SngBrdb Posted September 29, 2008 Posted September 29, 2008 (edited) Searched for this as a previous tweak here, couldn't find it... sorry if it's old hat to anyone! I had this crazy idea the other day... lots of people know the property sheet guid for Author, Title, etc. is {883373C3-BF89-11D1-BE35-080036B11A03}. These properties are stored as alternate data streams in the file. You can right-click just about any file, go to properties, and you'll see a 'Summary' tab where you can set these (and an advanced button to access a few more). Knowing only the basics of ADS, I wondered if folders could have them. So I went to the following registry key: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shellex\PropertySheetHandlers ... and added {883373C3-BF89-11D1-BE35-080036B11A03} as a sub-key. I figured I would either have the coolest tweak I'd seen in a long time, or my hard drive would melt. Lo 'n Behold, it worked! Now I can select a dozen folders, right-click, and set categories!! What's the point? See picture: Add the column 'categories' (mine is sized to be hidden), and pick 'show in groups'. Voilà! The property sheets: Complete registry file follows... copy and paste into a file called categories.reg; right-click and 'merge'. Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shellex\PropertySheetHandlers\{883373C3-BF89-11D1-BE35-080036B11A03}] @="Summary Properties Page" Edited May 7, 2016 by SngBrdb Added images back now that uploads are allowed
fdv Posted September 29, 2008 Posted September 29, 2008 (edited) Searched for this as a previous tweak here, couldn't find it... sorry if it's old hat to anyone! ! To look at this, it seems obvious... once you actually see it. But honestly I never would have thought of it. AFAIK this is 100% original and all yours, and it's really nice. General note: XP onlyedit:By the way here it is in INF formatHKCR,"Folder\shellex\PropertySheetHandlers\{883373C3-BF89-11D1-BE35-080036B11A03}",,,"Summary Properties Page" Edited September 29, 2008 by fdv
bclem Posted October 27, 2008 Posted October 27, 2008 Hi SngBrdb,Many many thanks! For a long time I have quietly cursed the lack of a Properties page for Explorer folders, as I use file Summary fields (Subject, Author, Title, Comments, etc) extensively. Now I can add these fields to my folders as well as files, giving me the ability to sort & group properly (I use Directory Opus, which allows mixing files and folders). This was such a magical advance in my work process that I had to take time to register on this forum in order to thank you. Major kudos and thanks! Bruce Clemence
zandifer Posted August 18, 2009 Posted August 18, 2009 Does anyone know how to do this in Vista (64 bit)??? Or Windows 7?
SngBrdb Posted August 19, 2009 Author Posted August 19, 2009 fdv says it only works in XP... not sure why that would be, but I'm guessing that Vista uses a different property handler to retrieve and display this information in explorer.Some initial digging led me here: http://blogs.msdn.com/benkaras/archive/200...accomplish.aspxFrom the article:The list of properties to show in the preview pane is determined by a "proplist" in the registry filed under your filetype's progid. If the proplist isn't found, the system will fall back to a number of places, but usually settles on HKCR\*. Take a look at PreviewDetails and FullDetails. Follow that format to specify a fully list of properties that you want to see for your file type. I'll be covering the details later in this series.The CLSID is not mentioned in the documentation at the moment, but it's pretty easy to find. I just opened regedit and looked for the property handler for .doc files. Since you're also using OLE Compound Documents, the handler works for you too. I think what he's saying is to look at HKCR\*, and there should be a PreviewDetails and FullDetails section, similar to PropertySheetHandler on XP? And under there you would see how to set your own properties for the Folder file type.I would then navigate to HKCR\Folder and try to mimic what you're seeing under HKCR\*, making sure there is a 'category' property? The article here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb...28VS.85%29.aspx may provide some useful insights.Without Vista to play with, that is my best guess... post here if you come up with something that works!
mrjonnyHello Posted April 23, 2016 Posted April 23, 2016 (edited) On 9/29/2008 at 1:43 PM, SngBrdb said: Searched for this as a previous tweak here, couldn't find it... sorry if it's old hat to anyone! I had this crazy idea the other day... lots of people know the property sheet guid for Author, Title, etc. is {883373C3-BF89-11D1-BE35-080036B11A03}. These properties are stored as alternate data streams in the file. You can right-click just about any file, go to properties, and you'll see a 'Summary' tab where you can set these (and an advanced button to access a few more). Knowing only the basics of ADS, I wondered if folders could have them. So I went to the following registry key: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shellex\PropertySheetHandlers ... and added {883373C3-BF89-11D1-BE35-080036B11A03} as a sub-key. I figured I would either have the coolest tweak I'd seen in a long time, or my hard drive would melt. Lo 'n Behold, it worked! Now I can select a dozen folders, right-click, and set categories!! What's the point? See picture: I would love to see the picture!! Quote Add the column 'categories' (mine is sized to be hidden) how do you do this, and... why? ta Edited April 24, 2016 by mrjonnyHello
SngBrdb Posted May 7, 2016 Author Posted May 7, 2016 (edited) When I originally posted this, you could only link to images, not upload them - the site I had them listed on is long gone. But you're in luck, I can upload them now To group by the column in Windows 7, right-click the background in Windows Explorer and click "Group By". In the list of columns displayed, check "Category". Then right-click the background in Windows Explorer and click "Group By" to select "Category", because Microsoft After that, you can right-click the headers and uncheck "Category" from the displayed columns; the Group By Category will remain. If you get this to work in Win7 or later, let me know what you had to do! . Edited May 7, 2016 by SngBrdb Missed answering a question
okkanii Posted February 12, 2020 Posted February 12, 2020 (edited) Hey, I've altered the system registry and actually managed to insert the Summary in folders Properties pages (I'm using windows 10). However, the "description" column is quite scarse and unchangable! I've tried so many different registry alterations but none of them has given any results. I was wondering if you might have any insights on how to fix this...... it's kind of a big deal to me at the moment Edited February 12, 2020 by okkanii
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