

One thing I'm still not sure about, is how you weren't able to resolve the issue of icons snapping back from the last slot by extending the width of your Fence to larger than 6x.  This works each time I've tried it, and I've just reproduced the issue, with this 'fix' again.  If changing the width works for me and doesn't for you, it might suggest something fundamentally different in your Windows configuration or perhaps some other software conflict.

Hello Adam,

First of all, I would like to say that I have tested all sorts of things. I removed Fences completely and then reinstalled it and I slowly filled the Fence with icons. Nothing helped except making the fence very large. There seems to be a misunderstanding here. Yes, that works for me now too. But that can't be the solution.

To illustrate this, I have opened up the Games Fences in the first screenshot and stretched it out. As I demonstrated in a video, it didn't change the problem. I made my fence wide enough to fit 6 icons in a row and aligned it as I wanted.

My fence has a width of 727 px and now contains 72 icons.



Best regards

Thomas

I apologize for not understanding this earlier, then.  In that case, it appears we've both produced the same issue.  We must be clear here: if you increase the width of the Fence to 7 shortcuts wide instead of 6-- this issue doesn't reproduce?  Also, while we're at it, could you let us know your display resolution?  

Also please be aware that I understand that extending the width of your Fence isn't the ultimate solution we're hoping for here.  It is brought up simply as a point of difference for troubleshooting to try to assist in isolating any differences in results.  These differences are important to verify and document with clarity.

We will relay your answers to development and hope it helps us learn what exactly is going on.  

Adam McGuinness
Stardock Customer Support Specialist

Hello Adam,

increasing the width of a fence for 7 icons does not help. Only when 8 icons fit in a row can I drag an icon to the last position.

I use the resolution 1920x1080 on a PC with Windows 10 Pro 22H2.

Windows metrics: IconSpacing: -1550, IconVerticalSpacing: -1275
Icon size: Medium icons

Thank you for elaborating with these details. 

It seems we are using the same desktop resolution while getting a slightly different reproduction of this issue, which if I had to guess is due to slightly different icon size and/or spacing.

I can recommend testing with your desktop icon spacing fixed to the default setting to confirm this, which I hope might help you find a suitable arrangement for your Fences/desktop icons.  This feature should be available in your Fences configuration app:

About -> Troubleshooting -> Fix desktop icon spacing

You might also try using Ctrl + Mousewheel over your desktop to set an icon size that works for you.  I recommend this as it seems apparent that this many icons set to too large of a size can also have an adverse effect on moving things around freely.  

Otherwise, as promised the information has been relayed.  This issue, albeit a seemingly rare and somewhat specific one, remains logged for us to keep an eye on. 

We thank you again for the feedback.

Adam McGuinness
Stardock Customer Support Specialist

Hello Adam,

I have to correct my information. The values given are from a tool that I used to read the values. Here are the values from the registry (HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics):

IconSpacing=-1550
IconVerticalSpacing= -1275

Medium icons

The icon size can only be changed with pressed CTRL key and mouse wheel when Fences is deactivated.

I have changed the icon spacing to the default values for test purposes. If I increase the width of the Fence to 7 shortcuts wide instead of 6-- this issue doesn't reproduce.

Just as an input, if I am not wrong, the default value for IconSpacing and IconVerticalSpacing are -1125.

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

The default values for the german Windows 10 22H2 version are: IconSpacing= -1710 and IconVerticalSpacing= -1125

As was to be feared, the bug has not yet been fixed with the latest update with Fences version 5.80.

A new error has appeared in the backups. Preview images are no longer displayed.

...and then select your backup.

Thank you. I hope Stardock will undo this. The Layout option with the image thumbnails is my start window of the Fences tool.
And I hope Stardock seriously fixes the icon sorting bug. The attempt to bypass the BUG with a rule also fails.

Can you share more about what you mean about the backups being the start window for the Fences tool? Thank you

I don't mean anything special by that. When I open Fences, the first thing I see are the backups.

Right right. I guess the question I'm thinking about is, I'd love to learn about your motivation for that being your home page.

