Disable Acrobat DC acrotray.exe

Adobe Acrobat DC installation is very intrusive, creating things that may slow your Windows 10 down. This is how you disable the worst offenders.

Remove the update service:

1. run services.msc and look for “Adobe Acrobat Update Service”;
2. right click, “Stop”;
3. right-click, “Properties”;
4. set “Startup type” to “Disabled”.

Disable the Explorer context menu and acrotray.exe:

1. open Registry;
2. locate Computer\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\Adobe.Acrobat.ContextMenu;
3. there will be a value like {A6595CD1-BF77-430A-A452-18696685F7C7}, edit it and prefix with --;
4. locate HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run;
5. delete any Acrobat shit you find.

Creating new file types in Windows 10

After formatting my computer and installing Windows 10 IoT LTSC, I lost all my custom file extensions. So far, I was using FileTypesMan, but then I thought, hey what if I actually learn how this file association thing works.

With the help of ChatGPT, I was able to assemble a Registry script to add a new, custom file extension, along with its icon and associated program:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

; Associate extension with given identifier
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.srt]
@="rodrigocfd.srt"

; File type description
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\rodrigocfd.srt]
@="SRT subtitle"

; Custom icon
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\rodrigocfd.srt\DefaultIcon]
@="D:\\Dropbox\\core\\icons\\srt-blue.ico"

; Open command
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\rodrigocfd.srt\shell\open\command]
@="\"C:\\Windows\\System32\\notepad.exe\" \"%1\""

By analyzing the structure above, it’s pretty clear how the structure works.

And now I have the itch to write a program to manage that stuff.

Inactive titlebar color in Windows 10

After I installed my Windows 10 IoT LTSC, I noticed that the inactive titlebar was white. The blue active titlebar could be set via Settings, but not the inactive. ChatGPT gave me the Registry entries to set this color manually:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM]
"AccentColorInactive"=dword:00DCDCDC
"ColorPrevalence"=dword:00000001

Save the content above in a *.reg file, and merge it to the Registry, and it’s done.

Disable Win global hotkeys

Today I installed a new 1 TB SSD drive, since my old 120 GB one capacity was out of control. Windows 10 IoT LTSC was the OS of my choice, along with the incredibly smooth massgrave.dev aid.

One thing that didn’t work was the global shortcuts of foobar2000.. At first I thought it could be related to the newer 64-bit version I finally installed, but ChatGPT – first time on this blog – told me that IoT LTSC is stricter about hijacking Win hotkeys. And it gave me directions on how to disable them globally, which I didn’t even know it was possible. Create a new key under:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

• New, String Value
• DisabledHotkeys
• AS

The above will disable Win+A and Win+S global hotkeys, which is amazing.

Changing Chrome User Data location

By default, Google Chrome on Windows stores all its data in:

C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data

This folder seems to top around 2.5 GB, as I tested both in Chrome and Brave.

When digging the portable version of Brave, I found that it uses the --user-data-dir command line switch to store the data somewhere else – that’s the whole point of being portable.

This command line switch, obviously, belongs to Chromium, and so to all its derivative browsers, like Chrome itself. Therefore, you can move Chrome’s User Data folder to any location. After moving the folder itself, you just have to pass the new location via the --user-data-dir command line switch, as explained in Chromium Docs:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --user-data-dir=D:\Stuff\ChromeUserData

This finding is also useful because it shows that the whole User Data folder can ba copied to a different computer.

I found a possible Chromium bug, however, when moving User Data to my D:\ drive. When a notification pops-up, clicking it will open another Chrome window, and this new window will point to the original User Data location. Which means native notifications are unusable.

Cleaning Windows temp folder

As my SSD gets more and more stuffed, I’m searching for ways to remove the cruft from it. It’s a Windows 10 installation from 2018, which I have a feeling that it needs a fresh formatted install. But since I cannot afford that now, I just keep going.

