New Update ExplorerPatcher 22621.2283.57.2

CyberTech

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ExplorerPatcher is a versatile and free tool that allows you to tweak and enhance the Windows Explorer. It comes with a range of useful features, including the ability to add new context menu items, change file name colors, and enable hidden features.

Feature summary
  • Choose between Windows 11 or Windows 10 taskbar (with labels support, small icons and lots of customization).
  • Disable Windows 11 context menu and command bar in File Explorer and more.
  • Open Start to All apps by default, choose number of frequent apps to show, display on active monitor and more.
  • Choose between the Windows 11, Windows 10 and Windows NT Alt-Tab window switcher with customization.

Lots of quality of life improvements for the shell, like:
  • Skin tray menus to match Windows style, make them behave like flyouts and center them relative to the icon.
  • Choose action when left and/or right clicking the network icon.
  • Revert to the Windows 7 search box in File Explorer, or disable Windows Search altogether.
  • Disable immersive menus and use mitigations that help you run the real classic theme without glitches.
  • Discover the program's full range of features by reading this wiki article.

ExplorerPatcher 22621.2283.57.2 changelog:
Tested on OS build 22621.2283. Installer requires Internet connectivity.
  • Taskbar10: Fixed Action Center, Control Center, and notification toasts placements on OS builds 22621.2134+ (thanks @Amrsatrio).​
  • Taskbar10: Fixed a bug that prevented Task View and/or the window switcher (Alt+Tab) from working on OS builds 22621.2134+ (thanks @Amrsatrio).​
  • Taskbar10: Fixed a bug that prevented the volume and brightness flyouts from displaying (thanks @Amrsatrio)​
  • Taskbar10: Fixed a bug that prevented the Win+A (Action Center), Win+N (Control Center), and Win+B (Focus on tray overflow button) shortcuts from working on OS builds 22621.2134+ (thanks @Amrsatrio).​
  • Taskbar10: Fixed the context menu of the new IME button OS builds 22621.2134+ (thanks @Amrsatrio).​
  • Taskbar11: Fixed a bug that crashed explorer.exe when right clicking the taskbar on OS builds 22621.2134+.​
  • Quality of life improvements regarding symbol data (thanks @Amrsatrio).​
  • Fixed a bug that crashed explorer.exe on OS builds lower than 22621 (Windows 11 22H2).​

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CyberTech

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ExplorerPatcher 22621.2361.58.1 changelog:
Tested on OS builds 22000.2416, 22621.1, 22621.2134, 22621.2361, 22631.2338, and 23545.1000.
  • Taskbar10: Fixed Windows 10 taskbar not showing up on Windows 11 builds with "Never combine" on the new taskbar. (bc3bbc7)
  • Taskbar10: Fixed pen menu crashing explorer.exe on 22621.2134+. (1977d78)
  • Taskbar11: Fixed a bug that crashed explorer.exe when right clicking the new taskbar on Windows 11 builds with "Never combine" on the new taskbar. (6023718)
  • File Explorer: EP now tries to avoid crashes related to the new Windows App SDK views. (b426d2c)
  • On OS builds 22621+, fixed a bug that crashed explorer.exe when required functions in twinui.pcshell.dll (for Win+X and Windows 10 Alt+Tab) could not be found using the fallback method. (6023718)

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CyberTech

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ExplorerPatcher 22621.2361.58.3 changelog:
Tested on OS builds 22000.2416, 22621.1, 22621.2134, 22621.2361, 22631.2338, and 23545.1000.
  • Taskbar10: Fixed Windows 10 taskbar not showing up on Windows 11 builds with "Never combine" on the new taskbar.
  • Taskbar10: Fixed pen menu crashing explorer.exe on 22621.2134+.
  • Taskbar11: Fixed a bug that crashed explorer.exe when right clicking the new taskbar on Windows 11 builds with "Never combine" on the new taskbar.
  • File Explorer: EP now tries to avoid crashes related to the new Windows App SDK views. (b426d2c)
  • On OS builds 22621+, fixed a bug that crashed explorer.exe when required functions in twinui.pcshell.dll (for Win+X and Windows 10 Alt+Tab) could not be found using the fallback method.
  • Taskbar11: Fixed a bug that reset the "never combine" setting on OS builds 22621.2361+
  • Taskbar10: Fixed Wi-Fi flyout buttons on OS build 22621
  • Start10: Fixed start menu folders, show recently added, and show frequently used apps settings not being applied on OS builds 22621.2134+
  • Start10: Pin to Start/Unpin from Start has been properly fixed on Start Menu and Explorer (but not Search yet) of all Windows 11 builds.
  • Start10: Fixed non-UWP apps not appearing on Dev channel builds 23545+. (a4f5bd0)
  • File Explorer: Fixed command bar settings not being applied on non-primary Explorer instances on Windows 11.

