Customize the Open and Save Window

Martin Brinkmann
Oct 7, 2007
Updated • Oct 15, 2015
Software, Windows tips
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6

The open and save dialog windows in Windows have the nasty habit of not remembering any of the changes that you made while using them. I prefer a wider window for example as I prefer to read all file and folder names in full, as it helps me navigate the folder structure better and identify any file or folder directly without having to resize it first.

Unfortunately though, Microsoft did not implement this feature so that Windows resets the open and save window every time. Open Wide is a software that provides you with a feature that should have been implemented into Windows long ago: it can customize the open and save dialog window permanently based on a resolution that you select for it.

You can basically set a width and height for the open and save dialog box plus the position you want it to appear on the screen.

It is furthermore possible to define the cursor focus which can be set to filename, filetype, directory listing, look in and Places Bar.

Last but not least the View Mode can be defined. If you prefer a detailed view - like I do - you can set it to that or change it to any other mode available in Windows.

OpenWide was written to avoid a few [more] minor annoyances with Windows. This program allows you to specify the position and size of Windows' Open and Save dialog boxes, and also to specify where the initial focus should be and which view will be the default.

Limited testing has shown it to work on a release of Win2000 Professional and a release of WinXP Home.

The program comes with a set of options that you may find useful. You can for instance exclude program windows so that their size is not changed, and also have it start with Windows which may be useful if you need its functionality every time you use the operating system.

Update: Please note that the program is only compatible with Windows XP and not newer versions of Windows like Vista, Windows 7 or Windows 8. Newer versions of Windows remember the size of the open and save dialog window so that you don't need to use software for that anymore if you run a new version of Windows.

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Software Name
OpenWide
Operating System
Windows
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Comments

  1. p5chin said on October 8, 2007 at 5:22 am
    Reply

    Try multienhancer – A software that does the same ( and some more).

    link:http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/OS-Enhancements/Windows-MultiEnhancer.shtml

  2. Terence Hill said on October 8, 2007 at 5:02 am
    Reply

    I agree with Timo: instead of tweakui there’s Placebar Constructor only to modify the places on the left.

  3. Timo said on October 7, 2007 at 12:48 pm
    Reply

    try tweakui to midify the places list left

    much better modification i think

  4. Jerusalem Joe said on October 7, 2007 at 9:41 am
    Reply

    Thanks a lot!
    I’ve been hating on the open-save dialog window for years!!
    What a great program!

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