Problem with ExamDiff 3.5 shell integration and PowerDesk 5

Enigma · Post by **Enigma** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 9:59 am

Hello,

yesterday I switched from ExamDiff Pro 3.4.2 to version 3.5.1.2. In the old version I had shell integration activated, so I chose this option again. Although there never had been a problem in 3.4.2, this now caused PowerDesk Pro 5.0.1.2 (my substitution for the Windows Explorer, see http://www.v-com.com/product/PowerDesk_Pro_Home.html for the actual version 6 - version 5 was better...

) to throw an error message

pdexplo.exe - Fehler in Anwendung: Die Anweisung in "0x00419e2b" verweist auf Speicher in "0x00000214". Der Vorgang "read" konnte nicht auf dem Speicher durchgeführt werden.

and to crash whenever I clicked on a file or directory with the right mouse button. When I switched off shell integration, PowerDesk worked again.

When I tried the Windows Explorer, it worked, but first I had a little problem like the one described in http://www.prestosoft.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=363: Two lines in the context menu were empty when I clicked on a graphics file with the right mouse button. After completely de- and reinstalling ExamDiff as well as PowerDesk, this second problem has gone, but the first one still exists.

Does anyone have an idea how to use the shell integration with PowerDesk again? I love and need both programs, and being able to choose files for comparing via PowerDesk saves me a lot of time. I'd switch back to ExamDiff 3.4.2 if version 3.5 didn't have the ability to add manual synchronization points as a new feature...

Thank you very much in advance!

Greetings,
Jan

Post by **psguru** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 2:15 pm

Interesting... I just tried PowerDesk 6.0.1.3 (Free), and it had no trouble with ExamDiff Pro 3.5's Shell Integration. Perhaps their Pro version crashes but I don't have one to test (they don't seem to offer a trial download for the Pro version).

Post by **psguru** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 2:28 pm

OK, I just tried the free version of 5.0.1.2, and the program (PowerDesk) did indeed crash.

Now, what crashes is their code, and I was going to suggest you to ask them to fix their tool. However, since version 6 already contains a fix, there's nothing to ask for.

Looks like you'll have to either switch to their version 6, or our version 3.4.2.

Enigma · Post by **Enigma** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 2:59 am

Thank you very much for your answers.

psguru wrote:Now, what crashes is their code

Well, this is of course quite likely. BUT...

psguru wrote:and I was going to suggest you to ask them to fix their tool. However, since version 6 already contains a fix, there's nothing to ask for.

Version 5 was (is) quite nice. Then the software was sold from Kroll Ontrack to VCOM, and all they did was making the program very colorful (not to say gaudy) and to remove some of the functionality. So buying version 6 is not an option for me.

psguru wrote:Looks like you'll have to either switch to their version 6, or our version 3.4.2.

I'm a registered user of ExamDiff Pro since February 2002 (version 2.7), and I'm using PowerDesk even longer. There has never been any problem. So maybe you'd nevertheless like to take a look at what you changed from version 3.4 to version 3.5...

Thanks again!

Greetings,
Jan

Post by **psguru** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 11:17 am

Well, I know what the changes were: we added support for Owner Draw menu items -- this was necessary in order to provide the proper transparency for the bitmaps under Vista, and is what more advanced Shell extensions (for one example of which look at TortoiseSVN) do under all versions of Windows.

The changes were tested under all supported versions of Windows, and even Win98 Shell had no troubles.

The only way I can think of for you to solve this problem is to use version 3.5 of ExamDiff Pro with the Shell extension ( EDPShell.dll) that was shipped with version 3.4. This will require some manual work from you but it's definitely doable.

Enigma · Post by **Enigma** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 2:31 pm

psguru wrote:Well, I know what the changes were: we added support for Owner Draw menu items -- this was necessary in order to provide the proper transparency for the bitmaps under Vista, and is what more advanced Shell extensions (for one example of which look at TortoiseSVN) do under all versions of Windows.

Okay, that's comprehensible. Thanks for the information.

psguru wrote:The only way I can think of for you to solve this problem is to use version 3.5 of ExamDiff Pro with the Shell extension ( EDPShell.dll) that was shipped with version 3.4. This will require some manual work from you but it's definitely doable.

This wouldn't be a problem.

I'm just taking a closer look at Directory Opus - I wonder why I haven't come across that one before. If it turns out to be stable and to suit all my needs, I'll scrap PowerDesk (in fact, I'm looking for a replacement). If not, may I contact you and ask for the steps I have to go through to implement the solution you drafted?

Greetings,
Jan

Post by **psguru** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 6:44 pm

If not, may I contact you and ask for the steps I have to go through to implement the solution you drafted?

Sure.

WYBaugh · Post by **WYBaugh** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 12:03 pm

Just as a note this problem also arises in Magellan Explorer v3.32 build 2305. It works correctly in Windows Explorer as would be expected.

I am running ExamDiff Pro v3.5.1.5

Thanks,

Bill

Enigma · Post by **Enigma** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 1:54 pm

Well, in the meantime I switched to Directory Opus (see link above). It's an absolutely magnificent piece of software - there seems to be nothing that can't be accomplished with it. Maybe you'd like to take a look at it...

Cheers,
Jan