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CyberTech

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ExplorerPatcher 22621.2428.59.1 changelog:
Tested on OS builds 22000.2416, 22621.2428, 23555.1000, and 23560.1000.

Note: After updating to this version, the symbols will be re-downloaded even if they have been downloaded before.
  • Taskbar10: Fixed Control Center and Toast Center positioning on build 25951 (Canary). (dca0b3a)
  • Taskbar10: Fixed start menu position when the taskbar is at the left or right side on Moment 4 builds. (a57471f)
  • Taskbar10: Fixed the Windows 10 taskbar background patch to not crash anymore on build 25951 (Canary). (b52bd79)
  • Taskbar10: Made taskbar fonts (when using classic theme mitigations) more accurate (thanks @aubymori). (8fc53a1)
  • Start10: Fixed a bug where certain texts in the Windows 10 Start menu stayed in English. (655e62c, 5321766)
  • Start10: Properly fixed start menu showing/hiding along with its original animations on builds 22000.65+. (7e2f768)
  • GUI: Fixed a bug where "Remember last used section" doesn't remember the current page after being enabled. (11160c8)
  • Symbols: Reworked how symbols are managed so that symbols don't need to be successfully downloaded in succession. (8412bd6)
Please consult the README for more details.
A detailed change log is available here.

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CyberTech

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ExplorerPatcher 22621.2506.60.1 changelog:

Tested on OS builds 22000.2416, 22621.2361, 22621.2506, and 23585.1001.

  • Taskbar10: Partially fixed Windows 11 Start menu and Search positioning on builds 23545+ (Dev). (ac268b1)
  • Changing the taskbar alignment requires restarting explorer.exe in order to take effect.
  • File Explorer: Added option to disable the modern navigation bar of Moment 4. (2dc1340)
  • File Explorer: Restored "Apply Mica" functionality on OS builds 22621+. (f62c532)
  • Localization: Officially added translations for the following languages:
  • Chinese, Simplified (Thanks @zetaloop!)
  • Japanese (Thanks @creeper-0910, @reindex-ot, and @Rukoto!)
  • GUI: Decoupled the Properties window into ep_gui.dll from the main DLL in order to reduce the main DLL size and to allow scalable localization. (f6f6d89, 639d7aa)
  • rundll32 C:\Windows\dxgi.dll,ZZGUI will continue to work as before.

In this update, most if not all user-facing parts of ExplorerPatcher have been made localizable.
  • The English texts have been put together into here and here.
  • Non-English texts have been designed to be put into this separate repository. Feel free to make a PR there if you want to contribute to translations.
  • Some texts have been updated to be more concise and accurate, so for existing translation fork maintainers, please double check the translations before making a PR to the said repository.
  • Also for translation fork maintainers, a large number of conflicts will happen if you decide to continue merging changes from the main repository.
  • Please let us know through Issues if there are still user-facing parts of ExplorerPatcher that are not localizable.

Homepage

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silversurfer

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ExplorerPatcher 22621.2861.62.1​

Tested on OS builds 22621.2715, 22621.2861, 22631.2787, 22631.2861, 22635.2915, and 23590.1000.
  • Taskbar10: Various important fixes: (ec68783)
    • Revised the method for enabling the old taskbar due to a very rare issue where the old taskbar couldn't be enabled with the previous method. (#2499)
    • Fixed crash on 25921+ due to the removal of pnidui.dll. (#2558)
    • Fixed potential stability issues when using the new taskbar on 22621.2787+.
  • Taskbar10: Fixed white boxes on submenus when context menu skinning is disabled. (72f1458)
  • File Explorer: Fixed crashes when using Windows 7/10 control interface on OS builds 22635.2915+. (3a1b8b8)
  • Localization: Added translations for French, German, Hungarian, Korean, Romanian, and Ukrainian.
    • The properties window has been made slightly wider to accomodate the newly added languages. (#2574)
  • Localization: Added a language switcher to the About section of Properties window. (7c3be29, a7a3d27)
Note: Due to the breakages as well as frequent changes happening in Canary builds, we strongly do not recommend using ExplorerPatcher on Canary builds for now.