Cleaning the temp folder manually is a cumbersome chore and also takes a lot of time. The batch script below, in the other hand, deletes all the files instantly:

@echo off

call :DelRecu "%temp%"
call :DelRecu "%appdata%\Code\Cache"
call :DelRecu "%appdata%\Code\CachedData"
call :DelRecu "%appdata%\Code\Code Cache"
call :DelRecu "%appdata%\Code\GPUCache"
call :DelRecu "%appdata%\Code\logs"
call :DelRecu "%appdata%\Code\User\workspaceStorage"
call :DelRecu "%localappdata%\Battle.net\BrowserCaches\73131118\Cache\Cache_Data"
call :DelRecu "%localappdata%\Battle.net\Logs"

pause
goto :eof

:DelRecu
set FOLDER="%~1"
REM echo Cleaning: %FOLDER%
del /s /f /q %FOLDER%\*
for /f %%f in ('dir /ad /b %FOLDER%\') do rd /s /q %FOLDER%\%%f
REM echo --
goto :eof

A double click on the clean.bat file now can be done at any time, in no time.

Displaying custom fields in foobar2000

Today I found the TOPE frame in the ID3v2 tag specification, which can be used in cover songs. I was simply using the comment frame so far, and having a specific frame for that is great. Now I needed to display this frame in foobar2000, my player of choice for years.

I created an account in foobar2000 forums and posted the question there. Then I just found a specific subreddit, and I posted the same question.

Much to my amusement, I got answers in both after a few minutes.

Turns out, I vaguely remember having done this before. One must navigate to Preferences > Advanced > Display > Properties dialog > Standard fields, and add:

Original Artist=ORIGINAL ARTIST;

And it worked.

Registering file associations in Windows

I always used FileTypesMan to register the Windows file associations. But after Windows 7 or so, some associations simply refused to work, leaving them wrong. In Windows 10, this problem worsened.

Today, after digging the associations created by Reaper, I figured out one of the correct ways to register a file association – there are other exotic ways too, which I couldn’t figure out yet.

These are the Windows Registry entries that must be created:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.fuu\
    (Default) REG_SZ Fuu.File
    Content Type REG_SZ text/plain
    PerceivedType REG_SZ text
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Fuu.Type\
    (Default) REG_SZ A fuu file.
    DefaultIcon\
        (Default) REG_SZ C:\Temp\fuu.exe,0
    shell\
        (Default) REG_SZ open64
        open64\
            (Default) REG_SZ Open file in Fuu
            command\
                (Default) REG_SZ "C:\Temp\fuu.exe" "%1"

And these entries map correctly in FileTypesMan, which can be used to further changes.

Note that Content Type and PerceivedType will automatically create “Open” entries mapped to default applications, so you probably won’t want those. In its simplest form, this will work:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.fuu\
    (Default) REG_SZ Fuu.File
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Fuu.Type\
    (Default) REG_SZ A fuu file.
    DefaultIcon\
        (Default) REG_SZ C:\Temp\fuu.exe,0
    shell\
        open\
            command\
                (Default) REG_SZ "C:\Temp\fuu.exe" "%1"

I hate the invasive Dropbox client

Very hard to completely disable the Dropbox client, which sneaks its updater into every corner of my new Windows 10 system. Here’s what I had to do to finally get rid of it:

• On Dropbox client, Settings, uncheck start automatically;
• Disable “DbxSvc” and two “Dropbox Update Service” in services.msc;
• Disable startups at Task Manager > Startup tab;
• Disable services in Control Panel > Task Scheduler > Task Scheduler Library.

I want Dropbox client to update only when I run Dropbox. This invasive behavior is completely unnecessary.

Git bash shortcut on Windows

Download the portable version of Git (it can be x64), and create a shortcut to run Git bash on Windows with this command line to run on “target”:

C:\Windows\SysWOW64\cmd.exe /c ""C:\Program Files (x86)\git\bin\sh.exe" --login -i"

Start in: root directory of sources.

