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Shell Flyouts & Positions

Shell Flyouts & Positions

This guide explores Windhawk companion mods that manage window positioning, flyout coordinates, and custom shell widgets across Windows 11.

1. Shell Flyout Positions

Mod ID: shell-flyout-positions
Target Processes: explorer.exe, StartMenuExperienceHost.exe, ShellExperienceHost.exe, ShellHost.exe, SearchHost.exe
Scope: Win32 window positioning hooks for top-level shell flyouts

Overview

By default, Windows 11 pins the Start Menu, Quick Settings, and Notification Center to the bottom edge of the display, aligned relative to the taskbar. shell-flyout-positions intercepts the Win32 window placement logic, allowing you to anchor shell flyouts to arbitrary locations on screen:

  • Top / Center Docking: Position the Start Menu or Quick Settings panel at the top edge or true center of your monitor.
  • Offset Margins: Add custom X/Y pixel offsets between the screen edge or taskbar and the flyout window border.
  • Monitor-Specific Overrides: Assign different anchor behaviors depending on primary vs secondary displays.
  • Independent Flyout Rules: Configure Start Menu, Action Center, Notification Center, Network/Sound flyouts, and Search independently.
flowchart TD
    Native["Native Windows 11 Layout: Bottom Taskbar Anchor"]
    Hook["shell-flyout-positions Hook"]
    Custom1["Top-Centered Flyout (macOS / GNOME style)"]
    Custom2["Floating Centered Island"]
    Custom3["Screen Corner Docking"]

    Native --> Hook
    Hook --> Custom1
    Hook --> Custom2
    Hook --> Custom3

Styler Compatibility Rules

When pairing shell-flyout-positions with windows-11-start-menu-styler.yml or windows-11-notification-center-styler.yml:

  1. Remove Competing Margins: Ensure root panel margins (e.g. Margin: "0,0,0,12") in styler configurations do not fight the external window offset set in shell-flyout-positions.
  2. Flyout Shadow Alignment: When shifting flyouts away from the taskbar, enable top/bottom border strokes in your styler theme to maintain balanced rim lighting around all four edges.

2. Dynamic Island for Windows

Mod ID: dynamic-island
Target Process: explorer.exe
Scope: Shell floating widget layer

Overview

Inspired by mobile dynamic status pills, dynamic-island injects an interactive top-docked pill widget onto your primary monitor. It surfaces:

  • Active Media Playback: Song title, artist, play/pause controls, and interactive volume scrubs.
  • System Status & Telemetry: Volume adjustments, brightness sliders, microphone/camera activity indicators.
  • Compact Notification Badges: Non-intrusive notification badges without triggering full toast cards.

Visual Harmony

To align dynamic-island with universal frosted glass theme design standards:

  • Match the corner radius scale of the surrounding shell surfaces (a mid-size radius, roughly 12–16px).
  • Align the dark glass tint (#07111F or #0D1B2D) and border highlight (#25FFFFFF) with taskbar and start menu panels.

3. Start Button Colorizer

Mod ID: start-button-colorizer
Target Process: explorer.exe
Scope: Windows Start logo icon glyph within the taskbar

Overview

Allows dynamic tinting, custom color gradients, or accent-driven color changes for the native Windows Start button icon.

Key Capabilities

  • Custom Static Color: Force the Start button to a designated hex color (e.g., cyan #48D8F2 or magenta #FF007F).
  • Accent Color Sync: Dynamically inherit the current Windows system accent color.
  • Hover State Brightness: Increase luminescence or glow when the cursor hovers over the Start button.