Download link: https://github.com/valinet/ExplorerPatcher/releases/download/22621.2861.62.1_9444eee/ep_setup.exe
 

silversurfer

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Bkav ProW64.AIDetectMalware
Gridinsoft (no cloud)Spy.Win64.Gen.tr
SophosGeneric ML PUA (PUA)
WebrootW32.Vundo.Gen
Virus total scan
Of course, even this tool is flagged by some AVs on VT, but as usual the detection name: PUA 😉
Just consider either take it or stay away, depends on users preference how do you like the default taskbar on Windows 11.
 

silversurfer

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ExplorerPatcher 22621.2861.62.2​

Tested on OS builds 22621.2715, 22621.2861, 22631.2787, 22631.2861, 22635.2915, and 23590.1000.

1​

  • Taskbar10: Various important fixes: (ec68783)
    • Revised the method for enabling the old taskbar due to a very rare issue where the old taskbar couldn't be enabled with the previous method. (#2499)
    • Fixed crash on 25921+ due to the removal of pnidui.dll. (#2558)
    • Fixed potential stability issues when using the new taskbar on 22621.2787+.
  • Taskbar10: Fixed white boxes on submenus when context menu skinning is disabled. (72f1458)
  • File Explorer: Fixed crashes when using Windows 7/10 control interface on OS builds 22635.2915+. (3a1b8b8)
  • Localization: Added translations for French, German, Hungarian, Korean, Romanian, and Ukrainian.
    • The properties window has been made slightly wider to accomodate the newly added languages. (#2574)
  • Localization: Added a language switcher to the About section of Properties window. (7c3be29, a7a3d27)

2​

  • Symbols: Fixed languages with longer strings such as French crashing Explorer when attempting to download symbols. (ce9f973)

Note: Due to the breakages as well as frequent changes happening in Canary builds, we strongly do not recommend using ExplorerPatcher on Canary builds for now.

Download link: https://github.com/valinet/ExplorerPatcher/releases/download/22621.2861.62.2_9b68cc0/ep_setup.exe
 

pxxb1

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ExplorerPatcher 22621.2861.62.2​



Download link: https://github.com/valinet/ExplorerPatcher/releases/download/22621.2861.62.2_9b68cc0/ep_setup.exe

This one gave me lots of problems, reverted to 62.1.

Start All Back, the other alternative which does the same as EP, which was stable for me before when EP was not, is useless since 2 versions back. So i hope EP continues that way, otherwise one is out of options for what i use it for. Taskbar at top.
 

oldschool

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This one gave me lots of problems, reverted to 62.1.

Start All Back, the other alternative which does the same as EP, which was stable for me before when EP was not, is useless since 2 versions back. So i hope EP continues that way, otherwise one is out of options for what i use it for. Taskbar at top.
Haven't used EP but I have tried recent SAB versions which slowed down app launch noticably. The problems and necessary updates with MS code changes are why I avoid 3rd party fixes and came to enjoy W11 UI.
 
Last edited:

pxxb1

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Haven't used EP but I have tried recent SAB versions which slowed down app launch noticably. The problems and necessary updates with MS code changes are why I avoid 3rd party fixes and came to enjoy W11 UI.
I really wonder why it is that MS do not implement the feature "Taskbar at top" in W11. EP and Start All Back guys knows it is hard but does it anyway and manage to do it with minimal or no bugs mostly. So i really wonder what in the coding it is that makes this so difficult that Ms avoids it totally. Stardock with its Start 11 avoids it therefore according to the talk i had with them.
 

silversurfer

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Windows 11 24H2 build 26052 breaks ExplorerPatcher
Sadly, the latest version of ExplorerPatcher does not work in Windows 11 build 26052. As spotted by @TheBobPony, who recently discovered a change in the CPU instruction set requirement, installing ExplorerPatcher on build 26052 breaks the taskbar beyond recognition. The entire notification area is missing, the old Start menu no longer works, and more.

But do not grab your pitchfork yet. Things like this are normal in the Windows Insider Program, where stuff always breaks, especially apps for deep system customization. The latest ExplorerPatcher release is quite old, and it was not tested on the recent Windows Insider builds. The best course of action for ExplorerPatcher users is to wait for a message from the developer and a newer release. Meanwhile, stay away from Windows 11 version 24H2 if you cannot use your computer without this utility.
 

silversurfer

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ExplorerPatcher from Valinet is quite a popular app that lets you bring back the old Windows 10 taskbar in Windows 11, apply additional modifications to make Windows 11 slightly better, and restore some of its missing features. Windows 11 version 24H2 is now flagging ExplorerPatcher as incompatible due to "security or performance issues" with the following message:
This app can't run because it causes security or performance issues on Windows. A new version may be available. Check with your software provider for an updated version that runs on this version of Windows.
 

silversurfer

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Explorer Patcher update adds new taskbar features, ARM64 and Windows 11 24H2 support​

Explorer Patcher, a popular UI-tweaking app for Windows 11, received a new pre-release update. It delivers two important changes: a new Windows 10 taskbar implementation with new features and ARM64 support so that you can use Explorer Patcher on the latest Copilot+ PCs, such as the Surface Pro 11 or the Surface Laptop 7.