Sony Vegas 13 sucks

I’m a long time Sony Vegas fan. My history with Sony goodies dates back to Acid Pro 3, when was still developed by Sonic Foundry, which had created a very intuitive interface and workflow. Sony bought Sonic Foundry and started migrating all the programs to .Net Framework crap, and quality began to suffer.

Sony Vegas was still usable up to version 12. Not exactly fast, but pretty usable. Testing out this version 13 – build 373 is the lastest at the moment I write this post –, I’m deeply disgusted to what they have done. Without any noticeable improvement, the interface has got a bit uglier, and everything, absolutely everything is slower. I dislike laptops, I have a desktop computer with quite powerful hardware components, and even though, the timeline elements became sluggish when reacting to the mouse, the video preview rendering is blurred and skipping frames, and any cross-fading is simply not viewable due to slowness. Among other oddities.

After some hours of headache, I simply removed this version and reinstalled the version 12 back. What a relief. No more Vegas 13 over here. I hope Vegas 14 can have more luck – although I doubt it.

Sound Forge 11: no FX chain apply?

I’m a long time Sound Forge user, since the golden pre-Sony Sonic Foundry days, when the horrendous .NET Framework, a toy for script kiddies, was not needed. I’ve been following the version upgrades until today, when I gladly installed version 11. One of my most used options – applying the FX chain right away – simply disappeared. I’ve been searching around, and I found that I’m not the only one who complains about this.

There’s an alternative way to apply the FX chain through the FX Favorites menu, but it’s cumbersome and you cannot work upon the waveform while it’s open. Ironically, the new FX chain window is one of the “new” things Sony is marketing about. Well, congratulations for messing it out, Sony. I’ll pass.

I rolled back to Sound Forge 10, and I’m keeping it. Let’s see if a future Sound Forge 12 will bring that facility back.

Sibelius 7 sucks

As a musician with classical training, I love sheet music. They are not only beautiful pieces of graphic art, but also great repositories of musical knowledge, which are always ready to have music pulled out of them. And music writing is universal: sheet music written in China is the same written in Canada.

Obviously, when it comes to computers, I always was interested in sheet music editors. My first editor was Encore, a very simple one. But soon I moved to a more powerful editor: Sibelius 2. And since then, I’ve been a faithful Sibelius user. Well, up to version 6.

Sibelius Software was acquired by Avid, know for its sluggish Pro Tools. Unfortunately, Sibelius 7 suffered a huge shift in development direction, jumping on the ribbon bandwagon – the single worst thing ever invented in computer user interface history – and bringing up a very confusing and keyboard-unfriendly screen. Now, all the actions and option dialogs – previously organized into regular menus, easy to reach with keyboard shortcuts only – are spread among the ribbon tabs, with distracting and childish icons, wasting precious screen space and requiring you to execute many, many additional mouse clicks while searching for something among that mess. Oh, and there’s still a File ribbon tab, with even more additional tabs at left and options distributed like mucus dropped from a strong sneeze!

But Sibelius 7 didn’t change only the interface, they also brought improvements, right? Wrong. There is only one improvement, relative to text flowing inside textboxes. Everything else is insignificant for music writing. I felt really ashamed by watching the what's new videos from Sibelius Software, with nothing new to show besides that horrible user interface. Don’t they have some critical sense, at least?

So it seems that I’m stuck with Sibelius 6, which is a bit slow, but it’s usable. Well, until some other company comes out with something better. And without a ribbon.

Portable Git on Windows

I use Git on Linux a lot, but these days I was willing to use it on Windows too. I remember some time ago I found some ugly installers, so I thought there should be a portable package. For my surprise, I found one: msysgit. It’s a self-contained package build upon MinGW with everything one would need.

And it’s incredibly easy to use: just unzip the package anywhere, then doubleclick “git-bash.bat”. Like magic, you have a Linux-like terminal with a ready-to-use Git. And all the stuff exhales quality: it seems to be very well built and feels good on the tip of the fingers.

Now if you need to use Git on Windows, there’s no other way to go but msysgit.

How to install Chromium on Windows

Note: This post was updated on February 20, 2014.

