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Gianluca

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05/01/2026 Topic: SyMenu 8.11 Gianluca Administrator	Hello everyone, A new year has begun and a new SyMenu version comes with it. This release is quite a nice one, introducing some new features along with some bug fixes. The main new feature worth highlighting is the ability to enable customizable tooltips for Windows items. As you know, external executables can appear in SyMenu here and there, for example, when you search for something that exists in the host Start Menu, or when you browse your physical file system through SyMenu. In these cases, SyMenu shows a tooltip containing only the basic information it can easily extract from the file: its full path and name. However, if SyMenu finds a file in the same folder with the same name as the executable and the .tooltip extension, it will open that file in text mode, read it, and use its content to populate the item’s tooltip. For example, if you search for Microsoft Word (the shortcut name) and SyMenu resolves it to its target file (winword.exe), then, if a file named winword.exe.tooltip exists, SyMenu will open it, read it, and use its content as the tooltip for Word. For a clear overview of this new feature, please refer to the manual: https://www.ugmfree.it/manual#Advanced_menu_Options_Menu And if you have any questions, I’m here.
09/01/2026 Topic: Win11 client machine takes long time to settle Gianluca Administrator	Startup time SyMenu appears almost instantly as a system tray icon and starts flashing with a small red light, mimicking hard drive activity. Any other scenario suggests a problem with your system. The flashing phase indicates that SyMenu is indexing your Start menu and its own programs. It should take up to a minute on particularly slow devices, not more. Since you are reading from a network share, that is likely your bottleneck. Large number of files It is normal for a program like SyMenu to slow down as you add more files. In normal conditions, this slowdown is manageable (a matter of seconds), but your situation is far from normal. However, don't get distracted by this: your main issue is the overall delay. Generally speaking, 147.503 files in 12.977 folders are too many for almost any program except for a file explorer. And SyMenu is not a file explorer, even if it has some features that mimic one. I assume you aren't referring to 147.503 actual programs but normal file, so please use SyMenu for programs, not as a file manager. Anyway the real concern remains the 2:20–4:30 minutes required for a clean install. Shadohz wrote: So I guess this brings me back to my original question: is there a way to stop or bypass this on-launch scanning behavior? No, there isn't. And there is no reason to prevent it because this is not your real problem. And this brings me back to my first suggestion: why don't you try testing it by adding a single element at a time? If I were in your shoes, the very first test I would perform is running a clean version of SyMenu directly on the server machine, and another clean version directly on the client machine. This is the only way to accurately check a program's performance. Any test involving a connection between two machines is actually testing: - The network speed - The SMB protocol configuration - The network cards - The network cables - The Antivirus (AV) behaviour - The Firewall You are testing too many variables at once and I won't be able to help you until we isolate where the real problem lies.
10/01/2026 Topic: Win11 client machine takes long time to settle Gianluca Administrator	Shadohz wrote: I'm just going to migrate everything back to PortableApps. If it works for you, then it's a good move. Out of curiosity, I tried to reproduce your experiment and I hope these findings help others. My (huge) SyMenu is located in D:\SyMenu. Starting it locally takes less than 10 seconds to launch, scan, and run all configured autoexec programs. I then mapped D:\SyMenu as a network drive (Z:\). Launching it from there, from the same machine, still takes less than 10 seconds to do every action. I then shared the folder on local network. Launching it from another PC still takes less than 10 seconds to do every action. So SyMenu has no problem at all running locally, from a mapped network drive or from a network share. This suggests, as I suspected, the issue might be specific to your environment (e.g., Security settings, OS policies, or restrictive SMB configurations). While I can't diagnose your specific OS setup, I'm glad PortableApps is working as a solid workaround for you.
22/01/2026 Topic: SPS Builder Manual Gianluca Administrator	Thank you, an excellent work came out. I've just linked pinne this thread on top and linked it to the SPS Builer page too.
06/02/2026 Topic: Show on mouse hover: Automatic menu closure Gianluca Administrator	I analyzed this feature which, frankly, I don’t even remember, and I discover another issue. Sometimes, when the menu closes, the floating icon disappears as well, and there’s no way to make it appear again unless you open and close a form (configuration, options, splash…) from the taskbar icon. Worse, the problem sometimes persists even after disabling the option, until SyMenu is restarted with the option unflagged. I’m trying to simplify SyMenu, so instinctively my idea is to remove this option, but let’s try to understand whether it makes sense or not. The question is: is it really useful to open the menu by hovering the floating icon with the mouse? In my opinion it isn’t, because to actually perform any action in the menu, you still have to click on an item. There’s no function accessible through simple hovering, except for general navigation among menu entries. And SyMenu is not a navigator, neither for its own items nor for the file system items even if it allows you to browse it. So the conclusion is that there’s no real reason to keep this feature alive, and I will probably remove it in the next version. Anyway, if I’m missing some use cases, please let me know.
