Add App Filtering page and session validation (ref #633) by galagyy · Pull Request #652 · unchihugo/FluentFlyout

galagyy · 2026-04-04T01:06:54Z

Summary

This PR introduces an app filtering feature. I had seen a feature request, specifically #633, which discusses an idea for a feature similar to this.

This allows the user to create a custom "Allow list" and "Block list" where users may pick which apps they want affecting the flyout and taskbar player.

Motivation

As mentioned above, feature request #633 introduced an idea of a feature similar to this. This request has more features they want added so I do not suggest closing it yet.

Type of Change

What Changed

App Filtering Page: Created an app filtering page where users can define custom rules on which apps to consider for the flyout & taskbar. The page has a dropdown of open processes and an addition section to add apps by program executable name.
Home & Settings Navigation: Added the aforementioned App Filtering page to the dashboard and added it to the left-side navigation.
Media Logic Changes: Added a new function, IsSessionAllowed(), to validate the current session. This function has replaced the previous GetFocusedSession().
Localization: Added the text and such for the new page to the localization file.

Additional Information

Originally I had the filter list housed under the taskbar section; I have moved it to its own section due to how it affects both the taskbar and flyout.

NOTE: I have also gone ahead and added the copyright disclaimer on top of the files added, but I am unsure if I was supposed to do that.

Checklist

Code changes are manually tested and working.
Formatting and naming are consistent with the project.
Self-review of changes is done.
AI tools were used (Used to verify changes are accurate & fix formatting issues).

- Add dedicated "App Filter" page - Add "App Filtering" menu card and navigation item - Add app filtering properties to settings storage - Add app filtering keys to en-US dictionary - Update main menu to use `GetActiveMediaSession()` over `GetFocusedSession()` - Update control click handlers to use `GetActiveMediaSession()`

- Update formatting from K&R to BSD (C# standard)

- Add taskbar & flyout refresh once a filter has been updated

galagyy · 2026-04-04T02:12:18Z

A quick comment about the formatting, I come from a Java/C++ background so I had originally formatted it with braces on the same line. I changed it in one of the commits, but if there is still an issue with it let me know and I will try my best to fix it.

Thanks!

galagyy · 2026-04-04T18:50:52Z

Found a small bug regarding pause/play, I will try fixing it today.

- Update `PlayPause_Click()` in both `MainWindow.xaml.cs` and `TaskbarWidgetControl.xaml.cs` to use `TryTogglePlayPauseAsync()` over the previous keyboard approach to respect app filtering - Update UI logic to check `PlaybackStatus` over `Controls.IsPauseEnabled` to prevent desync from filters NOTE: ControlPlayPause opacity has been moved outside of the conditional due to making more sense there.

galagyy · 2026-04-04T20:21:19Z

Fixed the bug above, I changed the old implementation that relied on manually sending a keyboard input.

unchihugo

Hi @galagyy, solid implementation so far! Just a few things I've noticed throughout that we should adjust before merging. I've noted it in the comments.

I'd like to discuss the implementation of the filter lists:
Currently, names in the filter lists aren't sanitized - we should have this feature utilize our MediaPlayerData class. Methods in here can find the sanitized title + icon for apps/media players, especially with the changes I've added myself in the Volume Flyout branch here.

Could you adapt the current code to use the GetMediaPlayerData() method in MediaPlayerData instead of ExtractAppName()? That would be great!

Once the current issues/questions are addressed, we can continue with the merge :)

unchihugo · 2026-04-05T00:43:13Z

FluentFlyoutWPF/MainWindow.xaml.cs

+        if (taskbarSession == null)
        {
            taskbarWindow?.UpdateUi("-", "-", null, GlobalSystemMediaTransportControlsSessionPlaybackStatus.Closed);
-            return;


I believe the early return here is justified unless I'm mistaken, and adding the else clause isn't necessary either. I think we should bring the structure back to a similar state of what it was before (early return if null, no else needed).

