There are people who love the Windows Explorer crumbs, there are people who just accept it and then there are people who absolutely hate it (me).
What drive am I on again?
And WTF is with all that wasted whitespace on the right?
If only Microsoft put an option to disable them =(
(Skip rant for download)
My rant starts here
I've used Windows 7 for about 8 months now and my first opinion of the crumbs still hold true, "Explorer crumbs are still there, and they still suck". Why?
- Because they take up heaps of space, wasting space on a small resolution screen.
- There is only a small area on the far left or far right which you can click to "begin editing".
- Small clickable areas means more mouse movement (which sucks for touchpad or pointing stick notebook users).
- It also means I've gotta concentrate more to click on a small area. If I'm not careful and click on a crumb, I'll navigate to another fricken folder.
- Crumb zealots are almost as annoying as the actual breadcrumbs, especially when they say "reinstall XP".
- I'm not Hänsel nor Gretel, so I'm familiar enough with my own computer that I don't need to leave little trails along the path to find my way home.
You're probably thinking its just a small thing and I should simply learn to ignore it. Don't get me wrong, I've used those bloody things for 8 months now and I still think they're an absolute prick to deal with.
Think of it this way. Those Explorer crumbs are like an eyelash in your eye. Your eye still functions properly, it's small, but its fucking annoying.
If that wasn't enough of a case for you...
And if it were so awesome, Andreas Verhoeven wouldn't of bothered making a small program to get rid of them in Vista. His "AveNoBreadCrumbs" app is pretty good, if you're using 32bit Vista. On 64bit Vista or Windows 7 (either 32bit or 64bit), no suck luck.
Anyway, </rant>.
I've spent about a week learning how to get rid of these things and I'm glad to say I've finally succeeded!
It performs the same functionality that his app does, but it also ensures that the path is visible when Explorer first starts. The path is also updated when you browse to another folder using the tree.
Managed to learn a few extra things on the side =)
Download
Now that its cleaned up and hosted, the links areUsage
- Simply run the file to kill the crumbs.
- Close the program to restore breadcrumb functionality.
- Run with the argument "--no-icon" to disable the tray icon.
It seems to be running fine on Windows 8 (dev and consumer previews) as well.
Alternatives
For those who wish for a more all-out and installed solution to bringing back XP features into Windows 7, check out ClassicShell by Ivo Beltchev.
If you want to keep everything intact and only remove breadcrumbs, then use my Breadcrumb Killer.
And as mentioned previously, AveNoBreadCrumbs works nicely on Windows Vista 32bit, only.
Credit
Props to Tux and Shawn for helping me figure out some C++ strings stuff.
Thanks to Ami/Narusegawa_Naru for giving me a starting point (even though she thinks this is stupid).
![piratetoasticonbycalacr[1]](http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ih0G_MpWiYU/S37_tfGoR5I/AAAAAAAAAdA/dS9T4o8AGDw/s1600-h/piratetoasticonbycalacr%5B1%5D%5B6%5D.jpg "piratetoasticonbycalacr[1]")
The icon is "Pirate Toast Icon" by Calacruf at DeviantArt, but the account has been closed so I don't know how else to contact him/her.
If you don't want me using the icon, let me know!
Thanks Ivo Beltchev for reminding me about the KillTimer() call.
Screenshots
Not much to show here. It's the same effect as when you select the address bar.
Normal Windows Explorer.
Windows Explorer with BreadCrumb Killer running.
Address bar selected.
Things left to do
Make an "About" dialogFix duplicate dropdown arrowFix crumbs not removed when Explorer launched in a separate process- Figure out how Andreas Verhoeven hides the crumbs.
It seems more effective than my method as Spy++ shows fewer messages being sent. Make it work on 32 bit Win7.
Its been tested on Windows 7 (x64 and x86). Would be great if I had some feedback on any issues.
Not sure about Vista, but if it works then that's always a bonus.
History
v1.41 (20/03/2011)
- Minor release, removed debug message.
- Update this page a little
- Rewrote portion of the code so the DLL and EXE share information.
- Added a refresh so it has a fair idea when to reapply hooks.
- Listens for WM_TASKBARCREATED.
- Added a check for "already running".
- Correctly returns the shell proc value.
- Updated version info.
- Removed the duplicate dropdown arrow
- Changed the "Website" button into a syslink
- Fixed x86 version so it works again
- Added command line argument "--no-icon" to disable tray icon
- Fixed x86 DLL function name mangling
- Cleaned up some code
- Combobox creation trigger now works more reliably
- Added a missing KillTimer() call
- Added build version to executable
- Initial release.
