I have a folder structure within My Pictures - and all the folders are intended to open in thumbnail

[Chris]

I have a folder structure within My Pictures - and all the folders are
intended to open in thumbnail view.

And that is what has happened ... until recently.
Now the latest folders always open in details view - and then have to be
changed to thumbnails.

I haven't found the reason. Any suggestions?

 

[Keith Miller MVP]

Most likely, saved views are being lost because the limit has been reached and older views are being
deleted. I've written a script to apply a custom view to all subfolders of a given folder. Here's
the link:

http://mysite.verizon.net/res18hr7/FVM3.zip

 

[Chris]

Most likely, saved views are being lost because the limit has been
reached and older views are being deleted. I've written a script to
apply a custom view to all subfolders of a given folder. Here's the
link:
http://mysite.verizon.net/res18hr7/FVM3.zip

Thanks Keith. A couple of questions first, if you don't mind.
What is this "limit"?
What is actually being limited - and to what extent?
And is there any documentation for your script?
I daren't run anything I don't understand - and therefore would have to
get someone to check it.

 

[Keith Miller MVP]

writes



Thanks Keith. A couple of questions first, if you don't mind.
What is this "limit"?

In the absence of a REG_DWORD value named "BagMRU Size", found under this registry key:

"HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam"

the hard-coded limit is 400. If "BagMRU Size" exists, it can be any value up to 8000 decimal. If
you installed SP-2, "BagMRU Size" should exist & be set to 5000.

What is actually being limited - and to what extent?

The reg key:

"HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam\BagMRU" serves as an index to the saved views. It &
its subkeys are a mirror of the computer's namespace, with BagMRU itself corresponding to the
Desktop. If a value named "Nodeslot" is present in a subkey, that means there are view settings
saved under:

"HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam\Bags"

with the Nodeslot value corresponding to one of the numbered subkeys of "Bags"

What is being limited is the number of index entries. An entry is created when a folder is opened
or even simply traversed (as in navigating to a subfolder via the common Open/Save dialog). Once
this limit is reached, 'older' saved views are deleted to make room for new ones. Older is in
quotes because the method used to determined which view to delete is far from perfect

And is there any documentation for your script?

There is a readme.txt file in the .zip folder along with the script itself. The script can be
examined in any text editor.

I daren't run anything I don't understand - and therefore would have to get someone to check it.

I understand your aprehension. Feel free to have it examined. You also might want to google the XP
groups for "fvm" where the author is Keith Miller. You should find some threads with positive
replies. Just one note, some older posts will refer to FVM.zip and/or FVM2.zip. These are older
versions, 3 is the one to use.

 

[Chris]

What is being limited is the number of index entries. An entry is
created when a folder is opened or even simply traversed (as in
navigating to a subfolder via the common Open/Save dialog). Once this
limit is reached, 'older' saved views are deleted to make room for new
ones. Older is in quotes because the method used to determined which
view to delete is far from perfect

Thankyou Keith. I have now found a Microsoft reference:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/813711/
and the strange thing about that is that it says the problem is fixed by
installing the latest service pack.

Now, I always run a fully patched system, and have had SP2 since the day
it came out, so what do Microsoft mean by that?

And thanks for your understanding response to my paranoia!
I will check out references to your patch - and the fact that you
invited me to lends credit to your authenticity. I am the most
ridiculously cautious person - and it has paid off handsomely!

Do Microsoft mean you have to install SP2 - and then do the workaround?
As well?

 

[Keith Miller MVP]

Thankyou Keith. I have now found a Microsoft reference:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/813711/
and the strange thing about that is that it says the problem is fixed by installing the latest
service pack.

Now, I always run a fully patched system, and have had SP2 since the day it came out, so what do
Microsoft mean by that?

And thanks for your understanding response to my paranoia!
I will check out references to your patch - and the fact that you invited me to lends credit to
your authenticity. I am the most ridiculously cautious person - and it has paid off handsomely!

Do Microsoft mean you have to install SP2 - and then do the workaround?
As well?

No, installation of SP2 should add the entry. But have you taken a look for yourself?

You can copy the text below & save as a .vbs file. When you run it, it will tell you your view
limit, number of index entries, & number of actual saved views (these numbers can differ because
'Apply to All Folders' & 'Reset All Folders' delete the views while leaving the index entries).
This will let us know if your problem is caused by a full index. I know you're cautious, but you
can see it only reads information (RegRead & EnumKey) from the registry -- it doesn't create or
modify anything.

----------------------------
Const conBagMRUSize = _
"HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam\BagMRU Size"
Const conBagMRUNodeSlots = _
"HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam\BagMRU\NodeSlots"
Const HKCU = &H80000001
Const conBagsPath = "Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam\Bags"

dim oWshShell, oRegistry, iLimit, iMRUEntries, arrSubKeys, iBagCount

'Assign objects
Set oWshShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")

s1 = "winmgmts:{impersonationLevel=impersonate}"
s2 = "!\\.\root\default:StdRegProv"
Set oRegistry = GetObject(s1 & s2)

On Error Resume Next
iLimit = oWshShell.RegRead(conBagMRUSize)
If Err.Number <> 0 Then iLimit = 400
On Error Goto 0

iMRUEntries = UBound(oWshShell.RegRead(conBagMRUNodeSlots)) + 1

oRegistry.EnumKey HKCU, conBagsPath, arrSubKeys
iBagCount = UBound(arrSubKeys) + 1

sMsg = "Max Views = " & iLimit & vbcrlf & _
"Index Entry Count = " & iMRUEntries & vbcrlf & _
"Saved View Count = " & iBagCount
Msgbox sMsg

 

[Chris]

No, installation of SP2 should add the entry. But have you taken a look for yourself?

Keith - I have bitten the bullet and run your script!
First it produced a message saying that there was a policy in place that
prevented the saving of the settings for a folder; that the said policy
had been cancelled; and that I should log off and on.

I rebooted, and carried on with your script, and it does seem to have
done the trick, for which I am truly grateful, and for which I thank
you.

However, I am puzzled about that policy thing!
How could that have happened?
I haven't changed anything recently - and my machine is set up in a very
standard way. Anything come to mind?

 

[Keith Miller MVP]

Keith - I have bitten the bullet and run your script!
First it produced a message saying that there was a policy in place that
prevented the saving of the settings for a folder; that the said policy
had been cancelled; and that I should log off and on.

I rebooted, and carried on with your script, and it does seem to have
done the trick, for which I am truly grateful, and for which I thank
you.

However, I am puzzled about that policy thing!
How could that have happened?
I haven't changed anything recently - and my machine is set up in a very
standard way. Anything come to mind?

You're welcome, Chris. Glad it worked for you.

The policy is "NoSaveSettings" found under:

"HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer"

or

"HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\policies\Explorer"

In the Group Policy Editor, the setting is found under:

User Configuration -> Admin Templates -> Desktop -> "Don't save settings at exit"

Don't know how it got set on your computer, but you can take some comfort in the fact that it seems
to be a fairly common problem. I believe Kelly's .reg file to turn it off (found at:
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm ) is one of her most popular.