Fix capture blacklist handling so configured apps aren't wrongly ignored and stale blacklist entries recover automatically.

Author: stenci

README.md

@@ -145,6 +145,7 @@ That shows a useful pattern:
 
 - Capture learns ignored processes automatically and stores them in `WindowLayout\processes_to_ignore.txt`
 - Processes without a valid desktop number are blacklisted and omitted from `current_layout.txt`
+- `WindowLayout.cmd -CaptureCurrent -IgnoreBlacklist` captures the full visible window list for troubleshooting, including blacklisted processes and windows without a usable desktop number
 - Capture still writes integer percentages, but manual decimal edits in `window_layouts.txt` are preserved when the file is reformatted
 
 ## Restore Notes
@@ -160,9 +161,12 @@ That shows a useful pattern:
 WindowLayout.cmd
 WindowLayout.cmd -ListLayouts
 WindowLayout.cmd -CaptureCurrent
+WindowLayout.cmd -CaptureCurrent -IgnoreBlacklist
 WindowLayout.cmd -ApplyLayout "3 monitors - developer"
 ```
 
+When you run `-CaptureCurrent` from the command line, the script automatically picks the best saved monitor setup that matches the currently detected monitors.
+
 ## License
 
 MIT. See `LICENSE`.

WindowLayout/WindowLayout.ps1

@@ -2,7 +2,8 @@
 param(
     [string]$ApplyLayout,
     [switch]$CaptureCurrent,
-    [switch]$ListLayouts
+    [switch]$ListLayouts,
+    [switch]$IgnoreBlacklist
 )
 
 Set-StrictMode -Version 3.0
@@ -363,17 +364,31 @@ function Save-IgnoredProcesses {
 function Update-IgnoredProcessesFromObservations {
     param(
         [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)]$ExistingIgnored,
-        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)]$Observations
+        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)]$Observations,
+        [hashtable]$ProtectedProcesses = @{}
     )
 
     $updated = @{}
     foreach ($key in $ExistingIgnored.Keys) {
         $updated[$key] = $true
     }
 
+    foreach ($key in $ProtectedProcesses.Keys) {
+        if ($updated.ContainsKey($key)) {
+            $updated.Remove($key)
+        }
+    }
+
     foreach ($entry in $Observations.GetEnumerator()) {
         $processName = $entry.Key
         $stats = $entry.Value
+        if ($ProtectedProcesses.ContainsKey($processName)) {
+            if ($updated.ContainsKey($processName)) {
+                $updated.Remove($processName)
+            }
+            continue
+        }
+
         if ($stats.RealDesktopCount -gt 0) {
             if ($updated.ContainsKey($processName)) {
                 $updated.Remove($processName)
@@ -410,6 +425,28 @@ function Add-IgnoredProcesses {
     return $updated
 }
 
+function Get-ProtectedProcessesFromConfig {
+    param($Config)
+
+    $result = @{}
+    if ($null -eq $Config) {
+        return $result
+    }
+
+    foreach ($layout in @($Config.layouts)) {
+        foreach ($window in @($layout.windows)) {
+            $processName = [string](Get-OptionalPropertyValue -Object $window -Name 'processName' -Default '')
+            if ([string]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace($processName)) {
+                continue
+            }
+
+            $result[$processName.Trim().ToLowerInvariant()] = $true
+        }
+    }
+
+    return $result
+}
+
 function Show-PendingMessages {
     if ($script:PendingMessages.Count -eq 0) {
         return
@@ -1285,6 +1322,16 @@ function Get-MonitorMapping {
         [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)]$ActualMonitors
     )
 
+    $match = Get-MonitorSetupMatch -MonitorSetup $MonitorSetup -ActualMonitors $ActualMonitors
+    return $match.Mapping
+}
+
+function Get-MonitorSetupMatch {
+    param(
+        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)]$MonitorSetup,
+        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)]$ActualMonitors
+    )
+
     $expected = @($MonitorSetup.monitors)
     $actual = @($ActualMonitors)
     if ($expected.Count -ne $actual.Count) {
@@ -1323,7 +1370,11 @@ function Get-MonitorMapping {
         $mapping[[string]$expected[$i].role] = $actual[$bestPermutation[$i]]
     }
 
-    return $mapping
+    return [pscustomobject]@{
+        MonitorSetup = $MonitorSetup
+        Mapping      = $mapping
+        Cost         = $bestCost
+    }
 }
 