06/02/2026 Topic: Show on mouse hover: Automatic menu closure Gianluca Administrator	If you don’t see the system tray icon and don’t want to use your keyboard, you can rely on the floating icon. The only difference compared to your current workflow is that you need to click on it instead of hovering. Mouse gestures are still available, but I abandoned the developing of that feature long ago, so I don’t recommend re-enabling it. If you still want to count on it, you can search the forum for instructions on how to activate again. Indeed there’s another way to launch SyMenu, although I doubt it will be suitable for you: you can create a desktop shortcut pointing to SyMenu and use that instead. SyMenu allows multiple instances, but only one instance per physical executable. So if your shortcut points to a specific SyMenu.exe, only one instance will run. If you try to start a second instance from the same executable, the menu of the first one will pop up. Since it works this way, you could also use a third‑party tool to create a mouse gesture that triggers the same shortcut. The effect will be the same. Please let me know if any of these options could work for you. By the way, which program launcher offers the feature you described? I’m curious to test it, because I’d like to understand whether it could be useful to implement something similar in SyMenu.
07/02/2026 Topic: Show on mouse hover: Automatic menu closure Gianluca Administrator	Ok, I tested Start Everywhere and I really like the feature, so I’ll add it to the SyMenu todo list and let’s see what happens. By the way, I didn’t know WinTools.info, and I’ve just realized they offer a lot of nice freeware tools. So - message for the SPS editors - I’d really appreciate it if someone could take care of adding them to the SyMenu suite. In the meantime, I’ll try to contact Peter Panisz to see whether he likes the idea.
17/02/2026 Topic: slow down startup and random freezes Gianluca Administrator	Hi Samo, there’s absolutely no need to reinstall anything. SyMenu doesn’t write to the system registry, so it doesn’t accumulate junk over time. Your first run is exactly the same as your last one. Before giving you what is not a solution but a possible cause list, I suggest you try this: back up your SyMenu\Config folder somewhere safe delete SyMenu\Config\SyMenuConfig.zip SyMenuConfig.zip is where SyMenu stores its settings, not your items configuration, so you can safely delete it. When you start the program again, it will ask you to configure everything (language, license, privacy, contextual menu elements, colors, and so on). With a non‑customized menu (no autoxec, no gestures, no custom shortcuts), try using it for a while to see whether the issue is actually related to SyMenu. But trust the old man: this probably won’t be your solution. What you’re describing strongly suggests: synchronization issues antivirus interference storage problems If you’re experiencing the exact same issue on all four of your PCs (you didn’t mention that), it’s probably the antivirus slowing down access to one of your program folders. Synchronization can easily stall the filesystem, as we learned from another user who abandoned SyMenu because it couldn’t handle his complex sync setup (https://www.ugmfree.it/forum/messages.aspx?TopicID=959). If the problem occurs only on one PC, check the disk, it might be time to replace it. Let me know if any of this resonates.
