I posted a message here a number of months back about a recurring animation
problem, but some placed the blame on my admittedly aging installation of XP.
However, that's not the case anymore!

I repeatedly have to uncheck Control Panel > System > Advanced tab > Performance
area > Settings > "Animate windows when minimizing and maximizing." But
something keeps turning it back on (nobody ever touches my computer except me)!
This is on a clean re-installation of XP. Is there any way to keep that
cartoonish option turned off permanently???

It would seem XP has been around long enough not to have such problems, but I'm
starting to think... (oh, perish the thought)... BUG!!!

ChrisM

MS Word 2002 kept changing this on my machine.

Display Properties | Appearance tab | Effects button |
It kept placing a gray checkmark in: Use the following transition effects
for menus and tooltips: Fade effect

Use the following transition effect for menus and tooltips:
[[Specifies whether to activate animations for menu commands and other
Windows elements. Animations change how menus, lists, and tooltips open and
close.]]

Menu under Use the following transition effect for menus and tooltips:
[[Lists the available transition effects. Click Scroll effect for menus,
lists, and tooltips to slide in and out, or click Fade effect to allow them
to fade-in when you open them and dissolve when you close them.]]

With the gray checkmark I could toggle it into three states; blank, gray
checkmark and black checkmark. Probably green if you have the Themes
service running and using XP theme instead of Classic theme like I use. I
hate any of that effect crap and normally have it all disabled.

I'm using Word 2002 and if I have it open for any length of time, Word would
change the above setting.

This is a hard SOB of a setting to find, let alone remember.

Animate menus
1. On any toolbar, click the Toolbar Options arrow.
2. Point to Add or Remove Buttons and then click Customize.
3. Click the Options tab.
4. Under Menu animations, select (System default).

Menu animations
[[Changes the way menus display when you click on a command. For example,
Slide Menu Animation causes the menus to display with a sliding motion.]]

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In news:(E-Mail Removed),
Chris May <(E-Mail Removed)> hunted and pecked:
> I posted a message here a number of months back about a recurring
> animation problem, but some placed the blame on my admittedly aging
> installation of XP. However, that's not the case anymore!
>
> I repeatedly have to uncheck Control Panel > System > Advanced tab >
> Performance area > Settings > "Animate windows when minimizing and
> maximizing." But something keeps turning it back on (nobody ever touches
> my computer except me)! This is on a clean re-installation of XP. Is
> there any way to keep that cartoonish option turned off permanently???
>
> It would seem XP has been around long enough not to have such problems,
> but I'm starting to think... (oh, perish the thought)... BUG!!!
>
> ChrisM

On Fri, 8 Dec 2006 11:29:00 -0800, nass pondered exceedingly, then took quill in
hand and carefully composed...

| HI Chris,
| Yes you will have this option checked every time for simple reason,I think
| you left the option/Radio Button check for Let windows choose what's best for
| my computer.
| But if you want to customize your computer try to check the Custom Radio
| Button.
| So your settings will be like this:
| ( )Let windows choose what's the best for my computer
| ( ) Adjust for best Performance
| ( )Adjust for best Appearnce
| (*)Cusom:
| -------------------------------------------
| [ ]Animate windows when minimizing and maximizing
| [ ]Fade or slide menus into view
| [ ] Show translucent selection rectangle
| [ ] Blah blah
| and so on you choose what you want to run.
| Hope this what you after.
| Regards,
| nass

Thanks, nass. But that's the way mine has been set all along. Something is
changing the setting, but I just can't discover what.

ChrisM

On Fri, 8 Dec 2006 14:03:32 -0700, Wesley Vogel pondered exceedingly, then took
quill in hand and carefully composed...

| This is a hard SOB of a setting to find, let alone remember.
|
| Animate menus
| 1. On any toolbar, click the Toolbar Options arrow.
| 2. Point to Add or Remove Buttons and then click Customize.
| 3. Click the Options tab.
| 4. Under Menu animations, select (System default).
|
| Menu animations
| [[Changes the way menus display when you click on a command. For example,
| Slide Menu Animation causes the menus to display with a sliding motion.]]

Unfortunately, that option is already set to "System default." The setting I've
been having to change and keeps getting changed back by something has to be in
the Registry somewhere. I'd like to find it, set it to "0" there, and remove
all permissions, including the system, except mine for that particular function.
That may not work, but I'd like to try it anyway.

Thanks anyway, Wesley.

ChrisM

UserPreferencesMask
HKCU\Control Panel\Desktop
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/pro....mspx?mfr=true

<quote>
[[TIP
UserPreferencesMask is an example of a REG_DWORD value disguised as a
REG_BINARY value. When you see a 32-bit binary value, chances are, it's
really a double-word value. In that case, you can safely replace the value
with a REG_DWORD. Don't forget that Windows XP uses the little-endian
architecture, though, so it stores double-word values in reverse-byte order.
In other words, you replace the REG_BINARY value 0x04 0x03 0x02 0x01 with
the REG_DWORD 0x01020304. See Chapter 1, "Learning the Basics," for a
refresher on little-endian architecture and bitwise math.]]

