Big Open Box for w98++

[Fredledingue]

Make "Open", "Save", "Save As" etc dialog box bigger by defaut.

Download it from my Webpage

I posted it a few months, maybe a year ago. Now I made an installer...

(in vbs of course.)

[CLASYS]

Lotsa problems with the installer. The DLL works as advertised; I just copied the file manually while in MS-DOS mode and rebooted.

Maybe because I am using 98lite? [Really shouldn't matter, as long as I am using 98lite CHUBBY or OVERWEIGHT. Clearly SLEEK and MICRO are totally incompatible because they use the 95 COMDLG32.DLL file, but I am using CHUBBY which uses the original which you patched, etc.]

After the vbscript errors, the reboot then got consequential errors then cleaned itself up.

Another thought: My bootup drive is F: although I did find 2omdlg32.dll in F:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM...

cjl

[Fredledingue]

Maybe because I am using 98lite? Really shouldn't matter, as long as I am using 98lite CHUBBY or OVERWEIGHT.

Please check your WSH version. It should be 5.6.

Downloadable on MDGx website, on microsoft website of course and if this link still works (nobody complained so far) the link is on my vbs page (see my signature).

It's true that on the download page I didn't warn of that. I will do it this evening.

Clearly SLEEK and MICRO are totally incompatible because they use the 95 COMDLG32.DLL file, but I am using CHUBBY which uses the original which you patched, etc.]

Thanks for this information. I will write this too on the webpage and in the readme.

After the vbscript errors, the reboot then got consequential errors then cleaned itself up.

I have no idea what you are talking about but you got an error then, as I understand, the system rebooted anyway when you were asked to and clicked "yes". Right?

No damage I hope...

Another thought: My bootup drive is F: although I did find 2omdlg32.dll in F:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM...

Normaly the installer should find that without error. I beleive you don't have WSH5.6 but it would be interresting to test.

Tomorrow I will post a test script for that, if you agree.

HTH

[Fredledingue]

Ok, I made a better and safer installer!

I forgot that many w98 machine didn't have WSH5.6.

If I have time I will write more code in a batch file so that the installer works on all w98 systems.

Note that's not a problem to use the patch because you will find the instruction to instal it manualy.

download here

98lite users will be happy I thought about them!

[jasinwa]

can you post a shot of what you mean bigger? Well, I know what bigger means....but do you offer handles, etc? There are already a number of programs that do this.....

[MDGx]

There is a similar tool...

Unofficial Windows 95/98/ME COMDLG32.DLL Dialog Resize Patch (freeware):

http://www.netcult.ch/elmue/ElmueSoft-en.htm

which resizes the dialog boxes.

I didn't read all instructions, so I don't know if it works ok [if the author even mentions] with all 9x OSes +/- 98lite.

HTH

[Fredledingue]

There is a similar tool...

Unofficial Windows 95/98/ME COMDLG32.DLL Dialog Resize Patch (freeware):

http://www.netcult.ch/elmue/ElmueSoft-en.htm

I tested it.

It works ok on my w98se. It's doing basicaly the same as my patch combo.

He sets "detail view" by default. It can be nice for some, but I don't like it and it's not optionable.

You can set the desired height of the box but not the width. So if you want a wider box, use my patch.

The author claims it works on almost every windows version, including XP I don't know if it useful to do that on XP.

There are already a number of programs that do this.....

There are a number of bad programs and a number of good programs. It's just that you have to find them and test them. (With this site alone you can spend quite a bit of time testing stuffs. Reading this page will take you already two hours.)

Look at the example above: one or two small details and the program is useless for me.

I also did a system files checker while I'm sure that there must be a choice of freewares that does the same thing and more reliably but I didn't find any so far (except the preinstalled one).

Same with calculators. I download and tried about 10 calculators replacement and ended up writing my own calc in VBScript (soon in HTA). 6 months later a guy published a new calculator executable with almost exactely the idea I had for the perfect calculator.

Sometimes you think that dozen of programs are doing a certain thing, that seems obvious, just to find out that they are either payware, huge bloat, slow, invasive, etc or not exactely what you were looking for.

TBS, I'm very happy to have created an installer in VBS. It's been a while I wanted to do that.

[CLASYS]

Regarding WSH:

When I am deciding to install your version, what do you want to know to ascertain the level of WSH present? [i believe I attempted to install it after the SESP2.1a, isn't that sufficient?]

The error messages went by quickly, but I believe they referred to files not found on drive C:, which I assume is related the fact that my system drive is F:. In any case, apparently you have a working mechanism that cleans up autoexec.bat which worked so it was too late to research them, etc.

This other program cited above may be limited compared to yours, but I am reading that it works on different systems meaning it has to find out what to do with multiply different comdlg32.dll files. As I understand it, yours only replaces the literal one in 98SE with a binary patched one. Thus, it would appear it is locating what to patch and dynamically applying the changes to the file present.

