Refine the CmdPal launch and activation logic when opening a new app instance

This bumps the version of the toolkit consumed by the template to 0.2.0

~Ironically, I have not yet published 0.2. I'm spinning that CI build currently. But I'll have that uploaded tomorrow morning at the latest~

EDIT: package is uploaded now

.github/actions/spell-check/expect.txt

@@ -315,6 +315,7 @@ debugbreak
 declatory
 decryptor
 Dedup
+Deeplink
 DEFAULTBOOTSTRAPPERINSTALLFOLDER
 DEFAULTCOLOR
 DEFAULTFLAGS

src/modules/cmdpal/CmdPalModuleInterface/dllmain.cpp

@@ -217,10 +217,9 @@ public:
         CmdPal::m_enabled.store(true);
 
         std::wstring packageName = L"Microsoft.CommandPalette";
-        std::wstring launchPath = L"shell:AppsFolder\\Microsoft.CommandPalette_8wekyb3d8bbwe!App";
+        std::wstring launchPath = L"x-cmdpal://background";
 #ifdef IS_DEV_BRANDING
         packageName = L"Microsoft.CommandPalette.Dev";
-        launchPath = L"shell:AppsFolder\\Microsoft.CommandPalette.Dev_8wekyb3d8bbwe!App";
 #endif
 
         if (!package::GetRegisteredPackage(packageName, false).has_value())
@@ -269,7 +268,7 @@ public:
         if (!firstEnableCall)
         {
             Logger::trace("Not first attempt, try to launch");
-            LaunchApp(launchPath, L"RunFromPT", false /*no elevated*/, false /*error pop up*/);
+            LaunchApp(launchPath, L"", false /*no elevated*/, false /*error pop up*/);
         }
         else
         {
@@ -297,7 +296,7 @@ public:
         int retry = 0;
         do
         {
-            auto launch_result = LaunchApp(path, L"RunFromPT", false, retry < max_retry);
+            auto launch_result = LaunchApp(path, L"", false, retry < max_retry);
             if (launch_result)
             {
                 Logger::info(L"CmdPal launched successfully after {} retries.", retry);

src/modules/cmdpal/ExtensionTemplate/TemplateCmdPalExtension/Directory.Packages.props

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
     <ManagePackageVersionsCentrally>true</ManagePackageVersionsCentrally>
   </PropertyGroup>
   <ItemGroup>
-    <PackageVersion Include="Microsoft.CommandPalette.Extensions" Version="0.1.0" />
+    <PackageVersion Include="Microsoft.CommandPalette.Extensions" Version="0.2.0" />
     <PackageVersion Include="Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.NetAnalyzers" Version="9.0.0-preview.24508.2" />
     <PackageVersion Include="Microsoft.Web.WebView2" Version="1.0.2903.40" />
     <PackageVersion Include="Microsoft.Windows.CsWin32" Version="0.2.46-beta" />

src/modules/cmdpal/Microsoft.CmdPal.UI.ViewModels/CommandProviderWrapper.cs

@@ -66,8 +66,10 @@ public sealed class CommandProviderWrapper
         DisplayName = provider.DisplayName;
         Icon = new(provider.Icon);
         Icon.InitializeProperties();
+
+        // Note: explicitly not InitializeProperties()ing the settings here. If
+        // we do that, then we'd regress GH #38321
         Settings = new(provider.Settings, this, _taskScheduler);
-        Settings.InitializeProperties();
 
         Logger.LogDebug($"Initialized command provider {ProviderId}");
     }
@@ -151,9 +153,11 @@ public sealed class CommandProviderWrapper
             Icon = new(model.Icon);
             Icon.InitializeProperties();
 
+            // Note: explicitly not InitializeProperties()ing the settings here. If
+            // we do that, then we'd regress GH #38321
             Settings = new(model.Settings, this, _taskScheduler);
-            Settings.InitializeProperties();
 
+            // We do need to explicitly initialize commands though
             InitializeCommands(commands, fallbacks, serviceProvider, pageContext);
 
             Logger.LogDebug($"Loaded commands from {DisplayName} ({ProviderId})");
@@ -194,21 +198,6 @@ public sealed class CommandProviderWrapper
         }
     }
 
-    /* This is a View/ExtensionHost piece
-     * public void AllowSetForeground(bool allow)
-    {
-        if (!IsExtension)
-        {
-            return;
-        }
-
-        var iextn = extensionWrapper?.GetExtensionObject();
-        unsafe
-        {
-            PInvoke.CoAllowSetForegroundWindow(iextn);
-        }
-    }*/
-
     public override bool Equals(object? obj) => obj is CommandProviderWrapper wrapper && isValid == wrapper.isValid;
 
     public override int GetHashCode() => _commandProvider.GetHashCode();

src/modules/cmdpal/Microsoft.CmdPal.UI.ViewModels/CommandSettingsViewModel.cs

@@ -2,18 +2,25 @@
 // The Microsoft Corporation licenses this file to you under the MIT license.
 // See the LICENSE file in the project root for more information.
 