I've been waiting for this for so long! Hopefully you get a download link up soon, I can't wait to try it out!
ReplyDeleteWow Jacob you're fast!
ReplyDeleteI didn't expect anyone to notice this so quickly.
I've just uploaded the files and updated the post with a download link.
Hope it works for you, enjoy!
Ha, well, once every couple months I do a Google search for 'Windows 7 x64 breadcrumbs' and your blog came up on the first page.
ReplyDeleteThat I happened to Google search on the exact day you posted your blog, and somehow Google indexed it and put it on the front page on the same day... major coincidences XD
In any case, it works very nicely. Finally I can have my address-based address bar.
ReplyDeleteI would say that making an option to hide the system tray icon would be nice; but I think most technical people would be willing to accept an extra system tray icon if it meant their explorer windows WORKED right =P
haha glad to see that someone else is annoyed about it as much as I am, and that its working well on your system too.
ReplyDeleteInitially I wanted something that was unobtrusive too, but having it run and then disappear with no way of closing it seemed a bit too trojany for my liking.
Nice work it seems to work pretty good :-) I noticed I have a link/folder on my desktop, that takes me to 'my documents' 'my etc etc'. When I click the link/folder it doesn't show the full path until I click 'my documents' for example.
ReplyDeleteHey Adam, that's strange. I'll take a look at it when I can.
ReplyDeleteThx alot! Finally! Been searching the net for something like this now for a very long time. Great little app!
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure XP did that exact same thing: when you click a desktop 'special folder', the address bar will just tell you the folder name. 'My Documents' for instance was all you would see in the address bar if you clicked on the 'My Documents' icon on the desktop.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it's something you can necessarily fix.
Yep, Jacob's beat me to it again lol.
ReplyDeleteI just checked and its normal behaviour. Kinda cool though.
Well in any case, I can live with the little extra icon in my system tray since I find it so satisfying otherwise.
ReplyDeleteIf you ever return to this project though, you could simply add a checkbox on the right-click menu of the icon to 'remove from system tray' or something like that.
I agree, programs which install themselves with no visible icons are annoying, but I wouldn't mind this since it's basically a feature I want part of Windows anyway XD
Oh, and while you're at it, an install feature to make it an automatic windows service, rather than having to manually drag it to my startup menu...
I suppose it's all nitpicking, though I'm very excited about this program's existence and wouldn't mind it having a nice shiny coat of polish for when I permanently keep a copy on my flash drive, heh.
Hi, I want to implement something similar in my Classic Shell tool: http://classicshell.sourceforge.net/
ReplyDeleteI'm curious how you managed to do this. I spent a day trying, but couldn't figure it out. What is the trick?
Ivo
@Jacob: I suppose I could add something that puts the program into autostart if they select it from the tray icon.
ReplyDelete@Ivo:
Hey nice project there! I really like some of the stuff you got there.
The trick is to make the editable address control appear, since it isn't created until you begin editing the address.
The rest is just standard subclassing which you seem pretty familiar with already.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteDude you're awesome, you have no idea just how awesome you are! between you and classic shell, wow, just wow! Finally usable explorer!
ReplyDeleteWindows XP does only show the special name like you said.
ReplyDeleteBut the magic happens in the pulldown menu.
And iirc, this feature is missing in windows 7
http://koti.mbnet.fi/john_edw/misc/win_xp_breadcrumbthing.PNG
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHey Jacob,
ReplyDeleteAre you still having troubles with Chrome and BreadCrumbKiller?
Yes, but it doesn't seem a terribly big issue: as soon as the window loses and regains focus, the breadcrumbs are restored for that window.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I've hated those damn breadcrumbs since I saw them in Vista on my MCE machine. Now I hate them on my laptop running Windows 7 Pro.
ReplyDeleteThanks, thanks!
-Dan
Thank you, so much. This is perfect. Keep up the good work :-)
ReplyDeleteHey folks.
ReplyDeleteI've updated it to v1.1 which works more reliably.
Been meaning to update it for a while but haven't had the chance.
I'll try to get around to fixing the dropdown soon.
Cheers!
Thanks, that is so typical of ms to put features in that realy ignore a lot of people. When all they had to do was a dd a tick box that turns it off. If you can write an .exe and a .dll that does it, they could do the same.