What happens now when focusedSession == null:

taskbarSession = GetActiveMediaSession(); // first check, null
update taskbar ui, but don't return
focusedSession = GetActiveMediaSession(); // a second time, null again
if (focusedSession == null) return; // returns after calling same method again

Additionally, variable taskbarSession is the same as focusedSession. We should keep the focusedSession naming!

unchihugo · 2026-04-05T00:47:12Z

FluentFlyoutWPF/MainWindow.xaml.cs


        var thumbnail = BitmapHelper.GetThumbnail(songInfo.Thumbnail);
        BitmapHelper.GetDominantColors(1);
-        taskbarWindow?.UpdateUi(songInfo.Title, songInfo.Artist, thumbnail, playbackInfo.PlaybackStatus, playbackInfo.Controls);


If I'm not mistaken, this change is unnecessary right? Correct me if I'm wrong!

Yes, you are correct! I have gone ahead and fixed it.

unchihugo · 2026-04-05T00:51:31Z

FluentFlyoutWPF/Pages/AppFilteringPage.xaml.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,141 @@
+// Copyright � 2024-2026 The FluentFlyout Authors


For some reason, the copyright symbol is a question mark here.

- Removed the `ExtractAppName()` function in favor of using the already-existing `getMediaPlayerData()` function

- Reintroduced early return statement - Renamed `taskbarSession` back to `focusedSession` - Removed unneeded else indentation

- Replaced malformed unicode with proper copyright unicode

galagyy · 2026-04-05T03:13:19Z

Hello, thank you for the prompt review!

I have addressed all the issues you pointed out earlier:

Reverted back to the prior naming scheme & format
Reverted to using pre-existing sanitization & function
Re-added the early return statement
Fixed the malformed copyright symbol
Fixed the redundant call to retrieve album image, name, etc.

I also had noticed that all the other tabs have an image describing their function with this specifically standing out as one without; would you like me to try to find an image suitable for it?

Thank you!

unchihugo

Hi, thanks for the quick refactor, though could you answer my questions I've noted in the code review? Just asking since I'm a bit busy and can't load up the build right now :)

I also had noticed that all the other tabs have an image describing their function with this specifically standing out as one without; would you like me to try to find an image suitable for it?

I was thinking of having this be a subpage from the System page instead (kind of like the Advanced Settings button there). Therefore we wouldn't need an image for it either currently!

PS: have you tested whether the manual adding works?

unchihugo · 2026-04-05T15:09:03Z

FluentFlyoutWPF/Pages/AppFilteringPage.xaml.cs

+        if (mainWindow?.mediaManager != null) 
+        {
+            var apps = mainWindow.mediaManager.CurrentMediaSessions.Values
+                .Select(s => MediaPlayerData.getMediaPlayerData(s.Id).Item1)


Could you explain why you have to specify Item1 here?

I chose to specifically pick Item1 because the getMediaPlayerData() function returns both (string, ImageSource) and I specifically need only the title of the application.

unchihugo · 2026-04-05T15:10:53Z

FluentFlyoutWPF/MainWindow.xaml.cs

+        string appId = session.Id ?? string.Empty;
+        string appName = MediaPlayerData.getMediaPlayerData(appId).Item1 ?? appId;
+
+        if (SettingsManager.Current.BlockedApps != null && SettingsManager.Current.BlockedApps.Any(b => appName.Contains(b, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) || appId.Contains(b, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase)))


Could you also explain why we also have to check with the sanitized player name?

I added it more so as a fallback in case a more advanced user may want to block an app with its specific process name or its ID (e.g. chrome.exe over chrome); I also kept a check against the appId to ensure the filter will always catch what the user enters. I could keep it one system if you'd like though.

galagyy · 2026-04-05T16:57:57Z

Hello, thanks for the response!

I will try moving it to the Systems page as you specified earlier. Regarding manual adding, it has worked with the apps I've tried (e.g. Chrome, Edge, Firefox, etc.) but I haven't come across an app that wouldn't be displayed on the default dropdown yet; I will try to test that case soon.