+using ManagedCommon;
 using Microsoft.CmdPal.UI.ViewModels.Models;
 using Microsoft.CommandPalette.Extensions;
 
 namespace Microsoft.CmdPal.UI.ViewModels;
 
-public partial class CommandSettingsViewModel(ICommandSettings _unsafeSettings, CommandProviderWrapper provider, TaskScheduler mainThread)
+public partial class CommandSettingsViewModel(ICommandSettings? _unsafeSettings, CommandProviderWrapper provider, TaskScheduler mainThread)
 {
     private readonly ExtensionObject<ICommandSettings> _model = new(_unsafeSettings);
 
     public ContentPageViewModel? SettingsPage { get; private set; }
 
-    public void InitializeProperties()
+    public bool Initialized { get; private set; }
+
+    public bool HasSettings =>
+        _model.Unsafe != null && // We have a settings model AND
+        (!Initialized || SettingsPage != null); // we weren't initialized, OR we were, and we do have a settings page
+
+    private void UnsafeInitializeProperties()
     {
         var model = _model.Unsafe;
         if (model == null)
@@ -27,4 +34,27 @@ public partial class CommandSettingsViewModel(ICommandSettings _unsafeSettings,
             SettingsPage.InitializeProperties();
         }
     }
+
+    public void SafeInitializeProperties()
+    {
+        try
+        {
+            UnsafeInitializeProperties();
+        }
+        catch (Exception ex)
+        {
+            Logger.LogError($"Failed to load settings page", ex: ex);
+        }
+
+        Initialized = true;
+    }
+
+    public void DoOnUiThread(Action action)
+    {
+        Task.Factory.StartNew(
+            action,
+            CancellationToken.None,
+            TaskCreationOptions.None,
+            mainThread);
+    }
 }

src/modules/cmdpal/Microsoft.CmdPal.UI.ViewModels/ContentFormViewModel.cs

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ using System.Text.Json;
 using AdaptiveCards.ObjectModel.WinUI3;
 using AdaptiveCards.Templating;
 using CommunityToolkit.Mvvm.Messaging;
+using ManagedCommon;
 using Microsoft.CmdPal.UI.ViewModels.Messages;
 using Microsoft.CmdPal.UI.ViewModels.Models;
 using Microsoft.CommandPalette.Extensions;
@@ -28,43 +29,67 @@ public partial class ContentFormViewModel(IFormContent _form, WeakReference<IPag
 
     public AdaptiveCardParseResult? Card { get; private set; }
 
+    private static string Serialize(string? s) =>
+        JsonSerializer.Serialize(s, JsonSerializationContext.Default.String);
+
+    private static bool TryBuildCard(
+        string templateJson,
+        string dataJson,
+        out AdaptiveCardParseResult? card,
+        out Exception? error)
+    {
+        card = null;
+        error = null;
+
+        try
+        {
+            var template = new AdaptiveCardTemplate(templateJson);
+            var cardJson = template.Expand(dataJson);
+            card = AdaptiveCard.FromJsonString(cardJson);
+            return true;
+        }
+        catch (Exception ex)
+        {
+            Logger.LogError("Error building card from template: {Message}", ex.Message);
+            error = ex;
+            return false;
+        }
+    }
+
     public override void InitializeProperties()
     {
         var model = _formModel.Unsafe;
-        if (model == null)
+        if (model is null)
         {
             return;
         }
 
-        try
-        {
-            TemplateJson = model.TemplateJson;
-            StateJson = model.StateJson;
-            DataJson = model.DataJson;
+        TemplateJson = model.TemplateJson;
+        StateJson = model.StateJson;
+        DataJson = model.DataJson;
 
-            AdaptiveCardTemplate template = new(TemplateJson);
-            var cardJson = template.Expand(DataJson);
-            Card = AdaptiveCard.FromJsonString(cardJson);
+        if (TryBuildCard(TemplateJson, DataJson, out var builtCard, out var renderingError))
+        {
+            Card = builtCard;
+            UpdateProperty(nameof(Card));
+            return;
         }
-        catch (Exception e)
-        {
-            // If we fail to parse the card JSON, then display _our own card_
-            // with the exception
-            AdaptiveCardTemplate template = new(ErrorCardJson);
-            var serializeString = (string? s) => JsonSerializer.Serialize(s, JsonSerializationContext.Default.String);
 
-            // todo: we could probably stick Card.Errors in there too
-            var dataJson = $$"""
-{
-    "error_message": {{serializeString(e.Message)}},
-    "error_stack": {{serializeString(e.StackTrace)}},
-    "inner_exception": {{serializeString(e.InnerException?.Message)}},
-    "template_json": {{serializeString(TemplateJson)}},
-    "data_json": {{serializeString(DataJson)}}
-}
-""";
-            var cardJson = template.Expand(dataJson);
-            Card = AdaptiveCard.FromJsonString(cardJson);
+        var errorPayload = $$"""
+    {
+        "error_message": {{Serialize(renderingError!.Message)}},
+        "error_stack":   {{Serialize(renderingError.StackTrace)}},
+        "inner_exception": {{Serialize(renderingError.InnerException?.Message)}},
+        "template_json": {{Serialize(TemplateJson)}},
+        "data_json":     {{Serialize(DataJson)}}
+    }
+    """;
+
+        if (TryBuildCard(ErrorCardJson, errorPayload, out var errorCard, out var _))
+        {
+            Card = errorCard;
+            UpdateProperty(nameof(Card));
+            return;
         }
 
         UpdateProperty(nameof(Card));

src/modules/cmdpal/Microsoft.CmdPal.UI.ViewModels/ListViewModel.cs

@@ -61,6 +61,8 @@ public partial class ListViewModel : PageViewModel, IDisposable
     private Task? _initializeItemsTask;
     private CancellationTokenSource? _cancellationTokenSource;
 
+    private ListItemViewModel? _lastSelectedItem;
+
     public override bool IsInitialized
     {
         get => base.IsInitialized; protected set
@@ -330,6 +332,11 @@ public partial class ListViewModel : PageViewModel, IDisposable
     [RelayCommand]
     private void UpdateSelectedItem(ListItemViewModel? item)
     {
+        if (_lastSelectedItem != null)
+        {
+            _lastSelectedItem.PropertyChanged -= SelectedItemPropertyChanged;
+        }
+
         if (item != null)
         {
             SetSelectedItem(item);
@@ -367,6 +374,43 @@ public partial class ListViewModel : PageViewModel, IDisposable
 
