The case of the disappearing window and how to fix it
- nmcollector
- May 23
- 3 min read
Background
Originally, NM Collector Software started in a fixed size and location. This was consistent and robust, never failing. The problem was that if you changed the window size or location, the next time you ran the program after closing it, you would lose your changes. With my focus on customizability, I thought it would be a good idea to retain your window size and locations customizations.
The Problem
Since no good deed ever goes unpunished, there were some unintended side effects that I slowly became aware of as they were encountered by my customers. First, if you have a multiple monitor setup and move the window to an external monitor, close the program while it is on the external monitor, remove the external monitor, and restart the program, you will not see the window except in the taskbar. Hovering over the image in the taskbar would show the window you want to see but it is not visible on your monitor.
Note: All images are from Windows. The same problem occurs in Mac and Linux
The Solution - I thought
So, in the next release, I added code to check that the NM Collector Software window was visible on the current system no matter how many monitors were connected. That worked! I thought I was done but ... not so fast.
The Problem - Take Two
Even after the update, some customers were still experiencing the problem. It took me a while to figure out what was happening but I finally did. It seems that even with my code changes, if you chose to maximize your NM Collector Software window and then close the program with the window maximized, the next time you ran the program it would still be stuck in the task bar!
The Solution - Take Two
As it turns out, I could not recover from this problem with code changes. The best I could do was prevent it from happening by not saving the current size and location when the window was maximized. This prevents it from happening but does not solve the problem for those where it has already happened. Unfortunately, to recover from this situation requires manual intervention. Specifically, the file that stores the window size and location has to be deleted so the program can get past the problem and prevent it from happening again.
Manual Recovery - Overview
If you are in the unfortunate situation where you have installed the latest version and the program still only shows in the task bar, you have to delete a file named nmcswSize.ini from your file system to recover. For those who know how to do it, in Windows the file is located in the C:\Users\[your user Id]\AppData\Roaming\nmcollector\ directory where [your user id] is your login ID. In my case, since my login id is cjpry, my path is C:\Users\cjpry\AppData\Roaming\nmcollector\.
For the Mac that location is ~/Library/Application Support/nmcollector/.
Linux installations vary but it can be found in ~/.config/nmcollector/ or ~/.local/share/.
You can find the exact location from within the program itself by selecting the Help > About menu option (see below). However, this is of no use if you can't see the program window!
Manual Recovery - Details
If the information provided in the overview (above) is not enough for you to accomplish the task, following is a detailed step by step with screen captures. The screen captures are from Windows but the procedure for Mac and Linux is essentially the same with a few variations that should be familiar to Mac and Linux users without further explanation.
Navigate to the location of the folder containing the nmcswSize.ini file.
It's possible, probably likely, that you won't see the AppData folder in order to navigate to the Roaming folder. To view it you must make hidden files visible within File Explorer by selection View > Show > Hidden items. Once you have made this selection, you must close and reopen File Explorer to see the hidden items including the AppData folder.
Once you navigate to the C:\Users\[your user Id]\AppData\Roaming\nmcollector\folder you can locate and delete the nmcswSize.ini file.
Result
When you restart NM Collector Software the window will revert to its default location and you can now move, resize, and even maximize the window without fear of it getting stuck in the task bar again.
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