Enhance experimental Start Menu replacement feature for better system integration

[1129644912]

Preflight Checklist

• I have fully read the README and it did not solve the problem.
• I have read the FAQ and it did not solve the problem.
• I have searched all open and closed issues for the same bug report without success.

EverythingToolbar Version

3.2.0.0

Variant

Taskbar search box / Launcher

Everything Version

1.5.0

Windows Version

Microsoft Windows NT 10.0.26200.0

Steps to reproduce

I'm really enjoying the "Replace Start menu search (Experimental)" feature, thank you for creating such a great tool!

However, I've noticed that the search box's dimensions (width and height), transparency settings, and the auto-hide behavior after clicking are not perfectly synchronized with the native Windows Start menu.

Feature Request:
I hope the experimental Start menu replacement mode can be further optimized to dynamically match the width, height, transparency style, and click-to-hide interactions of the native Windows Start menu. This would make EverythingToolbar feel like a fully native part of the Windows system and provide a much smoother user experience.

Expected Behavior

The 'Replace Start menu search (Experimental)' feature should perfectly mimic the native Windows Start menu.

Actual Behavior

The experimental Start Menu replacement does not perfectly mimic the native Windows Start menu's behavior. As shown in the screenshots below:

1. Mismatched Dimensions: The width and height of the EverythingToolbar search box are inconsistent with the native Start menu.
2. Transparency/Blur Inconsistency: The transparency and background blur effect do not match the native Windows UI.
3. Interaction/Behavior Issue: Clicking outside the box or selecting an item does not properly hide the search interface, or its hide animation/behavior differs from the native Start menu.

Screenshots

No response

Log output

EverythingToolbar.log

Additional Information

No response

Final Checklist

• I have provided detailed, clear information in all required fields above and put genuine effort into this bug report.

[srwi]

Hi, thank you for the feedback! I have different comments on the points you brought up:

1. The window size can be adjusted by just dragging the edges or corners of the window. Have you tried that? Of course, the resizing could be done automatically, but there are more ux aspects to consider, like should it also do automatic scaling when not opened via the start menu? That would however come with other technical difficulties, so I am not sure if just adjusting it manually once isn't just good enough. 🙂
2. Unfortunately matching the exact appearance of the Windows start menu is not easily possible because they both use different underlying technologies (EverythingToolbar uses native windows and Microsoft did their own thing, which I don't really know the details of). The native windows limit the amount of blur and transparency a bit, so we can only ever get somewhat close, but never match it entirely. However there is an issue regarding customizable window background colors in Make background color customizable #787.
3. This sounds like a bug. Does this happen consistently or just when clicking outside the search window immediately after it has opened? Could you please provide step by step instructions on how to reproduce this?

Thank you!