                TextToSuggest = item.TextToSuggest;
            });
+
+        _lastSelectedItem = item;
+        _lastSelectedItem.PropertyChanged += SelectedItemPropertyChanged;
+    }
+
+    private void SelectedItemPropertyChanged(object? sender, System.ComponentModel.PropertyChangedEventArgs e)
+    {
+        var item = _lastSelectedItem;
+        if (item == null)
+        {
+            return;
+        }
+
+        // already on the UI thread here
+        switch (e.PropertyName)
+        {
+            case nameof(item.Command):
+            case nameof(item.SecondaryCommand):
+            case nameof(item.AllCommands):
+            case nameof(item.Name):
+                WeakReferenceMessenger.Default.Send<UpdateCommandBarMessage>(new(item));
+                break;
+            case nameof(item.Details):
+                if (ShowDetails && item.HasDetails)
+                {
+                    WeakReferenceMessenger.Default.Send<ShowDetailsMessage>(new(item.Details));
+                }
+                else
+                {
+                    WeakReferenceMessenger.Default.Send<HideDetailsMessage>();
+                }
+
+                break;
+            case nameof(item.TextToSuggest):
+                TextToSuggest = item.TextToSuggest;
+                break;
+        }
     }
 
     private void ClearSelectedItem()

src/modules/cmdpal/Microsoft.CmdPal.UI.ViewModels/ProviderSettingsViewModel.cs

@@ -18,6 +18,8 @@ public partial class ProviderSettingsViewModel(
     IServiceProvider _serviceProvider) : ObservableObject
 {
     private readonly SettingsModel _settings = _serviceProvider.GetService<SettingsModel>()!;
+    private readonly Lock _initializeSettingsLock = new();
+    private Task? _initializeSettingsTask;
 
     public string DisplayName => _provider.DisplayName;
 
@@ -34,6 +36,9 @@ public partial class ProviderSettingsViewModel(
 
     public IconInfoViewModel Icon => _provider.Icon;
 
+    [ObservableProperty]
+    public partial bool LoadingSettings { get; set; } = _provider.Settings?.HasSettings ?? false;
+
     public bool IsEnabled
     {
         get => _providerSettings.IsEnabled;
@@ -56,15 +61,60 @@ public partial class ProviderSettingsViewModel(
         }
     }
 
-    private void Provider_CommandsChanged(CommandProviderWrapper sender, CommandPalette.Extensions.IItemsChangedEventArgs args)
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Gets a value indicating whether returns true if we have a settings page
+    /// that's initialized, or we are still working on initializing that
+    /// settings page. If we don't have a settings object, or that settings
+    /// object doesn't have a settings page, then we'll return false.
+    /// </summary>
+    public bool HasSettings
     {
-        OnPropertyChanged(nameof(ExtensionSubtext));
-        OnPropertyChanged(nameof(TopLevelCommands));
+        get
+        {
+            if (_provider.Settings == null)
+            {
+                return false;
+            }
+
+            if (_provider.Settings.Initialized)
+            {
+                return _provider.Settings.HasSettings;
+            }
+
+            // settings still need to be loaded.
+            return LoadingSettings;
+        }
     }
 
-    public bool HasSettings => _provider.Settings != null && _provider.Settings.SettingsPage != null;
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Gets will return the settings page, if we have one, and have initialized it.
+    /// If we haven't initialized it, this will kick off a thread to start
+    /// initializing it.
+    /// </summary>
+    public ContentPageViewModel? SettingsPage
+    {
+        get
+        {
+            if (_provider.Settings == null)
+            {
+                return null;
+            }
 
-    public ContentPageViewModel? SettingsPage => HasSettings ? _provider?.Settings?.SettingsPage : null;
+            if (_provider.Settings.Initialized)
+            {
+                LoadingSettings = false;
+                return _provider.Settings.SettingsPage;
+            }
+
+            // Don't load the settings if we're already working on it
+            lock (_initializeSettingsLock)
+            {
+                _initializeSettingsTask ??= Task.Run(InitializeSettingsPage);
+            }
+
+            return null;
+        }
+    }
 
     [field: AllowNull]
     public List<TopLevelViewModel> TopLevelCommands
@@ -90,4 +140,30 @@ public partial class ProviderSettingsViewModel(
     }
 
     private void Save() => SettingsModel.SaveSettings(_settings);
+
+    private void InitializeSettingsPage()
+    {
+        if (_provider.Settings == null)
+        {
+            return;
+        }
+
+        _provider.Settings.SafeInitializeProperties();
+        _provider.Settings.DoOnUiThread(() =>
+        {
+            // Changing these properties will try to update XAML, and that has
+            // to be handled on the UI thread, so we need to raise them on the
+            // UI thread
+            LoadingSettings = false;
+            OnPropertyChanged(nameof(HasSettings));
+            OnPropertyChanged(nameof(LoadingSettings));
+            OnPropertyChanged(nameof(SettingsPage));
+        });
+    }
+
+    private void Provider_CommandsChanged(CommandProviderWrapper sender, CommandPalette.Extensions.IItemsChangedEventArgs args)
+    {
+        OnPropertyChanged(nameof(ExtensionSubtext));
+        OnPropertyChanged(nameof(TopLevelCommands));
+    }
 }

src/modules/cmdpal/Microsoft.CmdPal.UI.ViewModels/TopLevelCommandManager.cs

@@ -45,6 +45,9 @@ public partial class TopLevelCommandManager : ObservableObject,
 
     public async Task<bool> LoadBuiltinsAsync()
     {
+        var s = new Stopwatch();
+        s.Start();
+
         _builtInCommands.Clear();
 