 function Get-WindowProcessName {
@@ -1377,11 +1428,13 @@ function Get-WindowRectObject {
 
 function Get-OpenWindows {
     param(
-        [bool]$IncludeDesktopId = $true
+        [bool]$IncludeDesktopId = $true,
+        [bool]$IgnoreBlacklist = $false,
+        [hashtable]$ProtectedProcesses = @{}
     )
 
     $skipClasses = @('Progman', 'WorkerW', 'Shell_TrayWnd')
-    $ignoredProcesses = Get-IgnoredProcesses
+    $ignoredProcesses = if ($IgnoreBlacklist) { @{} } else { Get-IgnoredProcesses }
     $observations = @{}
     $desktopState = if ($IncludeDesktopId) { New-VirtualDesktopState } else { $null }
     $handles = [WindowLayoutNative]::GetTopLevelWindows()
@@ -1397,7 +1450,8 @@ function Get-OpenWindows {
         }
 
         $processKey = $processName.ToLowerInvariant()
-        if ($ignoredProcesses.ContainsKey($processKey)) {
+        $isIgnoredProcess = $ignoredProcesses.ContainsKey($processKey) -and -not $ProtectedProcesses.ContainsKey($processKey)
+        if (-not $IncludeDesktopId -and $isIgnoredProcess) {
             continue
         }
 
@@ -1451,15 +1505,24 @@ function Get-OpenWindows {
             DesktopId   = $desktopId
         }
 
-        $result.Add($window)
+        if (-not $isIgnoredProcess) {
+            $result.Add($window)
+        }
 
     }
 
-    if ($IncludeDesktopId) {
-        $ignoredProcesses = Update-IgnoredProcessesFromObservations -ExistingIgnored $ignoredProcesses -Observations $observations
+    if ($IncludeDesktopId -and -not $IgnoreBlacklist) {
+        $ignoredProcesses = Update-IgnoredProcessesFromObservations -ExistingIgnored $ignoredProcesses -Observations $observations -ProtectedProcesses $ProtectedProcesses
     }
 
-    return @($result.ToArray() | Where-Object { -not $ignoredProcesses.ContainsKey($_.ProcessName.ToLowerInvariant()) })
+    if ($IgnoreBlacklist) {
+        return @($result.ToArray())
+    }
+
+    return @($result.ToArray() | Where-Object {
+        $processKey = $_.ProcessName.ToLowerInvariant()
+        (-not $ignoredProcesses.ContainsKey($processKey)) -or $ProtectedProcesses.ContainsKey($processKey)
+    })
 }
 
 function Test-TitleMatch {
@@ -1759,15 +1822,47 @@ function Select-MonitorSetupForCapture {
     }
 }
 
+function Resolve-CaptureTarget {
+    param([Parameter(Mandatory = $true)]$Config)
+
+    $actualMonitors = @(Get-ActualMonitors)
+    if ($Config.monitorSetups.Count -eq 0) {
+        return Select-MonitorSetupForCapture -Config $Config
+    }
+
+    $matches = New-Object System.Collections.Generic.List[object]
+    foreach ($setup in $Config.monitorSetups) {
+        try {
+            $match = Get-MonitorSetupMatch -MonitorSetup $setup -ActualMonitors $actualMonitors
+            $matches.Add($match)
+        }
+        catch {
+        }
+    }
+
+    if ($matches.Count -eq 0) {
+        throw "No saved monitor setup matches the currently detected monitors. Run interactive capture to choose or create a monitor setup."
+    }
+
+    $bestMatch = @($matches | Sort-Object Cost, @{ Expression = { $_.MonitorSetup.name } })[0]
+    Add-PendingMessage ("Using monitor setup '{0}' for capture." -f $bestMatch.MonitorSetup.name)
+    return [pscustomobject]@{
+        setup = $bestMatch.MonitorSetup
+        isNew = $false
+    }
+}
+
 function Capture-CurrentLayout {
     param(
         [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)]$Config,
-        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)]$CaptureTarget
+        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)]$CaptureTarget,
+        [bool]$IgnoreBlacklist = $false
     )
 
     $actualMonitors = @(Get-ActualMonitors)
     $mapping = Get-MonitorMapping -MonitorSetup $CaptureTarget.setup -ActualMonitors $actualMonitors
-    $windows = @(Get-OpenWindows | Where-Object { -not $_.IsMinimized } | Sort-Object ProcessName, Title)
+    $protectedProcesses = Get-ProtectedProcessesFromConfig -Config $Config
+    $windows = @(Get-OpenWindows -IgnoreBlacklist:$IgnoreBlacklist -ProtectedProcesses $protectedProcesses | Where-Object { -not $_.IsMinimized } | Sort-Object ProcessName, Title)
     $desktopState = New-VirtualDesktopState
 
     $capturedRows = foreach ($window in $windows) {
@@ -1796,16 +1891,25 @@ function Capture-CurrentLayout {
 
     $processesWithBlankDesktop = @(
         $capturedRows |
