Seeking WinXP file info pop-up app

[Mateo1041]

Hello,

I'm looking for an application that would replace the standard Windows XP file information pop-up when hovering the mouse over a file for a period of time. I've about had it with how buggy this feature is in Windows.

Anyone know of any replacement apps/tools that do the same kind of thing, but actually work 100%? I've searched, but can't find anything at all that does this.

Any insight would be appreciated.

Thanks,

- Matt

[Mateo1041]

Still no luck, although I did find this is called an InfoTip.

[ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb]

Can you explain more what's "buggy" about this feature? I've never experienced any problem with it.

[Mateo1041]

Thanks for the reply. A few things actually:

1. The InfoTip will only appear for an active window. I can't get the information to appear for windows that aren't active.
   
2. Sometimes the InfoTip won't appear at all and gets into this "stuck" state, even with the window being active. This happens a lot, even after a fresh Windows XP install. Clicking around a bit and making the window inactive/active again often fixes this, but it's annoying.
   
3. I would ideally like the delay to be near instantaneous without the long delay that currently exists.
   

Of course, I'd be happy as a clam if every one of the above items could be fixed.

[ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb]

Maybe the best thing to do is wait until tomorrow, when Windows XP Service Pack 3 will be released. It's very large, so there is a chance that your problem will be fixed.

[MANEMAN]

Try Here:

http://www.freewaregenius.com/2008/03/12/f...ost-file-types/

[Mateo1041]

Thanks for the link. While it doesn't solve the issue, I found FileTip and ThumbView to be especially useful in their own right.

From what I've found, Windows XP doesn't have an "InfoTip Delay" setting in the registry. Just about every application I've found piggybacks on the default InfoTip rather than replace it.

[MANEMAN]

"Hover" time can be extended with "TweakUI" / Mouse / Hover Time.

Although primarily for Vista this article will give you some insight into "Infotips" http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa511495.aspx

Going even deeper !!! Try here: http://www.delphi3000.com/articles/article_950.asp?SK=

[Mateo1041]

Thanks. Tried TweakUI, but changing the mouse hover does absolutely nothing that I can tell. :-( The links are interesting, but not really what I'm looking for.

[Watchful]

I haven't experienced any problems with this feature, active or inactive, either so I just checked my settings and they are as follows:

Performance & Maintenance -System -System Properties - Advanced tab - Performance - Settings, which brings you to Performance Options - Visual effects: here I have marked (adjust for best appearance) and all the boxes are ticked.

This may be of help if you set yours the same way.

[Mateo1041]

Thanks, but not sure I follow where that's located. Although I'm not sure my issue has anything to do with a performance issue. It's more of a gripe about the built-in Windows InfoTip function.

I really do appreciate all the replies. Maybe this is something that just isn't possible in Windows. I may end up creating my own tool for this that's a replacement.

[Watchful]

It's easily located from Start/Control Panel in category view (XP) or Start/System under Classical view then just follow path as I described above. It's worth checking out.

[MANEMAN]

"I may end up creating my own tool for this that's a replacement."

I think you may have a good source of ideas in the links I gave you. (That's why I gave them to you)

Developers:/ Design concepts / Discoverability / Appropriate timeouts / Usage patterns

[Mateo1041]

To follow up on this, it doesn't appear to help much, Pushkin. But thanks anyway. FYI, I did find another alternative and that may be something along the lines of apps like XYplorer. I may tinker with creating my own when I have time. Thanks everyone. Windows just isn't flexible like I had hoped (but then again, this is Microsoft we're talking about here).