         // Load built-In commands first. These are all in-proc, and
@@ -64,6 +67,10 @@ public partial class TopLevelCommandManager : ObservableObject,
             }
         }
 
+        s.Stop();
+
+        Logger.LogDebug($"Loading built-ins took {s.ElapsedMilliseconds}ms");
+
         return true;
     }
 

src/modules/cmdpal/Microsoft.CmdPal.UI/App.xaml.cs

@@ -73,26 +73,12 @@ public partial class App : Application
     /// Invoked when the application is launched.
     /// </summary>
     /// <param name="args">Details about the launch request and process.</param>
-    protected override void OnLaunched(LaunchActivatedEventArgs args)
+    protected override void OnLaunched(Microsoft.UI.Xaml.LaunchActivatedEventArgs args)
     {
         AppWindow = new MainWindow();
 
-        var cmdArgs = Environment.GetCommandLineArgs();
-
-        var runFromPT = false;
-        foreach (var arg in cmdArgs)
-        {
-            if (arg == "RunFromPT")
-            {
-                runFromPT = true;
-                break;
-            }
-        }
-
-        if (!runFromPT)
-        {
-            AppWindow.Activate();
-        }
+        var activatedEventArgs = Microsoft.Windows.AppLifecycle.AppInstance.GetCurrent().GetActivatedEventArgs();
+        ((MainWindow)AppWindow).HandleLaunch(activatedEventArgs);
     }
 
     /// <summary>

src/modules/cmdpal/Microsoft.CmdPal.UI/MainWindow.xaml

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-<Window
+<winuiex:WindowEx
     x:Class="Microsoft.CmdPal.UI.MainWindow"
     xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
     xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
@@ -6,8 +6,13 @@
     xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
     xmlns:pages="using:Microsoft.CmdPal.UI.Pages"
     xmlns:viewmodels="using:Microsoft.CmdPal.UI.ViewModels"
+    xmlns:winuiex="using:WinUIEx"
+    Width="800"
+    Height="480"
+    MinWidth="320"
+    MinHeight="240"
     Activated="MainWindow_Activated"
     Closed="MainWindow_Closed"
     mc:Ignorable="d">
     <pages:ShellPage x:Name="RootShellPage" />
-</Window>
+</winuiex:WindowEx>

src/modules/cmdpal/Microsoft.CmdPal.UI/MainWindow.xaml.cs

@@ -19,21 +19,25 @@ using Microsoft.UI.Composition.SystemBackdrops;
 using Microsoft.UI.Input;
 using Microsoft.UI.Windowing;
 using Microsoft.UI.Xaml;
+using Microsoft.Windows.AppLifecycle;
+using Windows.ApplicationModel.Activation;
 using Windows.Foundation;
 using Windows.Graphics;
 using Windows.UI;
 using Windows.UI.WindowManagement;
 using Windows.Win32;
 using Windows.Win32.Foundation;
+using Windows.Win32.Graphics.Dwm;
 using Windows.Win32.UI.Input.KeyboardAndMouse;
 using Windows.Win32.UI.Shell;
 using Windows.Win32.UI.WindowsAndMessaging;
 using WinRT;
+using WinUIEx;
 using RS_ = Microsoft.CmdPal.UI.Helpers.ResourceLoaderInstance;
 
 namespace Microsoft.CmdPal.UI;
 
-public sealed partial class MainWindow : Window,
+public sealed partial class MainWindow : WindowEx,
     IRecipient<DismissMessage>,
     IRecipient<ShowWindowMessage>,
     IRecipient<HideWindowMessage>,
@@ -82,7 +86,6 @@ public sealed partial class MainWindow : Window,
 
         this.SetIcon();
         AppWindow.Title = RS_.GetString("AppName");
-        AppWindow.Resize(new SizeInt32 { Width = 1000, Height = 620 });
         PositionCentered();
         SetAcrylic();
 
@@ -232,6 +235,16 @@ public sealed partial class MainWindow : Window,
         PositionCentered(display);
 
         PInvoke.ShowWindow(hwnd, SHOW_WINDOW_CMD.SW_SHOW);
+
+        // instead of showing the window, uncloak it from DWM
+        // This will make it visible to the user, without the animation or frames for
+        // loading XAML with composition
+        unsafe
+        {
+            BOOL value = false;
+            PInvoke.DwmSetWindowAttribute(_hwnd, DWMWINDOWATTRIBUTE.DWMWA_CLOAK, &value, (uint)sizeof(BOOL));
+        }
+
         PInvoke.SetForegroundWindow(hwnd);
         PInvoke.SetActiveWindow(hwnd);
     }
@@ -289,7 +302,7 @@ public sealed partial class MainWindow : Window,
         ShowHwnd(message.Hwnd, settings.SummonOn);
     }
 
-    public void Receive(HideWindowMessage message) => PInvoke.ShowWindow(_hwnd, SHOW_WINDOW_CMD.SW_HIDE);
+    public void Receive(HideWindowMessage message) => HideWindow();
 
     public void Receive(QuitMessage message) =>
 
@@ -297,7 +310,21 @@ public sealed partial class MainWindow : Window,
         DispatcherQueue.TryEnqueue(() => Close());
 
     public void Receive(DismissMessage message) =>
-        PInvoke.ShowWindow(_hwnd, SHOW_WINDOW_CMD.SW_HIDE);
+        HideWindow();
+
+    private void HideWindow()
+    {
+        // Hide our window
+
+        // Instead of hiding the window, cloak it from DWM
+        // This will make it invisible to the user, such that we can show it again
+        // by uncloaking it, which avoids an unnecessary "flicker in" that XAML does
+        unsafe
+        {
+            BOOL value = true;
+            PInvoke.DwmSetWindowAttribute(_hwnd, DWMWINDOWATTRIBUTE.DWMWA_CLOAK, &value, (uint)sizeof(BOOL));
+        }
+    }
 
     internal void MainWindow_Closed(object sender, WindowEventArgs args)
     {
@@ -386,7 +413,9 @@ public sealed partial class MainWindow : Window,
                 return;
             }
 