-            Where-Object { $null -eq $_.desktop } |
-            ForEach-Object { $_.processName } |
+            Group-Object -Property processName |
+            Where-Object {
+                $processName = [string]$_.Name
+                $processKey = $processName.ToLowerInvariant()
+                $hasDesktop = @($_.Group | Where-Object { $null -ne $_.desktop }).Count -gt 0
+                (-not $protectedProcesses.ContainsKey($processKey)) -and (-not $hasDesktop)
+            } |
+            ForEach-Object { $_.Name } |
             Sort-Object -Unique
     )
 
-    if ($processesWithBlankDesktop.Count -gt 0) {
+    if (-not $IgnoreBlacklist -and $processesWithBlankDesktop.Count -gt 0) {
         [void](Add-IgnoredProcesses -ProcessNames $processesWithBlankDesktop)
         $capturedRows = @($capturedRows | Where-Object { $processesWithBlankDesktop -notcontains $_.processName })
         Add-PendingMessage ("Ignored processes with no usable desktop: {0}" -f ($processesWithBlankDesktop -join ', '))
     }
+    elseif ($IgnoreBlacklist) {
+        Add-PendingMessage 'Capture ignored processes blacklist and kept windows even when their desktop number was unavailable.'
+    }
 
     $layoutWindows = @()
     $groups = $capturedRows | Group-Object -Property processName
@@ -1898,7 +2002,7 @@ function Show-Menu {
                     return
                 }
 
-                $snapshot = Capture-CurrentLayout -Config $Config -CaptureTarget $target
+                $snapshot = Capture-CurrentLayout -Config $Config -CaptureTarget $target -IgnoreBlacklist:$IgnoreBlacklist
                 Save-CapturedLayout -Config $snapshot
                 Write-Host ''
                 Write-Host ("Saved current layout to '{0}'." -f $script:CurrentLayoutPath)
@@ -1931,12 +2035,12 @@ if ($ListLayouts) {
 
 if ($CaptureCurrent) {
     Show-PendingMessages
-    $target = Select-MonitorSetupForCapture -Config $config
+    $target = Resolve-CaptureTarget -Config $config
     if ($null -eq $target) {
         exit 0
     }
 
-    $snapshot = Capture-CurrentLayout -Config $config -CaptureTarget $target
+    $snapshot = Capture-CurrentLayout -Config $config -CaptureTarget $target -IgnoreBlacklist:$IgnoreBlacklist
     Save-CapturedLayout -Config $snapshot
     Write-Host "Saved current layout to '$script:CurrentLayoutPath'."
     Write-Host "Copy the monitor setup and layout you want into '$script:ConfigPath', remove the rows you do not need, and see '$(Join-Path $script:RootDirectory 'readme.txt')' for details."

WindowLayout/readme.txt

@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ How to use it
 5. After capture, open current_layout.txt, copy the monitor setup or layout you want into window_layouts.txt, and remove the rows you do not need.
 6. Capture usually includes more windows than you want, including helper windows and some windows that are not obvious at first glance.
 7. Processes without a valid desktop number are added to processes_to_ignore.txt instead of being written to current_layout.txt.
+8. For troubleshooting, run WindowLayout.cmd -CaptureCurrent -IgnoreBlacklist to capture the full visible window list, including blacklisted processes and windows with no usable desktop number.
 
 Direct shortcut script
 - You can also run a layout directly from the command line:
@@ -104,6 +105,7 @@ Capture behavior
 - The monitor match is tolerant: it does not require a perfect coordinate or size match.
 - Capture records the virtual desktop number for each included window.
 - Processes without a valid desktop number are added to processes_to_ignore.txt and left out of current_layout.txt.
+- Running WindowLayout.cmd -CaptureCurrent -IgnoreBlacklist bypasses that filter and keeps those rows in current_layout.txt with a blank desktop column.
 - For multi-instance applications, capture emits both:
   - one cascade row with an empty title
   - the individual per-window rows
@@ -130,4 +132,6 @@ Command line examples
 - WindowLayout.cmd
 - WindowLayout.cmd -ListLayouts
 - WindowLayout.cmd -CaptureCurrent
+- WindowLayout.cmd -CaptureCurrent -IgnoreBlacklist
 - WindowLayout.cmd -ApplyLayout "3 monitors - developer"
+- Command-line capture automatically picks the best saved monitor setup that matches the currently detected monitors.