Do you use the backups feature often? And what for? Any images you might be able to share about how you make it useful in your workflow? Appreciated for the insight as we continue to develop the product 🙏

My desk is already untidy, so at least my desktop should be tidy.

I buy several new games a year, and I want them to be sorted so that the latest game is at the bottom of the list. Unfortunately, this still doesn't work with the latest version 5.81.

Another reason why I often use the backup is that the resolution is changed for older games. This always causes the icons on the desktop to be rearranged.

Of course, it would be wonderful if Fences could do this automatically. However, this does not work for the icons that are not sorted into fences on the desktop.

I haven't given up hope yet, but it's about time that the BUG is finally fixed after so many weeks and months. In the meantime, several weeks have passed since the last beta.

@Abisnabidam,

The BUG has still not been fixed in version 5.82 Rev. 4. And why do I have to make an extra click to see the preview images of the backups?

You write that the bug is reproducible. Why isn't it finally fixed? It can't be that difficult. I reported the error for the first time 4 months ago.

Best regards,

Thomas

This was a User Interface decision, meant to declutter the experience for all users.  The answer to that question, along with any feedback on such changes can be found and directed to the proper feedback thread where that change was made.  It is not related to your reported issue here.

I wrote that the issue was reproducible.  While it may seem semantic to debate the difference between an "issue" and a "bug," suffice to say not all reported issues are technically best thought of as bugs in the software.  I apologize if this has not been clear through this process. 

To clarify further: In other words, just because your experience here is inconvenient- this does not necessarily mean the issue, while verifiably related in a way to this software, can easily be treated as a "bug" for the developer to easily slate to be quashed.  On the contrary, many issues reported by users of the software are discovered to be integrally related to the native Windows environment itself.  In these cases, there are no immediate guarantees or schedule for fixes that can be offered by our team.   

In my role to support you, the user, I would be remiss not to make what I've said here clear.  While a developer may grace us with more details and investigation to try and pinpoint the nature of such problems as they arise, and while I may support you through troubleshooting around negative experiences related to the software- there is quite simply only so much we can do.  We will endeavor to continue doing our best. 

One final note I'll add, is that for this case, one thing we are able to offer you currently is the recent fix to the Ctrl + Mousewheel functionality for resizing icons.   (And your feedback was quite helpful on that, as it came up in our troubleshooting, so thank you for that.)  Now that this functionality works, I advise that you try using it to find a comfortable size for your icons that will work for you now, and that you bear with us through the continued development of the software.

Best regards,

Adam McGuinness
Stardock Customer Support Specialist

Release of Fences 5.8.4.7

Whether you call this problem an “issue” or a “BUG”, I don't really care. It hasn't been solved yet, even with the latest version. Which is a real shame.

Perhaps this feature should be reprogrammed from scratch.

Fences 5 expires in 30 days and the problem has still not been solved.

I have created a rule that new games (links) are automatically placed in the corresponding fence. As a result, my sorting is always mixed up. I can search for the new link each time.

Now it has happened: my subscription expired today. The current version is 5.86, revision 8. When I first subscribed, Stardock Fences 5.0 was still in beta. I thoroughly tested the tool and reported a bug - repeatedly. Each time, I tested it with every new version. Unfortunately, after over 300 days, I’ve come to realize that the developers have not managed to fix it.

Additionally, the "Save/Restore Backup" feature has worsened. I have no idea what motivated the developers to make this change, as it adds unnecessary steps for the user. Now, we’re forced to make an additional mouse click, which serves no clear purpose and offers no benefits.

If you extend my subscription, I’m happy to continue testing the tool. Otherwise, I’ll have to move on.

Hello,

I would like to inquire whether the issue with sorting using "Drag and Drop" for a large number of desktop shortcuts still persists or if it has been resolved.

Best regards,
Thomas

Hi Thomas,

Unfortunately, the state of the issue appears to remain the same.  If you have too many icons, Windows 10 seems to be unable to place one at the end of the confined space.  While I can't be completely certain, at this time this unfortunately doesn't seem likely to change.

Best regards,

Adam McGuinness
Stardock Customer Support Specialist