ReplyDeleteMS forcing people to take on silly features is not going to help anyone. The most retarded thing i have ever seen is to not show certain directories and then have drop down of everything in the folder. lol
Hi. V 1.1 installed on Server 2008 32 bit running Terminal Server and Citrix (published desktop). It works a treat. However, it seems like M$ have a separate breadcrumb for M$ Word. If you select Save As under Word, the breadcrumb is seen. We need to get rid of the breadcrumb totally everywhere as it is on a shared terminal server. The breadcrumb feature allows access to areas that we dont want people to get to. Thanks for the app :)
ReplyDeleteYou are a god. Thank you so much for this fix. I fell 2 steps backwards in daily productivity because of all the additional 'features' windows 7 has enabled for me that I didn't know I needed.
ReplyDeleteBetween this and the 'Classic Shell' fix for the start menu, I'm back to full speed.
The OS needs to get out of my way and let me work. Not everyone has folders and programs names less than 32 characters, and I'm disappointed MS hasn't created the options to to turn these off for people who do not need them.
Please release your not-not-working BreadCrumbKiller v1.1 (32 bit).
ReplyDeleteHey!
ReplyDeleteSorry about that Anonymous, I knew I forgot to do something =X
BreadCrumb Killer v1.2 is now uploaded.
Ok folks, I've updated Breadcrumb Killer to v1.3
ReplyDeleteIt no longer has duplicate dropdowns.
Enjoy!
Thank you!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI have the same folders open on multiple servers and drives EVERY day for 8 hours a day. I was so sick of never knowing which drive I was on without clicking 2000 times per day.
Thanks again!
Hello,
ReplyDeleteCould you explain me how I can launch it automatically with --no-icon argument
Does I have to redo a .exe file?
Thank you so much. I was losing it!
ReplyDeleteNow if we only had an up folder icon the world would be perfect again.
ReplyDeleteThere's still Alt+UP (which I dont like using) to go up a folder.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise you can use Ivo's ClassicShell, which implements the "Up" button and also removes breadcrumbs.
WTF is wrong with Microsoft?! Why would would they do this to us?! Developers and engineers eat, shower, and shave with paths and they add a feature that that masks paths which cannot be disabled?! After 20 years I am so tired of Microsoft making stupid bone head moves like this. Quit obscuring technology Microsoft, it's really annoying.
ReplyDeleteCan you include the source code?
ReplyDeleteI copied the data to C:\Utilities and added an entry in HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\ and added a new string for the startup process.
Sorry Jon, at this point in time I wont be releasing the source.
ReplyDeleteI'm running a debug build of BCK (which has alot of annoying message boxes).
ReplyDeleteHopefully this will give some insight into methods for fixing the problem.
Breadcrumb Killer v1.4 released.
ReplyDeletePlease see change log. This one's worth getting!
Is it possible to disable the "Refreshing BCK" popup?
ReplyDeleteOh crap I left it in there?
ReplyDeleteI'll update it soon.
Updated 1.41, removed debug messages.
ReplyDeleteHi
ReplyDeleteI am from Germany. I want to thank you for the program to turn off the Breadcrumbs.
Kind regards
H. Schmidt
Thanks for the app, was looking forever to find something that worked, without running into the nutjobs who loved the breadcrumbs.
ReplyDeleteI know exactly what you mean. The forums are full of idiots that just want to argue about "the old horse and carriage".
ReplyDeleteWHAT A RELIEF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThose stupid "BreadCrumbs" have been driving me crazy for months.
Thank you!
ReplyDeleteMicrosoft CEO Steve Ballmer deserves jail time for not giving the user the option to disable this. The utter arrogance of Microsoft and its developers is beyond belief, almost to the level of Steve Jobs' at Apple. And there are plenty more things we want to see as options instead of being hard-coded!
Thank you. My employer says "they’re saving money, improving security and improving employee satisfaction with Windows 7", but I find it to be a disaster. "Breadcrumbs" were just one of the disasters, so thanks for having an easy way to fix this. Gee, sorry Microsoft, I think in terms of directories. So I find it crazy that even if you rename the Win7 "Music" folder to "My Music", the directory itself is not changed.
ReplyDeleteHey Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome!
Regarding the "Music" folder, just make sure you're not renaming the music "library". That's actually a pretty neat feature!
I am the person who just ate/accepted it. Stumbled upon this page looking for something else and I am glad I did. I have a very dumb question because I know very little about a lot. How would I actually run the program with an argument at startup, so it was always running?
ReplyDeleteAlso if you could please tell me what this is and maybe how to get rid of it...
http://i52.tinypic.com/11ql65k.jpg
Thanks for the killer program!
Hey Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteI think this is what you're after.
