cairoshell
Cairo is a customizable, intuitive desktop environment for Windows.
APACHE-2.0 License
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Published by cairoshell over 4 years ago
Cairo requires Windows 7 or later, including Windows 10, and .NET 4.7.1 or later (already included with Windows 10 1709 and newer)
Click "Assets" below to find the installer download.
Changes since M3.6943
- Reduced CPU usage versus the past couple builds
- Fixed Cairo not yielding to full-screen apps when multi-monitor features aren't enabled (#350)
- Fixed Cairo not yielding to some full-screen apps, such as Steam Big Picture
- Fixed dynamic desktop keeping a lock on some folders, so you couldn't delete them
- Fixed dynamic desktop not resizing when screen size changes
- Fixed inability to open folders with a comma in the path
- Fixed video file type filter in background settings to allow choosing video files
Published by cairoshell over 4 years ago
Cairo requires Windows 7 or later, including Windows 10, and .NET 4.7.1 or later (already included with Windows 10 1709 and newer)
Click "Assets" below to find the installer download.
Changes since M3.6906
- Added support for pinned notification area icons (#102)
- Allows selecting notification icons to always be shown even when the notification area is collapsed
- Configure which icons are pinned and in what order they should be displayed using Cairo Settings
- Default pinned icons are Power, Network, and Action Center
- Dynamic desktop improvements
- Added ability to set home directory by right-clicking the home button; current setting is shown in the tooltip
- Back/forward buttons now show as disabled when they cannot be used (#340)
- Changing desktop locations using the history menu now goes back/forward instead of adding an additional history entry
- Fixed being able to navigate to deleted folders
- Fixed Cairo being frozen when dropping or pasting a large file to Cairo
- Fixed desktop overlay toggling when clicking out of history menu
- Fixed dragging folders from desktop to stacks
- Fixed toolbar location saving on high DPI displays
- Added flat theme
- Added 'Move' and 'Size' options to taskbar button context menu
- Added support for disabling the desktop via Group Policy (#349)
- Added validation to prevent bad values in the date/time and desktop home fields in Cairo Settings (#344)
- Improved App Grabber scrolling to show dragged items
- Improved display of image thumbnails
- Fixed App Grabber closing when renaming a newly created category
- Fixed an error that could occur with multiple displays
- Fixed programs menu forgetting the selected category
- Fixed notification area not being able to be used when set as shell and taskbar is disabled, and added an explanation in cases when it cannot be used (#345)
Published by cairoshell over 4 years ago
Cairo requires Windows 7 or later, including Windows 10, and .NET 4.7.1 or later (already included with Windows 10 1709 and newer)
Changes since M3.6842
Strap in, this is a larger release than usual.
- Drag & drop support
- Dragging a file onto a taskbar icon brings that window to the front (#85)
- Files and folders can be dropped onto the desktop, or dragged to another window (#323)
- Files and folders can be dragged out of Stacks
- Left-click drag performs a move, right-click drag performs a copy
- Quick Launch apps can be dragged into the Programs menu if they don't exist already
- Desktop improvements
- Fixed desktop sometimes flashing above other windows
- Fixed icon flickering issues (#332)
- Fixed tooltips showing under windows
- Desktop navigation improvements
- Back and forward buttons now go back and forward based on your browsing, rather than folder structure (#312)
- Mouse back/forward buttons can be used to navigate the desktop (#306)
- To go up a directory, shift-click or right-click the back button
- The position of the desktop navigation toolbar is now persisted (#334)
- Full screen app handling improvements
- Per-monitor full screen awareness
- Fixed Cairo drawing over games and other full-screen windows (#105, #216)
- Fixed Cairo stealing focus when leaving full screen
- Fixed menu bar and taskbar sometimes not restoring to topmost when leaving full screen (#253)
- Settings improvements
