NextSTART Frequently Asked Questions

Q) Will NextSTART slow down my system?

A) NextSTART is very light on resources, so any performance hit is negligible. You can run NextSTART without any problems on Pentium II machines at 150 MHz or even less.

Q) Is NextSTART compatible with Windows 95/98/ME and NT4 or does it work only on Windows 2000 and above?

A) NextSTART will run in all Windows versions, but some of the more advanced features, like per pixel alpha transparency, will not be available unless you are using Windows 2000 and above. Note that NextSTART gives theme authors a fall back mechanism that will make themes using per pixel alpha transparency display properly on Win9x/NT4 systems (without the per pixel alpha effects), but theme authors must explicitly take advantage of it.

Q) Is NextSTART compatible with Windows XP 64 bit and Windows Vista?

A) Yes.

Q) When running NextSTART some applications don't display properly or create screen artifacts (XP only).

A) NextSTART uses a new function in XP to display tasks as snapshots of the actual windows. This function is still somewhat buggy and some applications may not behave properly with it, resulting in the artifacts you see or in the application not displaying properly at all. With the problem application running,  CTRL-Right Click on the application's task icon. In the context menu that pops up, select 'Add to Snapshot Exclusion List'.

Q) WinDVD 7 and Roxyo Player 2.0 do not display video when NextSTART is running. Is there any way to fix this?

A) Yes, but be aware that this is a problem with the players themselves, not with NextSTART. You will have the same problem if you run any application that uses layered windows to obtain per pixel alpha transparency. Windows Media Player, PowerDVD and Ulead Player (and certainly most others) do not have this problem, for instance. To fix the problem in WinDVD and Roxyo, you must disable the video overlay mode in Advanced Options and restart the application.

Q) NextSTART crashes when I open the Control Panel menu!

A) This means one of your Control Panel applets is corrupt.

Q) How do I make NextSTART run automatically every time I reboot my computer?

A) Open the Global Preferences tab and enable 'Run NextSTART on Startup'.

Q) Can I run NextSTART as the shell?

A) NextSTART is a regular application that enhances the shell, not a shell replacement. You can run it as the shell, but this is not supported and you will lose your Systray, among other Explorer provided functions. Nothing stops you, however, from running NextSTART along with other shells - such as LiteStep or GeoShell.

Q) How do I install and preview downloaded themes?

A) Open the Themes tab in preferences. If you have downloaded the theme zip files to the \Winstep\AutoInstall folder, all you have to do is click on the Import button (the one with the box icon) and NextSTART will automatically install all of them. If not, you will first have to provide the path to where the theme zip files were downloaded. Once the themes have been installed, they will be available from the Load Theme combo box. Select the theme you want to preview and click on the Diskette button or click on the Preview button below. Once you are happy with the theme you selected, press the OK button in Preferences to make it effective.

Q) How do I prevent NextSTART from changing my wallpaper every time I change a theme?

A) Open the Themes Management tab in NextSTART Preferences and click on the Theme Options button . On the Load Theme Options dialog that pops up, make sure your wallpaper is set to 'Locked'. 

Q) I want to make my own theme. What is the best way to start?

A) Open the Themes Manager tab of NextSTART Preferences and select an existing theme as similar as possible to the theme you want to make. Now change the name of the theme to whatever you want, put your name in the Author box and save by clicking on the button with a picture of a diskette and pencil. NextSTART will automatically create a new theme folder, copy all the original bitmaps, fonts and configuration files into it, rename the configuration files so they match the name of your theme and add the new theme to the list of available themes. You can view the contents of this newly created folder in Explorer by clicking on the button with a picture of a folder, and you can now play with the theme settings and bitmaps safe in the knowledge that you are not changing a previously existing theme. 

Q) Can  I use the WIN or CTRL-ESC keys to pop up my NextSTART menu instead of the normal Windows Start Menu?

A) No, and this is by design. We feel that the Windows Start Menu should always be available in case a user deletes his NextSTART menu by accident or something bad like that... Besides, you can always use other hotkey combinations (CTRL-? or ALT-? key combinations) to invoke the hotspot associated to the main NextSTART menu - it's just a question of getting used to a new keyboard shortcut. NextSTART Corporate does allow you to disable the WIN and CTRL-ESC keys, but the intention here is to provide a secure desktop.

Q) How do I get my normal Windows taskbar back?