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/61507-details-pane-turn-off.html
Thanks for stopping by =)
That's what I was looking for, your great! Thanks again.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how much this can pisss off people who actually know whaT they are doing on a computer.
ReplyDeleteI am in IT and do Systems administration, help desk support, everything
I had something installed previously "this utility i think" as a test. Dont reboot my machine unless i have to.
AMRS
Rebooted last night before i left.Logged in this morning. Took about 20 minutes for this to completely piss me off. Spent the rest of my time until now finding this utility.
Thak you!!! AGAIN!!!!!!
For the rest of you who keep whining about adapting: I have been working in computers since DOS 3.3. The PATH is one of the first things you needed to understand (and still do) too work with files properly.
I also have to manage files on:
1 X 10 TB SAN. Multiple Drive and s shares.
2 X 1 TB NAS servers (my own personal network storage space)
1 X 250 GB internal E: drive. Temp storage
1 X 500 GB external USB M: drive. Downloads until I figure out where to put them.
I need to know EXACTLY where I am working. I can type paths faster without looking faster than you can click on breadcrumbs.
If I can't see the proper path I wouldn't know hwere I was going.
I also use \\server\share pathes all of the time. As an adminstrator, I don't map drives letters to all of the user shares b ut I do access them regularly. From whatever machine I happen to be working on.
Want to really see how much you know about using Windows?
Disconnect the mouse and try using only the keyboard. IT can be done for +80% of what you do. Although Microsoft in their Infinite Wisdom are making that less al of the time. They are trying to dumbdown windows to be used on tablets.
I can use all of my fingers, not just one.
wow that's a passionate response!
ReplyDeleteI also need to spot the folders quickly and the breadcrumbs just make me feel dumb.
I'm glad you find it useful =)
Ooh I need this, yet download link no worky. mysql errors on http://www.koonkii.com/downloads/get.php?id=1
ReplyDeleteThanks for letting me know, the server HDD died last week and I haven't checked the download links!
ReplyDeleteOK it's been fixed.
ReplyDeleteThank you for fixing that.
ReplyDeleteAre you aware that BreadCrumbKiller stops folder shortcuts from working properly in Windows 7 Professional 64-bit? E.g. a shortcut that should lead to C:\Intel\Logs, will only open C:\Intel. The normal functionality will be restored as soon as BCK is terminated.
ReplyDeletetwig you ROCK!
ReplyDeleteI can verify this also works on Windows 8 Developer Preview. Goodbye Breadcrumbs!!
Also, for those who are interested in running this automatically at start up here is a simple solution.
Make a shortcut and add it to your Startup folder under All Programs. The path to that is:
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp
Atleast that's where it is on my Win 8 Dev install.
If you don't want the icon to show up you should be able to edit your shortcut to launch it with the "--no-icon" argument (but I actually like having the icon -lets me know it's running).
Thanks again twig :) ....where's the link so I can buy you a coffee? or beer?
@ Twig
ReplyDeleteAre you aware that BreadCrumbKiller x64 stops shortcuts from working properly in Windows 7 Professional 64-bit? E.g. a shortcut that should lead to C:\Intel\Logs only opens C:\Intel if BCK is running. The normal shortcut functionality is restored immediately after BreadCrumbKiller is terminated.
It seems to be fine for me. I just tried it on Win7 x64 with the folders.
ReplyDelete- "C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\en-US"
- "C:\Intel\Logs"
It takes me right there.
The Win7 setup I use almost everyday is x64 so if a bug like that occurs I would definitely notice it.
ReplyDelete@Hollywood: I thought your post was spam until I read it lol
ReplyDeleteThanks for letting me know it works on Windows8 dev!
I'll try to get some donation link up and running soon =)
You are my savior! Windows 7 comes packed with lots of annoying features. I have wasted hundreds of hrs to get rid of many of them. I have installed windows classic shell to get rid of crumbs and get back the up arrow. I still am trying to figure out a way to not make the task bar randomly arrange my program icons. Arranging programs by program type IMHO is lame. I would prefer to group my programs based on the tasks that I am doing. I know which program is doing what for me by remembering their location spatially on the task bar. Windows 7 has impaired my abilities. A middle finger to all the UI/HCI/(un)usability guys at microsoft. They all suck ass.
ReplyDeleteHey Dan,
ReplyDeleteGlad to see you found it useful =)
The Windows Classic Shell developer Ivo found this useful and implemented the breadcrumb removal in his software too. I can't remember where the option is though.
