[PS Tray Factory] requires the use of the windows key for hotkey configuration, instead of letting the user select from the CTRL + ALT combinations. Not a very major problem, but the option to use the windows logo key should be just that, optional.

-Josh (February 04, 2006, 11:04 PM)

The PS Tray Factory 2.5 hotkey settings do not require the Windows key.  For example, the hotkey settings in the attached file result in the hotkey being set to Ctrl+Alt+W.  The Windows key isn't part of it unless the "Win" checkbox is selected.  Those checkboxes don't enable/disable the hotkeys (for that, press Ctrl while the cursor is in the hotkey text box, to set it to "None").

I guess I have an amazing knack for uncovering software problems.  Not that this is a good thing.  But I still can't get a job as a software tester.  Go figure.

Anyway, I'm using Directory Opus 9.0.0.9 under WinXP.  Since I am a new user, I found myself creating a bunch of favorites.  I noticed that at some point, DOpus began doing something strange with the favorites as I'd add them: I'd tell it to put it in one favorites group, but instead of putting it in that group, it would create a new group of the same name, with the new group a subfolder of another group, and put the new favorite there instead.

The author said he could not reproduce this problem.

So, I turned once again to my trusty VMware, and a 100% clean copy of WinXP.  I reproduced the issue immediately, and made a video of it.  The attached ZIP archive contains an AVI file that uses the standard Microsoft Video 1 codec.

I begin with two groups of Favorites--one is named C: and the other is named D:.  In the video, you can very plainly see what happens:

1. I select a folder in the tree, then select Favorites > Add to Favorites.

2. I very definitely select the D: group (at 00:03 for those following along), and click OK.  You can see in the video at this point that there are no other groups present.

3. I go to Favorites > Edit Favorites, and find that rather than having the new favorite placed in the D: group I selected, DOpus has created a new group named D: (under the preexisting group named C:), and placed the new favorite there.

Can anyone else reproduce this?

Beautiful.  Unassociated third-party confirmation.  I appreciate it.

So, here we have:

• A standard Windows folder.  Yes, naming with brackets (i.e. []) may be somewhat unusual, but it is perfectly allowable to the file system, and to Windows.
• A standard Windows shortcut file, that points to another standard Windows folder.  The shortcut target is not present, but this is also not an abnormal or unacceptable situation; shortcuts may point to network drives, removable drives, encrypted volumes, and other resources that are not always available.  The target must exist when the shortcut is created, but Windows does not go nuts or refuse to boot if the shortcut target disappears afterward.

Unless someone can contort logic enough to claim that a shortcut with an invalid target under the SendTo menu should make Directory Opus crash, I do believe I've found a bug.  The author just replied to me via email and says he will look into it.  He didn't say so explicitly, but I think he was able to reproduce it on his end as well...

This one was tough!  Thank you very much for the confirmation, guys.