With Explorer Patcher 22621.3880.66.3, Windows 11 users can try a new Windows 10 taskbar implementation. It uses code bits from Windows 11 version 22H2, which makes it possible to use the app on Windows 11 24H2 and newer.

As for features, with the new "Windows 10 (ExplorerPatcher" variant), you get the following:
  • Snap Group support
  • Virtual Desktop Switcher support (hover the cursor over the Task View button)
  • Animated Start, Search, and Task View icons
  • End Task support
 

Gandalf_The_Grey

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ExplorerPatcher 22621.3880.66.4
ExplorerPatcher 22621.3880.66.4 changelog:

Tested on OS builds 19045.4598, 22621.3296, 22621.3810, 26120.961, and 26244.5000. (Note: 22621 and 22631 share the same OS files)

Taskbar10: Introduced a new taskbar implementation: Windows 10 (ExplorerPatcher).
  • You can try this implementation out by changing the "Taskbar style" to "Windows 10 (ExplorerPatcher)".
  • For now, this is only available for builds 22621, 22631, and 22635. Other builds will not have the option.
  • Refer to this wiki article for more information including important ones.
Details
  • Taskbar10: Due to false positive antivirus detections, the new taskbar implementation is no longer bundled in the setup program.
  • If you want to use the new taskbar implementation, you can download the appropriate DLL for your system from the Releases page of its releases repository, and then manually putting it in C:\Program Files\ExplorerPatcher without the architecture specifier.
  • For example, for 226xx builds on x64-based systems, download ep_taskbar.2.amd64.dll, rename to ep_taskbar.2.dll, and lastly put it in C:\Program Files\ExplorerPatcher.
Introduced support for ARM64 devices
  • These builds are only tested on and made to work with 24H2 ARM64 builds. Older ARM64 Windows versions than 24H2 may not work as expected.
  • Added an "Update now" button into update notifications for easier updating.
  • Revised how files are packed in ep_setup for smaller size and easier maintenance.
  • EP's taskbar implementation for 24H2 is now available in its releases repository, as ep_taskbar.5.dll. If you want to try this out, follow the steps explained above.

ExplorerPatcher is now officially compatible and supported on Windows 11 24H2
  • Start10: Now works again on 24H2 and 226xx.3930+.
  • Taskbar10: EP's taskbar DLLs are now included again in the setup files.
  • Taskbar10: Network icon now shows again on 24H2.
  • Start10: Fixed positioning when the taskbar is not placed at the bottom, on 24H2 and latest 22H2/23H2 builds.
  • Taskbar10: Fixed taskbar jump list flyout positioning when the taskbar is not placed at the bottom, on latest 22H2/23H2/24H2 builds.
  • Setup: Updated the code for dealing with locked files, this should reduce the chances of getting setup failures due to locked files.
  • ep_taskbar: Fixed tray icons not being saved on 24H2.
  • ep_taskbar: Removed the Copilot button on 22H2.
 

silversurfer

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ExplorerPatcher 22621.3880.66.5 Pre-release
Tested on OS builds 19045.4598, 22621.3296, 22621.3810, 26120.961, and 26244.5000. (Note: 22621 and 22631 share the same OS files)

1​

  • Taskbar10: Introduced a new taskbar implementation: Windows 10 (ExplorerPatcher). (146070d, 0b86e55)
    • You can try this implementation out by changing the "Taskbar style" to "Windows 10 (ExplorerPatcher)".
    • For now, this is only available for builds 22621, 22631, and 22635. Other builds will not have the option.
    • Refer to this wiki article for more information including important ones.

2​

Taskbar10: Due to false positive antivirus detections, the new taskbar implementation is no longer bundled in the setup program. (48c2a75)
  • If you want to use the new taskbar implementation, you can download the appropriate DLL for your system from the Releases page of its releases repository, and then manually putting it in C:\Program Files\ExplorerPatcher without the architecture specifier.
  • For example, for 226xx builds on x64-based systems, download ep_taskbar.2.amd64.dll, rename to ep_taskbar.2.dll, and lastly put it in C:\Program Files\ExplorerPatcher.