From...
Microsoft® Windows® XP Registry Guide
Chapter 5: Mapping Tweak UI
http://www.microsoft.com/mspress/boo...pchap/6232.asp

If you do not have the book, click the link.

Also see this...
General
Table 5-1 Values in General
http://www.microsoft.com/mspress/boo...p/6232.asp#100

Chapter 5 is TweakUI Registry Settings. Everything you wanted to know.
<quote>
from...
http://groups.google.com/group/micro...c816a03c6ef2b7

<quote>
Figure 5-1 Many of these settings are in the Performance Options dialog box.
Right-click My Computer, click Properties, and in the Performance area of
the Advanced tab of the Properties dialog box, click Settings.

You see all the settings in the General category in Table 5-1. One value
needs a bit of explaining, though: UserPreferencesMask. The bits in this
REG_BINARY value are various settings, which Chapter 4, "Hacking the
Registry," and Appendix B, "Per-User Settings," describe in detail. To turn
on a setting, set the appropriate bit to 1 in UserPreferencesMask. To turn
off a setting, clear the corresponding bit. The number in the Data column
tells you which bit to toggle. The easiest way to toggle the bit is to use
Calculator in scientific mode. Bitwise math is beyond most simple scripting
techniques, including REG files. If you want to create a script to change
the settings in UserPreferencesMask, use INF files or look to Windows
Scripting Host (see Chapter 9, "Scripting Registry Changes").
<quote>
http://www.microsoft.com/mspress/boo...chap/6232.aspx

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In news:(E-Mail Removed),
Chris May <(E-Mail Removed)> hunted and pecked:
> On Fri, 8 Dec 2006 14:03:32 -0700, Wesley Vogel pondered exceedingly,
> then took quill in hand and carefully composed...
>
>> This is a hard SOB of a setting to find, let alone remember.
>>
>> Animate menus
>> 1. On any toolbar, click the Toolbar Options arrow.
>> 2. Point to Add or Remove Buttons and then click Customize.
>> 3. Click the Options tab.
>> 4. Under Menu animations, select (System default).
>>
>> Menu animations
>> [[Changes the way menus display when you click on a command. For
>> example, Slide Menu Animation causes the menus to display with a
>> sliding motion.]]
>
> Unfortunately, that option is already set to "System default." The
> setting I've been having to change and keeps getting changed back by
> something has to be in the Registry somewhere. I'd like to find it, set
> it to "0" there, and remove all permissions, including the system, except
> mine for that particular function. That may not work, but I'd like to try
> it anyway.
>
> Thanks anyway, Wesley.
>
> ChrisM

On Mon, 11 Dec 2006 18:59:54 -0700, Wesley Vogel pondered exceedingly, then took
quill in hand and carefully composed...

| UserPreferencesMask
| HKCU\Control Panel\Desktop
| http://www.microsoft.com/technet/pro....mspx?mfr=true
|
| <quote>
| [[TIP
| UserPreferencesMask is an example of a REG_DWORD value disguised as a
| REG_BINARY value. When you see a 32-bit binary value, chances are, it's
| really a double-word value. In that case, you can safely replace the value
| with a REG_DWORD. Don't forget that Windows XP uses the little-endian
| architecture, though, so it stores double-word values in reverse-byte order.
| In other words, you replace the REG_BINARY value 0x04 0x03 0x02 0x01 with
| the REG_DWORD 0x01020304. See Chapter 1, "Learning the Basics," for a
| refresher on little-endian architecture and bitwise math.]]
|
| From...
| Microsoft® Windows® XP Registry Guide
| Chapter 5: Mapping Tweak UI
| http://www.microsoft.com/mspress/boo...pchap/6232.asp
|
| If you do not have the book, click the link.
|
| Also see this...
| General
| Table 5-1 Values in General
| http://www.microsoft.com/mspress/boo...p/6232.asp#100
|
| Chapter 5 is TweakUI Registry Settings. Everything you wanted to know.
| <quote>
| from...
| http://groups.google.com/group/micro...c816a03c6ef2b7
|
| <quote>
| Figure 5-1 Many of these settings are in the Performance Options dialog box.
| Right-click My Computer, click Properties, and in the Performance area of
| the Advanced tab of the Properties dialog box, click Settings.
|
| You see all the settings in the General category in Table 5-1. One value
| needs a bit of explaining, though: UserPreferencesMask. The bits in this
| REG_BINARY value are various settings, which Chapter 4, "Hacking the
| Registry," and Appendix B, "Per-User Settings," describe in detail. To turn
| on a setting, set the appropriate bit to 1 in UserPreferencesMask. To turn
| off a setting, clear the corresponding bit. The number in the Data column
| tells you which bit to toggle. The easiest way to toggle the bit is to use
| Calculator in scientific mode. Bitwise math is beyond most simple scripting
| techniques, including REG files. If you want to create a script to change
| the settings in UserPreferencesMask, use INF files or look to Windows
| Scripting Host (see Chapter 9, "Scripting Registry Changes").
| <quote>
| http://www.microsoft.com/mspress/boo...chap/6232.aspx