- Added ability to set desktop wallpaper via Cairo settings (#230)
- Desktop icon appearance changes now take effect without restarting Cairo
- Theme changes now take effect without restarting Cairo
- Shell improvements
- Added more Windows hotkeys (#311)
- Added shortcut to desktop settings in desktop context menu
- Added support for Bing image of the day wallpaper
- Added support for video wallpaper, including DreamScene wallpapers
- Fixed wallpaper gap at bottom of screen
- Video wallpaper pauses when an app enters full screen
- Taskbar improvements
- Fixed first click on taskbar not performing the requested action
- Fixed flashing taskbar items not stopping flashing when clicked
- Fixed possibility of adding duplicate apps to Quick Launch
- Fixed some applications such as Solidworks not showing in the taskbar (#273)
- App Grabber now automatically selects the latest version of Office apps
- Added option to show the categories list on the left side of the Programs menu (#331)
- Fixed double-right-click sometimes opening files
- Fixed Explorer starting when changing settings (#339)
- Fixed "New" menu on the desktop context menu
- Fixed possibility of using both the Cairo and the Windows notification area at the same time
- Fixed search field losing focus when moving mouse cursor away
- Fixed several issues when running Cairo configured as shell before logging out
- Improved notification area icon support for some apps such as EarTrumpet (#324)
- Fixed a few potential crashes
Published by cairoshell over 4 years ago
Cairo requires Windows 7 or later, including Windows 10, and .NET 4.7.1 or later (already included with Windows 10 1709 and newer)
Changes since M3.6824
- Many taskbar improvements!
- Added restore, minimize, and maximize options to the context menu that match Windows behavior
- Added setting to allow middle-click to close windows in the taskbar, like a browser (#115)
- Added icons and 'new window' option to context menu
- Fixed apps running as an administrator not restoring from the Cairo taskbar (#286)
- Fixed closed UWP apps spontaneously appearing in the taskbar
- Fixed some cases of windows not being displayed with the correct app category
- Fixed the taskbar allowing you to minimize/maximize windows that couldn't be
- Improved reliability of window icons
- Improved the task list menu to have all the same features as taskbar buttons
- Added option in Cairo Settings to show "Hibernate" in the Cairo menu if supported by the system (#179)
- Fixed pinned Windows taskbar items not being added to Cairo quick launch automatically (#301)
- Fixed removing a monitor on a dual-screen system with multi-monitor menu bar/taskbar enabled rendering Cairo unusable (#302)
- Fixed the desktop sometimes becoming unusable on a screen resolution change
- Fixed "Sleep" showing in the Cairo menu on systems that do not support sleep
- Fixed empty space in Cairo Settings when set as shell
- Cairo now automatically restarts from certain fatal errors
Published by cairoshell almost 5 years ago
Cairo requires Windows 7 or later, including Windows 10, and .NET 4.7.1 or later (already included with Windows 10 1709 and newer)
Changes since M3.6800
- Added ability to control if Cairo runs at logon via Cairo Settings (#290, thanks @Brummell67!)
- Added default buttons to all alerts
- Default buttons have a darker border
- Fixed multiple Cairo Settings windows being opened (#293, thanks @Brummell67!)
- Fixed some windows (such as Firefox) not appearing immediately in the taskbar (#292)
- Fixed tool tips obscuring taskbar and menu bar items (#280)
- Improved ability to theme alerts
Published by cairoshell almost 5 years ago
Cairo requires Windows 7 or later, including Windows 10, and .NET 4.7.1 or later (already included with Windows 10 1709 and newer)
Changes since M3.6795
- Increased clickable area of notification area icons (#259)
- Fixed an issue that could cause the menu bar to become unresponsive (#147)
- Minor under-the-hood improvements
Published by cairoshell almost 5 years ago
Cairo requires Windows 7 or later, including Windows 10, and .NET 4.7.1 or later (already included with Windows 10 1709 and newer)
Changes since M3.6781
Cairo now requires .NET Framework 4.7.1. This means that Windows Vista is no longer supported.