Assuming all of this, then it would appear your version could benefit from the same approach. The 98lie problem would go away, since you would notice that the 95 version [generally from Win95B] would be present, regardless of the fact this is 98 or 98SE or 98ME, and patch accordingly.

As to the wisdom of doing this in XP, I would say it's always a good thing to do. In XP, there can, by default but removable with TWEAKUI, be a lot of baggage that makes the thing larger than in 9x yet less usefull. Turning off all the fluff means we're pretty much at the standard 98SE version for the most part. I guess as long as it doesn't disturb any of the baggage, it doesn't hurt to enlarge the baggage department .

As to what view by default, it would be nice to be able to stick a user choice, to satisfy everyone. I believe in XP, it may even remember what to do if you change it, already implemented.

cjl

[PROBLEMCHYLD]

I think what you're doing is cool

I like scripts better than 3rd party apps

because scripts don't take up a lot of space for starters

and they are extremely lite on resources

when you get time don't forget

to create a script to open all windows in full screens

[Fredledingue]

CLASYS

Regarding WSH, the new installers check immediately if you have WSH5.6. If you don't: do it manualy and bye bye!

In fact, because of this requeriment the installer is practicaly for w98SE+uSP since there are not a lot of n00bs and less n00bs who thought of updating WSH (who use it beside me?).

(I should add this version check to all my scripts... BTW)

And about Windows directory on drive F: (F: after f**k or what? ), or there is a bug in VBS or it should find it. There is a special code for this.

What would be cool would be to add several hacks, different sizes for different OS flavors.

One downside is that once you patched you can't have the dialog smaller than the huge one I provided! You can't resize it down!

There are softwares like WinSize that resize it up, but they take some resource and blip a little bit because it take effect a few millisecond after the dialog appear in its defaut size. So patching is better.

PROBLEMCHILD

Scripts are low on resource... granted that they stop one day! If there is an infinite loop your processor will turn at 100% until you kill the task! But don't worry I'm careful to avoid that. Beside this danger, yes they stop all activity and clean all garbage they left in the memory once they finished their job.

I'm currently working like crazy on the Installed File Checker that is full of errors. I went to sleep at 5 am, if I still can call that sleeping because of that. + all the day today. I'm realy mad on this one because I can't understand exactely what my own program is doing nor even understand why he is making such errors.

My whife told me I should care about something else, so maybe I will look at the Windows Maximizer to change my mind. But I don't know if that's what my whife realy means...

[RJARRRPCGP]

Another thought: My bootup drive is F: although I did find 2omdlg32.dll in F:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM...

That can't be right! I don't think that's even possible under Windows 98!

First off, because FAT and FAT32 require the boot HDD to be drive C, AFAIK!

With NTFS, it can be as high as F. Windows 98 don't support NTFS, because it isn't NT-based!

Edited June 15, 2006 by RJARRRPCGP

[MDGx]

Another thought: My bootup drive is F: although I did find 2omdlg32.dll in F:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM...

That can't be right! I don't think that's even possible under Windows 98!

First off, because FAT and FAT32 require the boot HDD to be drive C, AFAIK!

With NTFS, it can be as high as F. Windows 98 don't support NTFS, because it isn't NT-based!

He probably meant that Win98 SE [%windir% in his case] is installed on F:\WINDOWS , I don't think he meant F is his actual boot drive/partition, which as you pointed out, must be C [in normal conditions, without using any "fancy" boot/MBR "loaders"] on all FAT16/FAT32 drives/partitions.

HTH

[MiKl]

Sorry for resurrecting this old thread but earlier today when I was annoyed again by this tiny little dialoge boxes of win98SE I thought that maybe some of the great guys here already supplied a solution.

Thanks, it works great !!

But I was wondering if it would be possible to update it so that the height can be adjusted again ??

Mikl

[CharlesF]

But I was wondering if it would be possible to update it so that the height can be adjusted again ??

Hi MiKl ,

I don't understand exactly what you are asking for.

The COMDLG32.DLL in your own language is easy to edit with Resource Hacker for instance,

and to modify to the size you like (Make a backup first!).

[MiKl]

Hi MiKl ,

I don't understand exactly what you are asking for.

The COMDLG32.DLL in your own language is easy to edit with Resource Hacker for instance,

and to modify to the size you like (Make a backup first!).

Hi Charles,

thanks for your reply. After applying the patch the heights of the boxes are fixed which is of course not the best solution.

But thank you for your tip about the ResourceHacker.

O.K. I have now opened the comdlg32.dll with it and I noticed several 'entries' for sizes.

Do you maybe know which one do I have to change ? All ?

Thanks,

Mikl

Edited June 20, 2012 by MiKl