-            PInvoke.ShowWindow(_hwnd, SHOW_WINDOW_CMD.SW_HIDE);
+            // This will DWM cloak our window:
+            HideWindow();
+
             PowerToysTelemetry.Log.WriteEvent(new CmdPalDismissedOnLostFocus());
         }
 
@@ -396,6 +425,40 @@ public sealed partial class MainWindow : Window,
         }
     }
 
+    public void HandleLaunch(AppActivationArguments? activatedEventArgs)
+    {
+        if (activatedEventArgs == null)
+        {
+            Summon(string.Empty);
+            return;
+        }
+
+        if (activatedEventArgs.Kind == Microsoft.Windows.AppLifecycle.ExtendedActivationKind.Protocol)
+        {
+            if (activatedEventArgs.Data is IProtocolActivatedEventArgs protocolArgs)
+            {
+                if (protocolArgs.Uri.ToString() is string uri)
+                {
+                    // was the URI "x-cmdpal://background" ?
+                    if (uri.StartsWith("x-cmdpal://background", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+                    {
+                        // we're running, we don't want to activate our window. bail
+                        return;
+                    }
+                    else if (uri.StartsWith("x-cmdpal://settings", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+                    {
+                        WeakReferenceMessenger.Default.Send<OpenSettingsMessage>(new());
+                        return;
+                    }
+                }
+
+                return;
+            }
+        }
+
+        Activate();
+    }
+
     public void Summon(string commandId) =>
 
         // The actual showing and hiding of the window will be done by the
@@ -474,10 +537,24 @@ public sealed partial class MainWindow : Window,
         var isRootHotkey = string.IsNullOrEmpty(commandId);
         PowerToysTelemetry.Log.WriteEvent(new CmdPalHotkeySummoned(isRootHotkey));
 
+        var isVisible = this.Visible;
+        unsafe
+        {
+            // We need to check if our window is cloaked or not. A cloaked window is still
+            // technically visible, because SHOW/HIDE != iconic (minimized) != cloaked
+            // (these are all separate states)
+            long attr = 0;
+            PInvoke.DwmGetWindowAttribute(_hwnd, DWMWINDOWATTRIBUTE.DWMWA_CLOAKED, &attr, sizeof(long));
+            if (attr == 1 /* DWM_CLOAKED_APP */)
+            {
+                isVisible = false;
+            }
+        }
+
         // Note to future us: the wParam will have the index of the hotkey we registered.
         // We can use that in the future to differentiate the hotkeys we've pressed
         // so that we can bind hotkeys to individual commands
-        if (!this.Visible || !isRootHotkey)
+        if (!isVisible || !isRootHotkey)
         {
             Activate();
 
@@ -485,7 +562,16 @@ public sealed partial class MainWindow : Window,
         }
         else if (isRootHotkey)
         {
-            PInvoke.ShowWindow(_hwnd, SHOW_WINDOW_CMD.SW_HIDE);
+            // If there's a debugger attached...
+            if (System.Diagnostics.Debugger.IsAttached)
+            {
+                // ... then manually hide our window. When debugged, we won't get the cool cloaking,
+                // but that's the price to pay for having the HWND not light-dismiss while we're debugging.
+                PInvoke.ShowWindow(_hwnd, SHOW_WINDOW_CMD.SW_HIDE);
+                return;
+            }
+
+            HideWindow();
         }
     }
 
@@ -516,22 +602,6 @@ public sealed partial class MainWindow : Window,
 
                         var hotkey = _hotkeys[hotkeyIndex];
                         HandleSummon(hotkey.CommandId);
-
-                        // var isRootHotkey = string.IsNullOrEmpty(hotkey.CommandId);
-
-                        // // Note to future us: the wParam will have the index of the hotkey we registered.
-                        // // We can use that in the future to differentiate the hotkeys we've pressed
-                        // // so that we can bind hotkeys to individual commands
-                        // if (!this.Visible || !isRootHotkey)
-                        // {
-                        //     Activate();
-
-                        // Summon(hotkey.CommandId);
-                        // }
-                        // else if (isRootHotkey)
-                        // {
-                        //     PInvoke.ShowWindow(hwnd, SHOW_WINDOW_CMD.SW_HIDE);
-                        // }
                     }
 
                     return (LRESULT)IntPtr.Zero;

src/modules/cmdpal/Microsoft.CmdPal.UI/Microsoft.CmdPal.UI.csproj

@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@
     <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Windows.SDK.BuildTools" />
     <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.WindowsAppSDK" />
     <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Xaml.Behaviors.WinUI.Managed" />
-
+	<PackageReference Include="WinUIEx" />
     <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Windows.CsWin32">
       <PrivateAssets>all</PrivateAssets>
       <IncludeAssets>runtime; build; native; contentfiles; analyzers</IncludeAssets>

src/modules/cmdpal/Microsoft.CmdPal.UI/NativeMethods.txt

@@ -38,3 +38,8 @@ ExtractIconEx
 WM_RBUTTONUP
 WM_LBUTTONUP
 WM_LBUTTONDBLCLK
+
+MessageBox
+DwmGetWindowAttribute
+DwmSetWindowAttribute
+DWM_CLOAKED_APP

src/modules/cmdpal/Microsoft.CmdPal.UI/Package-Dev.appxmanifest

@@ -70,6 +70,13 @@
             DisplayName="ms-resource:StartupTaskNameDev" />
         </uap5:Extension>
 