- Added separate 'Open in new window' and 'Open on desktop' items to Stacks context menu
- Added 'Open in new window' and 'Remove from Stacks' options to folder context menu
- Added ability to add currently-running programs to Quick Launch via the taskbar context menu (#271)
- Added ability to show the taskbar using the full screen width (#268)
- Fixed installer not aborting when the .NET version is too old (#284)
Published by cairoshell over 5 years ago
Cairo requires Windows Vista or later, including Windows 10, and .NET 4.5.2 or later (already included with Windows 10)
Changes since M3.6768
- Added ability to change application category from the context menu (#126)
- Added Dutch (Nederlands) language (#272, Thanks @Fireblade92!)
- Improved visual feedback on menu bar and desktop (#140)
- Fixed desktop overlay background not going behind the taskbar
- Fixed incorrect minimize animation (#255)
- Fixed text box context menu when renaming files from the desktop
Published by cairoshell over 5 years ago
Cairo requires Windows Vista or later, including Windows 10, and .NET 4.5.2 or later (already included with Windows 10)
Changes since M3.6758
- Desktop context menu improvements (#240)
- Desktop icon context menus now have all options that are available in Explorer
- Added 'New' menu and 'Properties' item to desktop background context menu
- Fixed Desktop showing in front of windows unintentionally (#244, #245)
- Fixed clicks on the menu bar shadow not going to the intended application
- Fixed uninstaller running while Cairo is still running, causing incomplete removal (#241)
- Fixed a crash with certain wallpaper formats on Hyper-V Server
Published by cairoshell over 5 years ago
Cairo requires Windows Vista or later, including Windows 10, and .NET 4.5.2 or later (already included with Windows 10)
Changes since M3.6746
- Fixed wallpaper always displaying as "stretch" mode when Cairo is set as shell (#226)
- Fixed Cairo not behaving correctly when set as all users' shell (#227)
- Fixed "Exit Cairo" option appearing on the Cairo menu when set as shell (#227)
- Fixed menu bar clock not switching time zones correctly (#233)
- Changed Cairo to use the Apache 2.0 license, rather than the old proprietary license
Published by cairoshell about 6 years ago
Cairo requires Windows Vista or later, including Windows 10, and .NET 4.5.2 or later (already included with Windows 10)
Changes since M3.6723
- Added German language (thanks @Revoluzifer!)
- Added Spanish language (thanks @JiachengLiu13579!)
- Fixed some minor memory leaks
Published by cairoshell about 6 years ago
Cairo requires Windows Vista or later, including Windows 10, and .NET 4.5.2 or later (already included with Windows 10)
Changes since M3.6701
- Added Czech language (thanks @zen0bit!)
- Added folder name in App Grabber Installed list (#192)
- Improved display of Windows Store app icons
- Improved notification area icon handling
- Updated French language (#181)
- Fixed calendar date not updating (#195)
- Fixed invalid notification icons appearing
Published by cairoshell about 6 years ago
Cairo requires Windows Vista or later, including Windows 10, and .NET 4.5.2 or later (already included with Windows 10)
Changes since M3.6693
- Added ability to view and clear desktop browsing history by right-clicking on the "select a folder" button in the desktop toolbar (#159)
- Added ability for themes to change the menu bar border (#173)
- Improved notification area to fix hidden Spotify icon (#174) and fix dancing OneDrive icons
- Improved blank notification area icons to show a placeholder icon
Published by cairoshell over 6 years ago
Cairo requires Windows Vista or later, including Windows 10, and .NET 4.5.2 or later (already included with Windows 10)
Changes since M3.6680
- Added Brazilian Portuguese language - thanks @jonathands!
- Added Swedish language - thanks @m0gg3!