As for splitting the tasks in the tasbar, see this post:
http://twigstechtips.blogspot.com.au/2010/07/win7-stop-grouping-of-taskbar-items.html
You probably get annoyed by the same things I do. Check out the other tweaks/hacks I've written about: http://twigstechtips.blogspot.com.au/search/label/windows%207
Hello. I commend you for taking this on and appreciate the utility to ease my annoyances. However, it looks like you haven't updated it in a while - the program stops working after only a little while after started. Do you have similar problems or have you heard of this problem on Windows 7? The program is still running, but it's not removing the breadcrumbs in Windows Explorer.
ReplyDeleteThanks again!
Hey Geoff,
ReplyDeleteYeah, I get it too and I'm not particularly sure why this happens. Any efforts to reproduce this during development time has been unsuccessful.
I've added the timer method in but it still seems to happen. I have a hunch that the global hooks may be expiring for some reason, but not quite sure how to test it.
If anyone has any idea what might be wrong, feel free to contact me.
Thanks for the reply!
DeleteMaybe someone will come up with something.
Dear Sir,
ReplyDeleteclicking on "Download -> BreadCrumbKiller v1.4 (64 bit)" gets me the message "Please download from http://twigstechtips.blogspot.com/2010/02/win7-remove-windows-explorer.html".
Entering "http://twigstechtips.blogspot.com/2010/02/win7-remove-windows-explorer.html" into my browser brings me just back to your website and the process starts all over.
So please: how can I access the file?
Try another browser. Something is messing with your HTTP referer headers.
ReplyDeleteI get the same. I've tried IE and Firefox on Win7 and Firefox on Fedora 14.
DeleteHaving problems to download BreadCrumbKiller?
ReplyDelete//Micke
Hey Micke,
ReplyDeleteTry it again, currently working for me.
@twig: I found out (I think) what causes the download problems.
ReplyDeleteIf you're not from the US, blogspot will load the page with the localized TLD.
As an example.. I'm in Germany and it loads:
http://twigstechtips.blogspot.de/2010/02/win7-remove-windows-explorer.html
Notice the .de
If I manually change it to .com, it immediately reloads the .de version, so the download won't work as the referrer TLD isn't .com :(
So this basically seems to be a blogspot fuckup..
Hey Bambooz,
ReplyDeleteDammit!!! Never realised they switched to the AU for me =\
I'll get it fixed up tonight when I get home.
Thanks SO much for that!
Ok, I've tweaked the download script a little.
ReplyDeleteHopefully that works.
Just tried the links. They both work fine now :)
ReplyDeleteI downloaded it yesterday already though. First time I had to use the referrer field in Flashget and it worked :P
PS: The comment captchas on here are the weirdest ones I've ever seen. Having to decipher relatively pixelated street sign / house number photos? What the hell.. lol
Thanks again Bambooz!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to find a way to disable that stupid country specific thing sometime this weekend.
As for the captcha, I haven't seen it lol
Must be an anonymous user thing I guess!
Great job!
ReplyDeleteI found your post because I'm pulling my hair out with a bug that seems to plague 90% of dark themes and if I can't find the solution I'm just going to remove them.
ReplyDeleteAs I said, I use a dark windows 7 theme. In Windows Explorer, the breadcrumb bar drop down navigation links are black text on black background. Do you have ANY idea how I can fix this?
Sorry buddy, I wouldn't have a clue on that one!
DeleteTwig ... I came across our blog, it sounds like the solution I am looking for. But when I download the zip file, it is only 1 KB, when I open it I get a warning saying the file is invalid. I tried this today on both my work and home computers.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Michael
Hi Michael,
DeleteMy host has recently relocated their servers and the IP has changed. Unfortunately, the change will take 24-48 hours to propagate across the internet.
I don't really have much choice but to wait for it to fix itself, so I hope you don't mind trying again in a day or two.
If it's still happening, I'll see how I can go about fixing it.
Hi Michael,
DeleteIn case you haven't grabbed the file yet, I just tried it again and it seems to be working fine.
Hello Twig, this has been very helpful , But Im in need of a no address bar and menu bar fix. I am creating a kiosk that is lock down to certain users. I have GPO for most of it but i can not find anything that can help me with this issue. If you can that would be great.
ReplyDeleteThanks
Brandon
Hey Brandon,
DeleteSorry the way the menus work would be different to the crumbs. I would have thought there'd be a general policy for something like that you can toggle in the settings?
If not, I'm out of ideas =)
any chance of having the ability to tab to the address bar and start typing right away added to this?
ReplyDeleteHey Cody,
DeleteSorry this is highly unlikely as it would deviate from the standard behaviour and infuriate a lot of people.