+        <uap:Extension Category="windows.protocol">
+          <uap:Protocol Name="x-cmdpal">
+            <uap:Logo>Assets\StoreLogo.png</uap:Logo>
+            <uap:DisplayName>Command Palette Dev URI scheme</uap:DisplayName>
+          </uap:Protocol>
+        </uap:Extension>
+
       </Extensions>
 
     </Application>

src/modules/cmdpal/Microsoft.CmdPal.UI/Package.appxmanifest

@@ -70,6 +70,14 @@
             DisplayName="ms-resource:StartupTaskName" />
         </uap5:Extension>
 
+
+        <uap:Extension Category="windows.protocol">
+          <uap:Protocol Name="x-cmdpal">
+            <uap:Logo>Assets\StoreLogo.png</uap:Logo>
+            <uap:DisplayName>Command Palette URI scheme</uap:DisplayName>
+          </uap:Protocol>
+        </uap:Extension>
+
       </Extensions>
 
     </Application>

src/modules/cmdpal/Microsoft.CmdPal.UI/Pages/ShellPage.xaml.cs

@@ -418,15 +418,20 @@ public sealed partial class ShellPage : Microsoft.UI.Xaml.Controls.Page,
     {
         _ = DispatcherQueue.TryEnqueue(() =>
         {
-            if (_settingsWindow == null)
-            {
-                _settingsWindow = new SettingsWindow();
-            }
-
-            _settingsWindow.Activate();
+            OpenSettings();
         });
     }
 
+    public void OpenSettings()
+    {
+        if (_settingsWindow == null)
+        {
+            _settingsWindow = new SettingsWindow();
+        }
+
+        _settingsWindow.Activate();
+    }
+
     public void Receive(ShowDetailsMessage message)
     {
         // TERRIBLE HACK TODO GH #245

src/modules/cmdpal/Microsoft.CmdPal.UI/Program.cs

@@ -2,10 +2,14 @@
 // The Microsoft Corporation licenses this file to you under the MIT license.
 // See the LICENSE file in the project root for more information.
 
+using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
 using ManagedCommon;
 using Microsoft.CmdPal.UI.Events;
 using Microsoft.PowerToys.Telemetry;
 using Microsoft.Windows.AppLifecycle;
+using Windows.Win32;
+using Windows.Win32.Foundation;
+using Windows.Win32.UI.WindowsAndMessaging;
 
 namespace Microsoft.CmdPal.UI;
 
@@ -30,21 +34,51 @@ internal sealed class Program
             return 0;
         }
 
-        Logger.InitializeLogger("\\CmdPal\\Logs\\");
+        WinRT.ComWrappersSupport.InitializeComWrappers();
+
+        var isRedirect = DecideRedirection();
+
+        if (isRedirect)
+        {
+            return 0;
+        }
+
+        try
+        {
+            Logger.InitializeLogger("\\CmdPal\\Logs\\");
+        }
+        catch (COMException e)
+        {
+            // This is unexpected. For the sake of debugging:
+            // pop a message box
+            PInvoke.MessageBox(
+                (HWND)IntPtr.Zero,
+                $"Failed to initialize the logger. COMException: \r{e.Message}",
+                "Command Palette",
+                MESSAGEBOX_STYLE.MB_OK | MESSAGEBOX_STYLE.MB_ICONERROR);
+            return 0;
+        }
+        catch (Exception e2)
+        {
+            // This is unexpected. For the sake of debugging:
+            // pop a message box
+            PInvoke.MessageBox(
+                (HWND)IntPtr.Zero,
+                $"Failed to initialize the logger. Unknown Exception: \r{e2.Message}",
+                "Command Palette",
+                MESSAGEBOX_STYLE.MB_OK | MESSAGEBOX_STYLE.MB_ICONERROR);
+            return 0;
+        }
+
         Logger.LogDebug($"Starting at {DateTime.UtcNow}");
         PowerToysTelemetry.Log.WriteEvent(new CmdPalProcessStarted());
 
-        WinRT.ComWrappersSupport.InitializeComWrappers();
-        var isRedirect = DecideRedirection();
-        if (!isRedirect)
+        Microsoft.UI.Xaml.Application.Start((p) =>
         {
-            Microsoft.UI.Xaml.Application.Start((p) =>
-            {
-                Microsoft.UI.Dispatching.DispatcherQueueSynchronizationContext context = new(Microsoft.UI.Dispatching.DispatcherQueue.GetForCurrentThread());
-                SynchronizationContext.SetSynchronizationContext(context);
-                app = new App();
-            });
-        }
+            Microsoft.UI.Dispatching.DispatcherQueueSynchronizationContext context = new(Microsoft.UI.Dispatching.DispatcherQueue.GetForCurrentThread());
+            SynchronizationContext.SetSynchronizationContext(context);
+            app = new App();
+        });
 
         return 0;
     }
@@ -64,7 +98,7 @@ internal sealed class Program
         {
             isRedirect = true;
             PowerToysTelemetry.Log.WriteEvent(new ReactivateInstance());
-            keyInstance.RedirectActivationToAsync(args).AsTask().ConfigureAwait(false);
+            keyInstance.RedirectActivationToAsync(args).AsTask().GetAwaiter().GetResult();
         }
 
         return isRedirect;
@@ -79,7 +113,12 @@ internal sealed class Program
             if (thisApp.AppWindow is not null and
                 MainWindow mainWindow)
             {
-                mainWindow.Summon(string.Empty);
+                mainWindow.DispatcherQueue.TryEnqueue(() =>
+                {
+                    mainWindow.HandleLaunch(args);
+                });
+
+                // mainWindow.Summon(string.Empty);
             }
         }
     }

src/modules/cmdpal/Microsoft.CmdPal.UI/Properties/launchSettings.json

@@ -2,7 +2,8 @@
   "profiles": {
     "Microsoft.CmdPal.UI (Package)": {
       "commandName": "MsixPackage",
-      "nativeDebugging": false
+      "nativeDebugging": false,
+      "doNotLaunchApp": false
     },
     "Microsoft.CmdPal.UI (Unpackaged)": {
       "commandName": "Project"

src/modules/cmdpal/Microsoft.CmdPal.UI/Settings/ExtensionPage.xaml

@@ -113,7 +113,24 @@
                                     Visibility="{x:Bind ViewModel.HasSettings}" />
 