3​


4​

With this update, ExplorerPatcher is now officially compatible and supported on Windows 11 24H2 🥳🎉
  • Start10: Now works again on 24H2 and 226xx.3930+. (755f101, 7e0f7eb, b473114)
  • Taskbar10: EP's taskbar DLLs are now included again in the setup files. (d9595fc)
  • Taskbar10: Network icon now shows again on 24H2. (7e0f7eb, b473114)
  • Start10: Fixed positioning when the taskbar is not placed at the bottom, on 24H2 and latest 22H2/23H2 builds. (de2532d, ea5881f)
  • Taskbar10: Fixed taskbar jump list flyout positioning when the taskbar is not placed at the bottom, on latest 22H2/23H2/24H2 builds. (39609e4)
  • Setup: Updated the code for dealing with locked files, this should reduce the chances of getting setup failures due to locked files. (7e0f7eb)
  • ep_taskbar: Fixed tray icons not being saved.
  • ep_taskbar: Removed the Copilot button on 22H2.

5​

  • Taskbar10: Fixed jump list positioning patch on latest builds with TaskbarJumplistOnHover feature flag. (#3615) (351a020)
  • Taskbar11: Fixed Task Manager menu entry doing nothing on 24H2+. (#3021, #3556) (060066c)
  • Start10: Fixed symbols mechanism when custom StartUI_.dll is used. (0f38628)
  • Start10: Increased reliability of ARM64 patterns for restoring the animations and fixing positioning. (#3566) (2ea3894)
  • ep_taskbar: Fixed the task band not having a handle when the taskbar is unlocked.
  • ep_taskbar: Fixed scroll arrows in window list popups (ExtendedUI) having weird appearance and behavior.
 

silversurfer

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ExplorerPatcher 22621.3880.66.6​

Tested on OS builds 19045.4598, 22621.3296, 22621.3810, 26120.961, and 26244.5000. (Note: 22621 and 22631 share the same OS files)

1​

  • Taskbar10: Introduced a new taskbar implementation: Windows 10 (ExplorerPatcher). (146070d, 0b86e55)
    • You can try this implementation out by changing the "Taskbar style" to "Windows 10 (ExplorerPatcher)".
    • For now, this is only available for builds 22621, 22631, and 22635. Other builds will not have the option.
    • Refer to this wiki article for more information including important ones.

2​

Taskbar10: Due to false positive antivirus detections, the new taskbar implementation is no longer bundled in the setup program. (48c2a75)
  • If you want to use the new taskbar implementation, you can download the appropriate DLL for your system from the Releases page of its releases repository, and then manually putting it in C:\Program Files\ExplorerPatcher without the architecture specifier.
  • For example, for 226xx builds on x64-based systems, download ep_taskbar.2.amd64.dll, rename to ep_taskbar.2.dll, and lastly put it in C:\Program Files\ExplorerPatcher.

3​


4​

With this update, ExplorerPatcher is now officially compatible and supported on Windows 11 24H2 🥳🎉
  • Start10: Now works again on 24H2 and 226xx.3930+. (755f101, 7e0f7eb, b473114)
  • Taskbar10: EP's taskbar DLLs are now included again in the setup files. (d9595fc)
  • Taskbar10: Network icon now shows again on 24H2. (7e0f7eb, b473114)
  • Start10: Fixed positioning when the taskbar is not placed at the bottom, on 24H2 and latest 22H2/23H2 builds. (de2532d, ea5881f)
  • Taskbar10: Fixed taskbar jump list flyout positioning when the taskbar is not placed at the bottom, on latest 22H2/23H2/24H2 builds. (39609e4)
  • Setup: Updated the code for dealing with locked files, this should reduce the chances of getting setup failures due to locked files. (7e0f7eb)
  • ep_taskbar: Fixed tray icons not being saved.
  • ep_taskbar: Removed the Copilot button on 22H2.

5​

  • Taskbar10: Fixed jump list positioning patch on latest builds with TaskbarJumplistOnHover feature flag. (#3615) (351a020)
  • Taskbar11: Fixed Task Manager menu entry doing nothing on 24H2+. (#3021, #3556) (060066c)
  • Start10: Fixed symbols mechanism when custom StartUI_.dll is used. (0f38628)
  • Start10: Increased reliability of ARM64 patterns for restoring the animations and fixing positioning. (#3566) (2ea3894)
  • ep_taskbar: Fixed the task band not having a handle when the taskbar is unlocked.
  • ep_taskbar: Fixed scroll arrows in window list popups (ExtendedUI) having weird appearance and behavior.

6​

  • Updates: Fixed a bug where empty UpdateURL registry values would break the updates system. (#3668) (ac14c75)
  • Setup: Cleaned some unneeded stuff in the setup binary. (9811810)
  • Misc: Restored exported functions for launching/restarting Explorer: ZZLaunchExplorer, ZZLaunchExplorerDelayed, and ZZRestartExplorer. (9811810)
 

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