Thanks very much for this extensive and useful info. A little checking around
in this area turned up a setting that looked suspicious. It's HK_C_U\Control
Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics > MinAnimate. A bit of googling around produced
some solid confirmation:

http://technet2.microsoft.com/Window....mspx?mfr=true

Fortunately, this setting is simple string zero. The value is "0" now as it
should be. Rather than doing anything at this stage, I'll wait for that box to
get mysteriously checked again and then look back at the registry value to see
if it's at "1." If it is, I'll change it back to "0" and start denying some
permissions. I'll post the eventual results here.

Wesley, thanks again for your obvious work in leading me to the right area.

ChrisM

Thanks for the tip, Chris.

I hate it when there is more than one place in the registry that can control
something. But it doesn't matter whether that setting is changed in the
registry directly or from the GUI, the result's usually the same.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In news:(E-Mail Removed),
Chris May <(E-Mail Removed)> hunted and pecked:
> On Mon, 11 Dec 2006 18:59:54 -0700, Wesley Vogel pondered exceedingly,
> then took quill in hand and carefully composed...
>
>> UserPreferencesMask
>> HKCU\Control Panel\Desktop
>>
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/pro....mspx?mfr=true
>>
>> <quote>
>> [[TIP
>> UserPreferencesMask is an example of a REG_DWORD value disguised as a
>> REG_BINARY value. When you see a 32-bit binary value, chances are, it's
>> really a double-word value. In that case, you can safely replace the
>> value with a REG_DWORD. Don't forget that Windows XP uses the
>> little-endian architecture, though, so it stores double-word values in
>> reverse-byte order. In other words, you replace the REG_BINARY value
>> 0x04 0x03 0x02 0x01 with the REG_DWORD 0x01020304. See Chapter 1,
>> "Learning the Basics," for a refresher on little-endian architecture
>> and bitwise math.]]
>>
>> From...
>> Microsoft® Windows® XP Registry Guide
>> Chapter 5: Mapping Tweak UI
>> http://www.microsoft.com/mspress/boo...pchap/6232.asp
>>
>> If you do not have the book, click the link.
>>
>> Also see this...
>> General
>> Table 5-1 Values in General
>> http://www.microsoft.com/mspress/boo...p/6232.asp#100
>>
>> Chapter 5 is TweakUI Registry Settings. Everything you wanted to know.
>> <quote>
>> from...
>>
http://groups.google.com/group/micro...c816a03c6ef2b7
>>
>> <quote>
>> Figure 5-1 Many of these settings are in the Performance Options dialog
>> box. Right-click My Computer, click Properties, and in the Performance
>> area of the Advanced tab of the Properties dialog box, click Settings.
>>
>> You see all the settings in the General category in Table 5-1. One value
>> needs a bit of explaining, though: UserPreferencesMask. The bits in this
>> REG_BINARY value are various settings, which Chapter 4, "Hacking the
>> Registry," and Appendix B, "Per-User Settings," describe in detail. To
>> turn on a setting, set the appropriate bit to 1 in UserPreferencesMask.
>> To turn off a setting, clear the corresponding bit. The number in the
>> Data column tells you which bit to toggle. The easiest way to toggle
>> the bit is to use Calculator in scientific mode. Bitwise math is beyond
>> most simple scripting techniques, including REG files. If you want to
>> create a script to change the settings in UserPreferencesMask, use INF
>> files or look to Windows Scripting Host (see Chapter 9, "Scripting
>> Registry Changes"). <quote>
>> http://www.microsoft.com/mspress/boo...chap/6232.aspx
>
> Thanks very much for this extensive and useful info. A little checking
> around in this area turned up a setting that looked suspicious. It's
> HK_C_U\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics > MinAnimate. A bit of
> googling around produced some solid confirmation:
>
>
http://technet2.microsoft.com/Window....mspx?mfr=true
>
> Fortunately, this setting is simple string zero. The value is "0" now as
> it should be. Rather than doing anything at this stage, I'll wait for
> that box to get mysteriously checked again and then look back at the
> registry value to see if it's at "1." If it is, I'll change it back to
> "0" and start denying some permissions. I'll post the eventual results
> here.
>
> Wesley, thanks again for your obvious work in leading me to the right
> area.
>
> ChrisM