- Added scroll wheel support to menu bar stacks (#139)
- Fixed taskbar becoming hidden after closing full-screen window (#165)
- Fixed a possible App Grabber crash and improved consistency of text
- Improved multi-monitor efficiency
Published by cairoshell over 6 years ago
Cairo requires Windows Vista or later, including Windows 10, and .NET 4.5.2 or later (already included with Windows 10)
Changes since M3.6654
- Added logging system (#129)
- Logs can be found in %localappdata%\Cairo_Development_Team\Logs
- Logging level can be adjusted in Cairo Settings > Advanced
- Added ability to hold shift key to open folders in File Explorer (#125)
- Added ability to use middle mouse button to open Stacks in a new window (#133)
- Added "run as different user" option to items in the Programs menu while holding the shift key and right-clicking (#141)
- Added tooltips to desktop navigation bar, including current location (#117)
- Fixed Cairo running disabled startup items when set as shell (#119)
- Improved volume icon to represent current volume (#148)
- Updated French language (#152)
- Under-the-hood improvements to support upcoming features
Published by cairoshell over 6 years ago
Cairo requires Windows Vista or later, including Windows 10, and .NET 4.5.2 or later (already included with Windows 10)
Changes since M3.6649
- Added sound icon to Cairo notification area (#50)
- Improved app compatibility in notification area (#86, #121)
- Some notable improvements are Discord, MacType, OneDrive, and Rainmeter
- Fixed workarea not adjusting correctly on display change
- Fixed workarea not adjusting when Cairo set as shell with multiple monitors
- Fixed crash introduced by Windows key shortcut with multiple monitors
Published by cairoshell over 6 years ago
Cairo requires Windows Vista or later, including Windows 10, and .NET 4.5.2 or later (already included with Windows 10)
Changes since M3.6639
- Added Chinese language (credit @yanjinhuagood, #111)
- Improved notification area reliability
- Removed "Periodically re-establish notification area hook" as it is no longer needed
- Updated French language
- Fixed Windows network flyout not appearing (#50)
- Fixed unavailable menu option showing when Cairo is set as shell (#107)
Published by dremin over 6 years ago
Cairo requires Windows Vista or later, including Windows 10, and .NET 4.5.2 or later (already included with Windows 10)
Changes since M3.6634
- Added high-resolution Dynamic Desktop toolbar icons
- Added arrows to make re-ordering categories in App Grabber easier
- Added Windows key shortcut to open Programs menu when Cairo is set as the system shell (#100)
- Added button in Cairo Settings > Advanced to toggle between Cairo and Explorer as the system shell (#101)
- Moved all advanced settings to Cairo Settings > Advanced tab
- Fixed Taskbar showing even when disabled when multi-monitor is enabled (#96)
Published by cairoshell over 6 years ago
Cairo requires Windows Vista or later, including Windows 10, and .NET 4.5.2 or later (already included with Windows 10)
Changes since M3.6623
- Added support for showing Cairo on multiple monitors (#40)
- Can be enabled for Menu Bar and/or Taskbar
- Supports monitor hot plugging
- Added support for Taskbar auto-hide (#48)
- Added ability to drag message windows
- Added ability to drag shortcuts into App Grabber
- Improved settings organization
- Fixed App Grabber allowing empty category names
- Fixed possible crash (#94)
- Fixed workarea incorrectly restoring when running Cairo without Explorer (#93)
Published by cairoshell over 6 years ago
Cairo requires Windows Vista or later, including Windows 10, and .NET 4.5.2 or later (already included with Windows 10)
Cairo can now be translated into various languages. If you would like to help translate Cairo into your language, please contact [email protected]
Changes since M3.6617
- Added ability to open folders from Stacks and Places in the desktop overlay
- Added ability to close desktop overlay by clicking the empty area
- Added ability to scroll large folders on the Dynamic Desktop
- Added button to clear search text (#74)
- Added option to use the Windows 10 Acrylic blur behind the menu bar (#78)
- Improved performance opening large Programs menus
- Improved performance opening large Stacks folders
- Improved scrolling through Stacks
- Fixed appearance of search text box on Windows 7 and earlier
- Fixed desktop overlay obscuring everything when set as shell (replacing Explorer)
- Fixed errors when opening files and Cairo's desktop is disabled (#91)
- Fixed new files not appearing in large Stacks folders
- Clarified some terminology (#89)