A) The easiest way is to open the Settings sub-menu in your main NextSTART menu and click on either 'Toggle NS Task Management' or 'Hide/Show Windows Taskbar'.

Q) NextSTART disabled Active Desktop on startup (after warning me about it) but now I want to enable it again. How do I do this?

A) Open NextSTART Preferences, go to the Global Preferences tab and click on the 'Enable Active Desktop' button. Alternatively open the Windows Registry Editor, look for 'HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\' and set 'NoActiveDesktop' to 0.

Q) I'm running Windows XP and some icons seem to be missing from the NextSTART systray! How do I get them back?

A) Temporarily turn off NextSTART task management (main NextSTART menu -> Settings -> Toggle NS Task Management), right click on an empty area of the Windows taskbar and select Properties from the context menu. Disable 'Hide inactive Icons'. Re-enable NextSTART Task Management.

Q) Why do my systray tooltips and right click menus pop up behind the NextSTART system tray?

A) Temporarily turn off NextSTART task management, right click on an empty area of the Windows taskbar and select Taskbar Properties. Set the Windows taskbar to be 'Always On Top'. This will solve your problem, but now the taskbar will be reserving screen space at the bottom. If you want to prevent it from doing this, drag the edge of the Windows taskbar down so only a thin line is visible. Re-enable NextSTART task management.

Q) How do I make NextSTART automatically hide my desktop icons when it runs?

A) Open the Global Preferences tab and enable 'Hide Desktop Icons on Startup'.

Q) I have enabled the 'Hide Desktop Icons' setting in Preferences, but the icons are still visible. How do I hide them?

A) That setting is used to make NextSTART hide desktop icons automatically next time it runs. To hide your desktop icons now, open the Settings sub-menu in your main NextSTART menu and click on 'Hide/Show Desktop Icons'.

Q) I want my menu to appear when I left click anywhere on the desktop, instead of having to use a Start Button look-alike. How do I do this?

A) Open the Hotspot Preferences tab and change the Launch With action to 'Left Click on Hotspot'. You might also want to enable 'Snap to Mouse'.

Q) I was playing with hotspots and I lost my Hotspot/Start button! How can I get it back?

A) Open the Hotspots Preferences tab and select 'Left Click on Hotspot Button' as the Launch With action for hotspot 0.

Q) I want my menu permanently on the screen until I close it manually. How can I do this?

A) Open the Hotspot Preferences tab and instead of 'Close All Menus' select 'Parent Menus Stay Open'.

Q) How do I make NextSTART automatically open a menu when it runs?

A) Open the Hotspot Preferences tab, select the hotspot associated to that menu and enable 'Auto Run'.

Q) I want to have another menu, besides the default one, permanently on the screen. However, when I access one menu the other closes and vice-versa. How can I have two or more independent menus simultaneously on the screen?

A) Open the Hotspot Preferences tab and give a different Group name to the hotspot associated with your permanent menu.

Q) How do I make a menu open in horizontal mode instead of vertical?

A) Open the Hotspot Preferences tab and enable 'Horizontal Menu' for the associated hotspot.

Q) I have created a new menu using the built-in Menu Editor but I do not see it anywhere! What is going on?

A) Most likely you have not associated your new menu to a hotspot. Open the Hotspot Preferences tab and click on 'Add' to create a new hotspot. Once your new hotspot has been configured you can associate your new menu to the new hotspot by selecting its name from the Menu Name combo box. Make sure your new hotspot does not overlap any previously existing ones (might be a good idea to select 'Bump Top Screen Edge' first as the Launch With action to make sure the new hotspot is active and working as intended).

Q) Can I drag items from NextSTART to WorkShelf and vice-versa?

A) Yes, just remember that to drag items from NextSTART menus you must press either the SHIFT (move) or CTRL (copy) keys while doing so.

Q) My computer does not Power Off or hangs when I select Shutdown Windows from the NextSTART menu?

A) Open the Global Preferences tab and enable 'Force Power Off'. If that still doesn't work, you might also try enabling 'Force Shutdown'.

Q) Help! I'm totally lost and I want my default NextSTART configuration back... How can I make it as it was?

A) NextSTART makes a backup of the default configuration when it runs for the first time. Open the Global Preferences tab and click on the Restore button. Look for a file named NsDefault.nbk in your Winstep folder.