RibbonWindow Blocks Auto-Hide Taskbar

Ribbon for WPF Forum

Posted 15 years ago by Mike Strobel - Software Engineer, CDC Software
Version: 4.5.0480
Platform: .NET 3.5
Environment: Windows Vista (32-bit)
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I have discovered a bug in which the RibbonWindow blocks access to the Windows taskbar:
  1. Right-click your Windows taskbar, click "Properties", check the option to "Auto-hide the taskbar", and apply if necessary.
  2. Launch the Document Editor Demo that ships with WPF Studio.
  3. Maximize the window.
  4. Move the mouse cursor to the bottom of the screen; the taskbar will not appear, or it will slide into place and then disappear.
Note: As I was writing this report, my boss walked in and I attempted to demonstrate the bug for him, but when I Alt+Tabbed back into Document Editor, the taskbar started showing up properly. I closed it and ran the demo again and successfully reproduced the bug. It appears there are some circumstances under which the taskbar is not blocked, so please try a few times if you cannot reproduce immediately.

Regards,
Mike

Comments (4)

Posted 15 years ago by Mike Strobel - Software Engineer, CDC Software
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Had I bothered to do a minimal test with a standard WPF window, I would have noticed that the same bug occurs for any System.Windows.Window with a WindowStyle of "None". It appears this bug is not unique to the RibbonWindow. However, the WPF Studio Sample Browser application, which also uses a RibbonWindow, does not block the taskbar. I am quite perplexed.

The fact that non-WPF windows with custom chrome (such as the actual Office 2007 apps) do not block the taskbar suggests that it may not be a Win32 problem. I tested Office 2007 apps with Aero/DWM enabled and disabled, and it does not block the taskbar in either case.

[Modified at 12/04/2008 01:24 PM]
Posted 15 years ago by Actipro Software Support - Cleveland, OH, USA
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Hi Mike,

Actually we have been looking into this from another customer's email. We found the same thing, that it's due to using a WindowStyle of None. We're trying to see if there is another way we can implement things to work around this.

The Sample Browser window is just a normal Window, not a RibbonWindow. That's why it doesn't exhibit this behavior.


Actipro Software Support

Posted 15 years ago by Mike Strobel - Software Engineer, CDC Software
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Funny, when I was testing with Aero disabled and saw the "Vista Basic" chrome on Sample Browser, my brain instantly thought "oh, that's the Aero-themed RibbonWindow chrome." I suppose that's a testament to the quality of your themes :).

I suspect it may be possible to work around the issue by making some Win32 calls. Good luck, and thanks for looking into the issue!

[Modified at 12/04/2008 01:29 PM]
Posted 15 years ago by Actipro Software Support - Cleveland, OH, USA
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We've fixed this issue for the next maintenance release. The auto-hide taskbar will show in the next build when used in both XP and Vista.


Actipro Software Support

The latest build of this product (v24.1.1) was released 1 month ago, which was after the last post in this thread.

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