                                 <Frame x:Name="SettingsFrame" Visibility="{x:Bind ViewModel.HasSettings}">
-                                    <cmdpalUI:ContentPage ViewModel="{x:Bind ViewModel.SettingsPage, Mode=OneWay}" />
+
+                                    <controls:SwitchPresenter
+                                        HorizontalAlignment="Stretch"
+                                        TargetType="x:Boolean"
+                                        Value="{x:Bind ViewModel.LoadingSettings, Mode=OneWay}">
+                                        <controls:Case Value="True">
+                                            <ProgressRing
+                                                Width="36"
+                                                Height="36"
+                                                HorizontalAlignment="Center"
+                                                VerticalAlignment="Center"
+                                                IsIndeterminate="True" />
+                                        </controls:Case>
+                                        <controls:Case Value="False">
+                                            <cmdpalUI:ContentPage ViewModel="{x:Bind ViewModel.SettingsPage, Mode=OneWay}" />
+                                        </controls:Case>
+                                    </controls:SwitchPresenter>
+
                                 </Frame>
 
                                 <TextBlock

src/modules/cmdpal/Microsoft.CmdPal.UI/Settings/SettingsWindow.xaml

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
-<Window
+<winuiex:WindowEx
     x:Class="Microsoft.CmdPal.UI.Settings.SettingsWindow"
     xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
     xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
@@ -7,13 +7,18 @@
     xmlns:local="using:Microsoft.CmdPal.UI.Settings"
     xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
     xmlns:ui="using:CommunityToolkit.WinUI"
+    xmlns:winuiex="using:WinUIEx"
     Title="SettingsWindow"
+    Width="1280"
+    Height="720"
+    MinWidth="480"
+    MinHeight="480"
     Activated="Window_Activated"
     Closed="Window_Closed"
     mc:Ignorable="d">
-    <Window.SystemBackdrop>
+    <winuiex:WindowEx.SystemBackdrop>
         <MicaBackdrop />
-    </Window.SystemBackdrop>
+    </winuiex:WindowEx.SystemBackdrop>
     <Grid>
         <Grid.RowDefinitions>
             <RowDefinition Height="Auto" />
@@ -37,10 +42,10 @@
                 Height="16"
                 Source="ms-appx:///Assets/icon.svg" />
             <TextBlock
+                x:Uid="CmdPalSettingsHeader"
                 Margin="12,0,0,0"
                 VerticalAlignment="Center"
-                Style="{StaticResource CaptionTextBlockStyle}"
-                Text="Command Palette Settings" />
+                Style="{StaticResource CaptionTextBlockStyle}" />
         </StackPanel>
         <NavigationView
             x:Name="NavView"
@@ -100,4 +105,4 @@
             </Grid>
         </NavigationView>
     </Grid>
-</Window>
+</winuiex:WindowEx>

src/modules/cmdpal/Microsoft.CmdPal.UI/Settings/SettingsWindow.xaml.cs

@@ -11,11 +11,12 @@ using Microsoft.UI.Windowing;
 using Microsoft.UI.Xaml;
 using Microsoft.UI.Xaml.Controls;
 using Windows.Graphics;
+using WinUIEx;
 using RS_ = Microsoft.CmdPal.UI.Helpers.ResourceLoaderInstance;
 
 namespace Microsoft.CmdPal.UI.Settings;
 
-public sealed partial class SettingsWindow : Window,
+public sealed partial class SettingsWindow : WindowEx,
     IRecipient<NavigateToExtensionSettingsMessage>,
     IRecipient<QuitMessage>
 {
@@ -70,7 +71,6 @@ public sealed partial class SettingsWindow : Window,
 
     private void PositionCentered()
     {
-        AppWindow.Resize(new SizeInt32 { Width = 1280, Height = 720 });
         var displayArea = DisplayArea.GetFromWindowId(AppWindow.Id, DisplayAreaFallback.Nearest);
         if (displayArea is not null)
         {

src/modules/cmdpal/Microsoft.CmdPal.UI/ToastWindow.xaml

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
-<Window
+<winuiex:WindowEx
     x:Class="Microsoft.CmdPal.UI.ToastWindow"
     xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
     xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
@@ -7,17 +7,18 @@
     xmlns:local="using:Microsoft.CmdPal.UI"
     xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
     xmlns:ui="using:CommunityToolkit.WinUI"
+    xmlns:winuiex="using:WinUIEx"
     Title="Command Palette Toast"
     mc:Ignorable="d">
-    <Window.SystemBackdrop>
+    <winuiex:WindowEx.SystemBackdrop>
         <DesktopAcrylicBackdrop />
-    </Window.SystemBackdrop>
+    </winuiex:WindowEx.SystemBackdrop>
     <Grid x:Name="ToastGrid">
         <!--  This padding is used to calculate the dimensions of the ToastWindow  -->
         <TextBlock
             x:Name="ToastText"
-            Padding="16,16,36,24"
+            Padding="12,12,24,20"
             Text="{x:Bind ViewModel.ToastMessage, Mode=OneWay}"
             TextAlignment="Center" />
     </Grid>
-</Window>
+</winuiex:WindowEx>

src/modules/cmdpal/Microsoft.CmdPal.UI/ToastWindow.xaml.cs

@@ -17,11 +17,12 @@ using Windows.Win32.Foundation;
 using Windows.Win32.Graphics.Gdi;
 using Windows.Win32.UI.HiDpi;
 using Windows.Win32.UI.WindowsAndMessaging;
+using WinUIEx;
 using RS_ = Microsoft.CmdPal.UI.Helpers.ResourceLoaderInstance;
 
 namespace Microsoft.CmdPal.UI;
 