Google Chrome is a modern browser, the most advanced one we have today. But unfortunately Google, on its way to world domination, uses it to silently collect personal data from you. Yes it does, even with those anti-privacy options unset – and it further links the information to your Google account, what is even worst. But there is a way to enjoy this amazing browser, away from Google’s eyes: directly using the open source project which feeds Chrome: Chromium.

Since I couldn’t find a decent tutorial anywhere, I decided to write my own, this step-by-step guide on how to download and install Chromium on Windows.

Chromium is usually used by the developers, but it’s also available to anyone who wants. This excellent post explains in detail how the versioning works. The Chromium builds for Windows are published on Chromium repository. These builds are made automatically by the buildbot. Beware: this is the cutting-edge repository, so any version may have bugs (if you find a bug, just download another version, by the way).

You’ll notice that some build numbers are missing: it happens because the buildbot only publishes the builds which pass 100% through all the automatic tests. The most recent build number which was published is written down as latest good known revision. I prefer to download the latest build of previous version, the one who became the Chrome beta stage, which is likely to be fairly stable.

The current (February 20, 2014) Chromium version under development is 35, therefore I recommend to get the last build of Chromium 34 (build 252031) which can be downloaded here.

History of last builds:
23 (2012-09-20) 157677, 24 (2012-10-30) 164895, 25 (2012-12-19) 173798, 26 (2013-02-13) 182231,
27 (2013-03-27) 190946, 28 (2013-05-08) 198631, 29 (2013-06-26) 208550, 30 (2013-08-14) 217340,
31 (2013-09-25) 225096, 32 (2013-11-05) 233008, 33 (2013-12-17) 241258, 34 (2014-02-20) 252031.

Although named “chrome”, this is in fact Chromium. Once downloaded, unzip the chrome-win32 folder into your “Program Files (x86)” folder (if in Windows XP, into your “Program Files”). Then doubleclick the chrome.exe file, and it will automatically do three things:

• create a shortcut to Chrome on your desktop, which you’ll probably want to drag into your start menu;
• create a small Registry entry at “HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Chromium”; and
• create your profile folder on the following directory:
  • on Windows 7: “C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Chromium”
  • on Windows XP: “C:\Documents and Settings\<user>\Local Settings\Application Data\Chromium”

At this point, Chromium is ready to run.

To update Chromium: Chromium doesn’t have automatic updates, you must do so manually. To update the Chromium version to the latest (or rollback), just download and unzip the “chrome-win32” folder over your current one, overwriting all files. Your profile folder isn’t touched.

To uninstall Chromium: these Chromium packages don’t create uninstall entries on the Windows Control Panel. To uninstall Chromium, you must essentially undo all the steps done on the installation: delete the “chrome-win32” folder, the shortcut, your profile folder (if you want to remove all your personal stuff) and the Registry entry.

And that’s it. Enjoy this great browser.

Follow up (Jun/2017): I stopped tracking these a while ago, but I released the app I developed to check the Chromium releases: Chromium Peeker is now open source.

uTorrent is dead

Last month, my uTorrent client – actually written as “µTorrent” – updated itself to version 3. Well, I always was a huge uTorrent fan, mainly because it’s simple and lightweight, as its slogan says.

But after that update, I had a surprise.

The new uTorrent interface showed itself full of gadgets, lots of new buttons and a bunch of useless new features – I totally hated all that stuff. What about that slogan? It took me some time to figure out how to hide all that stuff from my eyes, so that I would see only the torrent list. After a couple weeks, I began considering rollback to the previous version.

The last stable version of the 2.x branch is uTorrent 2.2.1 build 25302, which albeit has a bug where the tray icon never goes away, corrects some memory leak bugs from 2.2, among others.

Since the new versions probably will remain bloated, I’ll stick with 2.2.1 until I find another client worth changing – at this moment, I doubt I’ll find one. Also, after completely remove 3 and install 2.2.1, I instantly noticed a performance increase: version 2.2.1, being much more simple, is faster as well.

Quoting Leonardo, simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.