I will have the changes done hopefully by the end of today; I will try adding pictures or a video if you are unable to build it currently.

unchihugo · 2026-04-05T17:49:56Z

Okay, that makes sense - will wait for updates!

galagyy · 2026-04-05T18:25:29Z

Currently I have these for the system, I will post further images/videos in some time.

I've removed the tab for App Filtering in the left-side hamburger menu and placed it here instead.

The UI for the actual App Filtering page looks a little something like this:

I was able to confirm that manually adding an app works for all apps that I had tested from. I am working on removing it from the main page and tidying up the code a bit.

unchihugo · 2026-04-05T18:55:31Z

That's good!

I'm thinking about the user experience with the current UI - it took me a bit to figure out what was happening myself, so I think we should definitely improve UX before we ship this to average users.

We can brainstorm this after you're ready. A lot of users on GitHub called this feature something like whitelist/blacklist instead of filtering.

galagyy · 2026-04-05T21:42:06Z

Hello! Yes, the UX needs to be improved, if you have any ideas I am open to them as I am not very good at UX myself.

I'm about to commit the changes where the button is removed from the hamburger menu and main menu; it should hopefully be a matter of naming and UX now.

- Move the app filtering feature to the system menu

- Fix `.exe` parsing when adding custom application - Inverted if statements for easier readability - Changed type casting to use the `as` keyword for readability

- Update app comparison to compare manual additions against dropdown selections - Move `.exe` comparison within new comparison method

- Added documentation to all methods for future maintenance

galagyy · 2026-04-06T01:17:03Z

I went ahead and added a few changes for the manual addition, namely better comparison against known sources to prevent two rules for the same app.

I also went ahead and added documentation to all the methods for the AppFilteringPage.xaml.cs for future maintainability.

I believe the only hurdle remaining as you said should be the UI now!

galagyy added 3 commits April 3, 2026 17:33

chore: fix app filtering formatting

09de258

- Update formatting from K&R to BSD (C# standard)

feat: add refresh on filter change

163b910

- Add taskbar & flyout refresh once a filter has been updated

github-actions bot added MainWindow / Media Flyout Changes to MainWindow including the Media Flyout SettingsWindow Changes to SettingsWindow or settings pages not related to flyouts/widgets Taskbar Widget Changes to the Taskbar Media Widget labels Apr 4, 2026

Merge branch 'master' into feature/app-filtering

9c015af

unchihugo requested changes Apr 5, 2026

View reviewed changes

This was linked to issues Apr 5, 2026

[FEATURE REQUEST] Blacklist for sites/app pause #617

Open

[FEATURE REQUEST] Integration with music app #633

Open

[FEATURE REQUEST] Application Whitelist/Blacklist or application selection option #81

Open

galagyy added 3 commits April 4, 2026 20:06

fix: replace ExtractAppName function

a8aa8d5

- Removed the `ExtractAppName()` function in favor of using the already-existing `getMediaPlayerData()` function

chore: rename session & conditional flow

664a40f

- Reintroduced early return statement - Renamed `taskbarSession` back to `focusedSession` - Removed unneeded else indentation

chore: fix copyright unicode

310f885

- Replaced malformed unicode with proper copyright unicode

galagyy requested a review from unchihugo April 5, 2026 03:14

unchihugo requested changes Apr 5, 2026

View reviewed changes

chore: move app filtering to system menu

eb61f91

- Move the app filtering feature to the system menu

galagyy requested a review from unchihugo April 5, 2026 21:51

galagyy added 2 commits April 5, 2026 17:27

fix: parse .exe & cleanup code

b5bf5f6

- Fix `.exe` parsing when adding custom application - Inverted if statements for easier readability - Changed type casting to use the `as` keyword for readability

feat: better app comparison

f64aa8a

- Update app comparison to compare manual additions against dropdown selections - Move `.exe` comparison within new comparison method

docs: add method documentation

660d03e

- Added documentation to all methods for future maintenance

		@@ -0,0 +1,141 @@
		// Copyright � 2024-2026 The FluentFlyout Authors

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galagyy commented Apr 4, 2026

Summary

Motivation

Type of Change

What Changed

Additional Information

Checklist

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galagyy commented Apr 4, 2026

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