-public sealed partial class ToastWindow : Window,
+public sealed partial class ToastWindow : WindowEx,
     IRecipient<QuitMessage>
 {
     private readonly HWND _hwnd;
@@ -64,19 +65,7 @@ public sealed partial class ToastWindow : Window,
 
     private void PositionCentered()
     {
-        var intSize = new SizeInt32
-        {
-            Width = Convert.ToInt32(ToastText.ActualWidth),
-            Height = Convert.ToInt32(ToastText.ActualHeight),
-        };
-
-        var scaleAdjustment = GetScaleFactor(_hwnd);
-        var scaled = new SizeInt32
-        {
-            Width = (int)Math.Round(intSize.Width * scaleAdjustment),
-            Height = (int)Math.Round(intSize.Height * scaleAdjustment),
-        };
-        AppWindow.Resize(scaled);
+        this.SetWindowSize(ToastText.ActualWidth, ToastText.ActualHeight);
 
         var displayArea = DisplayArea.GetFromWindowId(AppWindow.Id, DisplayAreaFallback.Nearest);
         if (displayArea is not null)
@@ -86,7 +75,7 @@ public sealed partial class ToastWindow : Window,
 
             var monitorHeight = displayArea.WorkArea.Height;
             var windowHeight = AppWindow.Size.Height;
-            centeredPosition.Y = monitorHeight - (windowHeight * 2);
+            centeredPosition.Y = monitorHeight - (windowHeight + 8); // Align with other shell toasts, like the volume indicator.
             AppWindow.Move(centeredPosition);
         }
     }

src/settings-ui/Settings.UI/SettingsXAML/Views/CmdPalPage.xaml

@@ -27,12 +27,17 @@
                     Severity="Informational" />
 
                 <controls:SettingsGroup x:Uid="CmdPal_Activation_GroupSettings" IsEnabled="{x:Bind ViewModel.IsEnabled, Mode=OneWay}">
-
                     <tkcontrols:SettingsCard x:Uid="CmdPal_ActivationShortcut" HeaderIcon="{ui:FontIcon Glyph=&#xEDA7;}">
                         <controls:ShortcutControl
                             MinWidth="{StaticResource SettingActionControlMinWidth}"
                             HotkeySettings="{x:Bind Path=ViewModel.Hotkey, Mode=OneWay}"
                             IsEnabled="False" />
+                        <tkcontrols:SettingsCard.Description>
+                            <HyperlinkButton
+                                x:Name="CmdPalSettingsDeeplink"
+                                x:Uid="CmdPal_DeeplinkContent"
+                                Click="CmdPalSettingsDeeplink_Click" />
+                        </tkcontrols:SettingsCard.Description>
                     </tkcontrols:SettingsCard>
                 </controls:SettingsGroup>
             </StackPanel>

src/settings-ui/Settings.UI/SettingsXAML/Views/CmdPalPage.xaml.cs

@@ -2,6 +2,10 @@
 // The Microsoft Corporation licenses this file to you under the MIT license.
 // See the LICENSE file in the project root for more information.
 
+using System;
+using System.Diagnostics;
+using System.IO;
+using ManagedCommon;
 using Microsoft.PowerToys.Settings.UI.Helpers;
 using Microsoft.PowerToys.Settings.UI.Library;
 using Microsoft.PowerToys.Settings.UI.ViewModels;
@@ -29,5 +33,37 @@ namespace Microsoft.PowerToys.Settings.UI.Views
         {
             ViewModel.RefreshEnabledState();
         }
+
+        private void LaunchApp(string appPath)
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                string dir = Path.GetDirectoryName(appPath);
+
+                var processStartInfo = new ProcessStartInfo
+                {
+                    FileName = appPath,
+                    Arguments = string.Empty,
+                    WorkingDirectory = dir,
+                    UseShellExecute = true,
+                    Verb = "open",
+                    CreateNoWindow = false,
+                };
+
+                Process process = Process.Start(processStartInfo) ?? throw new InvalidOperationException("Failed to start the process.");
+                process.WaitForInputIdle();
+            }
+            catch (Exception ex)
+            {
+                throw new InvalidOperationException($"Failed to launch CmdPal settings: {ex.Message}");
+            }
+        }
+
+        private void CmdPalSettingsDeeplink_Click(object sender, Microsoft.UI.Xaml.RoutedEventArgs e)
+        {
+            // Launch CmdPal settings window
+            string launchPath = "x-cmdpal://settings";
+            LaunchApp(launchPath);
+        }
     }
 }

src/settings-ui/Settings.UI/Strings/en-us/Resources.resw

@@ -4996,8 +4996,8 @@ To record a specific window, enter the hotkey with the Alt key in the opposite m
   <data name="CmdPal_ActivationShortcut.Header" xml:space="preserve">
     <value>Activation shortcut</value>
   </data>
-  <data name="CmdPal_ActivationShortcut.Description" xml:space="preserve">
-    <value>Go to Command Palette settings to customize the activation shortcut.</value>
+  <data name="CmdPal_DeeplinkContent.Content" xml:space="preserve">
+    <value>Open Command Palette settings to customize the activation shortcut</value>
   </data>
   <data name="Help_chromaCIE" xml:space="preserve">
     <value>chroma (CIE LCh)</value>