NVDA Highlighter Window gets stuck on Windows taskbar after Windows Explorer is restarted

[DimitrisKalaboukas]

Steps to reproduce:

1. Enable highlighting options on NVDA --> Settings --> Vision section.
2. Restart Windows File Explorer process.

Actual behavior:

An empty and non-responsive NVDA Highlighter Window gets stuck on the taskbar.

Expected behavior:

There isn’t such a useless and non-closable window on the taskbar.

NVDA logs, crash dumps and other attachments:

nvda.log

System configuration

NVDA installed

NVDA version:

2024.4.2

Windows version:

Windows 11 24h2

Name and version of other software in use when reproducing the issue:

Windows File Explorer (native)

Other information about your system:

I think that it is a possible cause for the following issue:

https://nvda.groups.io/g/nvda/topic/what_is_the_nvda_highlighter/105176434

Other questions

Does the issue still occur after restarting your computer?

Yes

Have you tried any other versions of NVDA? If so, please report their behaviors.

Yes: 2024.4, 2024.4.1. Same behavior.

If NVDA add-ons are disabled, is your problem still occurring?

Yes

Does the issue still occur after you run the COM Registration Fixing Tool in NVDA's tools menu?

Yes

[CyrilleB79]

How do you restart Windows File Explorer process?

Also, could you provide a log in debug mode.

For now, I cannot reproduce on my end but I am on Windows 10, what may make a difference.

[DimitrisKalaboukas]

@CyrilleB79 By right-clicking "explorer.exe" process in Task Manager and selecting "Restart".

nvda.log

[CyrilleB79]

@DimitrisKalaboukas, thanks for the second log. I have not yet looked at it.

Anyway, I have done an attempt to fix the issue.
Would you mind test this build to check if the issue is still present or not, and if the highlighter still works as expected?

[CyrilleB79]

@DimitrisKalaboukas, I have fixed the error in the previous message regarding the download link of the build. Could you test this build?

[DimitrisKalaboukas]

@CyrilleB79 I don’t want to risk installing an unstable build on my system. I will test it when a stable version is released and provide feedback on this thread.

[CyrilleB79]

@DimitrisKalaboukas you do not need to install this build. Just launch this installer, check the "I agree" checkbox to accept the licence and press "Continue running". NVDA will continue running from the installer, as a temporary portable copy, without touching your installed version or your configuration.
You can test the fix, and when you're done, just press control+alt+N to restart your normal installed NVDA copy.

Note that I am not able myself to reproduce the issue you are experimenting, maybe because I am on Windows 10. Thus, until you or someone else can test the fix, I prefer not to ask the fix to be merged in a release.

[DimitrisKalaboukas]

@CyrilleB79 Unfortunately, it doesn't fix the issue on my end.

[CyrilleB79]

@DimitrisKalaboukas thanks for having tested. Could you provide again a log while reproducing the issue? Thanks.

[DimitrisKalaboukas]

@CyrilleB79 See line 1849 (“application explorer closed”) and so on in the above debug log: #17696 (comment)

[CyrilleB79]

@DimitrisKalaboukas, sorry I have not been clear in my previous comment.

I'd like to provide a new log with the test build I have referenced in my previous comment.

I expect the error not to be the same as the one that was logged in your first log and I'd like to see it.

[hwf1324]

This is the debug log generated by #17698.

nvda.log

[DimitrisKalaboukas]

@CyrilleB79

nvda.log

[CyrilleB79]

Thanks @hwf1324 and @DimitrisKalaboukas for the logs.

Unfortunately, I am not able to see anything that could help me find the cause of what you describe.

Maybe anyone else can reproduce and investigate?

[hwf1324]

@DimitrisKalaboukas Can you test this build?

https://ci.appveyor.com/api/buildjobs/c60bqqmnc6o7eppc/artifacts/output%2Fnvda_snapshot_pr17711-35334%2C6aeb8a3f.exe

[DimitrisKalaboukas]

@hwf1324 Well done! It fixes the issue.