21 days ago Topic: A crazy new adventure! Gianluca Administrator	Hello everyone, I'm going a bit off-topic here to tell you about a new, exciting madness I've been diving into lately: it's called GANI. GANI is a very different program from SyMenu, yet it draws many of its core principles from it: absolute precision, total control, and zero compromises. So, what exactly is GANI? In technical terms, it is a RAG system assisted by conversational AI. Specifically, a RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) is a system usually based on an LLM (Large Language Model), making it similar to ChatGPT, Gemini, or Copilot. Unlike those, however, a RAG concentrates its analytical power primarily on the user's own data. In practice, it's an intelligent assistant that reads your documents, understands them, and answers your questions based predominantly on the materials it has "absorbed". For those who know a bit about the subject: I should clarify that it isn't exactly an "agent". It won't take initiative, it won't control your accounts, it won't go grocery shopping for you, and it won't clean the cat's litter box. It limits itself to reading and digesting only the documents you actively provide. Likewise, it will erase from its memory any documents you remove. Is this the "total control" I mentioned earlier? No. There are various software tools today that offer more or less the same thing. Even AIs like ChatGPT can do it: you give them a document, they read it, and they process it. The real revolution here is something else: 100% local privacy, with no smoke and mirrors. Today we are surrounded by cloud-based AI. Even 99% of so-called "local agents" are nothing more than interfaces that ultimately rely on online services for the actual processing. But for me, privacy is not: "send me your text, I'll analyze it, I'll reply, and then... I promise... trust me... I'll delete it." To me, privacy means not sending anything out at all, in the most absolute and total way. GANI's AI runs entirely on your PC. The whole indexing and analysis process happens right there, on your hardware, completely offline. Your data never leaves your hard drive. GANI is an AI with a pure and irreproachable soul that respects your privacy and doesn't exploit your content simply because... technically, it can't. Clearly, running everything locally comes at a price: the hardware requirements are heavy. This isn't "lightweight" software for every PC but it requires computing power to run the models smoothly. You need a GPU, RAM, and VRAM. If you want to use the most powerful LLM models (GANI lets you choose from several), you'll need to increase that power... in the magic world of AI, power is everything. And unfortunately, power has a cost. And if you think we have all this computing power for free on the cloud today... well, reflect on the fact that you are paying for it with your data. Consistent with my long-standing tradition, GANI will be completely free for the vast majority of users. However, to make it sustainable, I have included a limit on the number of indexable documents in the Free version (the Pro version will be dedicated to those who need to manage large volumes or want to use it commercially). SyMenu, in its own way, taught me that this is the only way to ensure continuity and remove the boundaries of development. Why this post? Well, I need some of you, enthusiastic and technically skilled people, who want to jump into this new adventure. At this stage of development, I am looking for: Beta Testers: to measure the AI engine performance on different hardware configurations and to test the user interface. Translators: to make GANI multilingual. But I've also opened this thread to gather your suggestions, doubts, technical insights, or critiques. I want to know what you think and if the idea of a truly local AI seems as sensible to you as it does to me. If you'd like to give a hand with testing or translations, please write to me in private. You can learn more and download the beta version of the program on the GANI website here: https://ganisoft.com
20 days ago Topic: SyMenu 8.12 Gianluca Administrator	A new version has been published. Nothing too thrilling this time, the new version contains some features requested by the SPS editors and a clean-up of an old and problematic feature (the menu opening when hovering over the floating icon). Sorry for not being very active lately but, hey, there's a new puppy I'm playing with and I hope you're enjoying it too. If you haven't noticed yet, the anoncement about the new one is here: https://www.ugmfree.it/forum/messages.aspx?TopicID=970
19 days ago Topic: A crazy new adventure! Gianluca Administrator	Thank you. It's because GANI is a fresh new app without a signed setup. I think with 200 positive reports, MS will remove the alert or, better, I can add GANI to the SyMenu suite that is more permissive.
17 days ago Topic: slow down startup and random freezes Gianluca Administrator	Finally, this is something really interesting. To recap: it seems that when a network drive is mapped but the device is offline, SyMenu asks Windows to enumerate the folders to begin its scan. Instead of returning an immediate error (like 'not found' or 'unavailable'), the OS keeps trying to access the drive until a very long timeout is reached. Dear Windows, old boy... anyway, let's try to work around it as we usually do. I need a log from SyMenu. To enable logging, you need to start the application from the command line with a special argument: SyMenu.exe -logger If the lag occurs, please close SyMenu and send me the log file privately. You will find it in the SyMenu root folder, named something like LogFile.20260308.txt. Also, if possible, I’d like you to try this test: Move all your items (programs, folders, etc.) that point to the mapped drive into a SyMenu subfolder. For example, if you have an item like Z:\myprogram.exe directly in the SyMenu root, create a new container/folder and move it inside. Then, restart SyMenu and let’s see if the startup delay disappears.
17 days ago Topic: slow down startup and random freezes Gianluca Administrator	I don't understad... you have no SyMenu items (folders or programs) pointing to one of the NAS but if the NAS is offline, SyMenu suffers the same. Is it possible? The only scenarios in which this is possible is: - when you navigate through folders with SyMenu but, again, SyMenu loads every folder content only if you want to open it. - if you mapped some NAS resources in your Start Menu. SyMenu scans your start menu to link whatever it finds inside. In this case any broken link is ignored. But, if the OS needs a long timeout to tell SyMenu that one resource is broken... well you got your delay.
17 days ago Topic: slow down startup and random freezes Gianluca Administrator	I need your help to check the workaround I created. I’ve built a new beta version, identical to the current one, but with a new system designed to prevent Windows from 'hanging' while trying to access inactive or unavailable network drives. This was indeed the root cause of the freezes you experienced in SyMenu. You can download the beta and use it to overwrite your current installation, or simply run it in parallel only to test the fix. One important note: since this is a manual download, Windows might trigger its security protection. To avoid any issues, please remember to unblock the ZIP file after downloading it, as explained here for plugins: https://www.ugmfree.it/manual#SyMenuPluginBlocked. The beta URL is available here: https://www.ugmfree.it/public/SyMenuBeta/SyMenu.8.12.9563.beta.zip Please let me know if this resolves the issue.
17 days ago Topic: slow down startup and random freezes Gianluca Administrator	Ok then my workaround works and this is the good news, but probably I have to apply it in another place too. So stay tuned!
16 days ago Topic: slow down startup and random freezes Gianluca Administrator	Now the problem is finally clear. Windows uses a component called the Network Redirector to manage communications with network drives. Unfortunately, it has a very long default timeout (10-20 seconds) before declaring a unit unreachable. As we know... networks can be slow by definition. In my previous attempt, I only partially solved the problem. I used an API that 'wakes up' the Network Redirector on the first unit checked (X: in Masspuck's case). This still required those 10-20 seconds for the first check, but at least the Redirector was smart enough to realize that other units on the same IP were also down. Good boy, Redirector. Before this update, SyMenu didn't trigger this behavior, causing timeouts to pile up one after another. Since there’s no way to change how Windows works, I decided to run every check on separate threads in parallel. Why didn't I do this in the first place? Because SyMenu loads so fast that I was afraid a user might click on a unit before it was actually ready. With hindsight... well, who cares? If a user is that fast, they’ll be smart enough to understand they just need to try again. As I get older, I tend to become more and more cautious, so now the behavior is slightly different: you won't see a network unit until it's confirmed as ready. So, if you’re quick enough, you might actually see a mapped unit appear in 'My Computer' right before your eyes. I’m quite confident the problem is now solved, but I’m looking forward to your feedback. A word for Maaspuck: Without your help, I couldn't have solved this. You have been great, fast, and precise in your reporting. If all users were like you, SyMenu would have been bug-free for years! The new beta is here: https://www.ugmfree.it/public/SyMenuBeta/SyMenu.8.12.9564.beta.zip
16 days ago Topic: SyMenu Published App Track Gianluca Administrator	Well, I realized that I never gave proper closure to this thread. Anyway, VVV is still alive and kicking, but now he’s playing in a different league than the SyMenu community (he’s in the tough league now, the real‑life one 🙂). He handed the source code over to me, but unfortunately mrx gave up because PAT is too complex and not very well written, so it’s too steep a project to start with. I can’t take it on myself either, so I’m still waiting for someone new who might want to help with this project. In my opinion it’s a really interesting topic, and there’s room for tons of improvement. If I weren’t so overloaded, I’d be happy to work on it myself. Let me recap everything: - PAT needs to be updated: user agent, UI typos, architecture (x86 → x64) - PAT should be converted from its current language (VB.NET) to a more standard one (C#) - There’s plenty of room to improve the program’s functionality as well - We need a developer, even a young one, because I can’t manage a new project but I can supervise one If you want to write a small manual, I can republish PAT including this new resource — no problem at all.
16 days ago Topic: A crazy new adventure! Gianluca Administrator	Interesting questions (and I wouldn’t expect anything different from you, my friend ). Is it portable? Well, it will be. Once I exit the beta phase, I’ll include it as an SPS in SyMenu. At the moment it writes its data in AppData\Local\GANI, but as you know, SyMenu can easily redirect that folder into a program’s subfolder. The other file it creates is a virtual disk called GANI, which you’re free to place wherever you want. So when GANI becomes part of SyMenu, its setup will be torn to pieces, just like we do for every other program... no privileges for anyone inside the SyMenu suite. Plugin Currently, GANI can read any kind of text file with the following extensions: .txt, .log, .csv, .ini, .md, .htm, .html, so HTML is already supported. XML would be plain text too, but it’s more flexible than HTML because XML can define its own tags. So I can consider supporting specific XML formats. For example, if a data flow uses a specific XML structure, I can create a plugin to decode it without losing information. Remember that HTML relies on tag content, while XML can store information in attributes as well. As for the other formats: why not? I designed the plugin system exactly to expand the tool or to allow someone else to expand it. In fact, in addition to plain text files, I've already written plugins for xlsx, docx, pdf, pptx, and rtf. edited by Gianluca on 10/03/2026
16 days ago Topic: SyMenu 8.08 Gianluca Administrator	Indeed it's availabel, maybe a bit hidden but it's there. Configuration - Help - Changelog web page
4 days ago Topic: slow down startup and random freezes Gianluca Administrator	I've just released an official version that includes the workaround. Thanks again for your patience.