My Start Menu on Windows 8.1

[StinkyPinky]

A proper start menu.
That lousy menu you have open trying to say it's the same function as the original start menu just proves you're trying to pretend its the same thing.

For me, it has more of a function. I never used the start menu in Win 7 but use this one often.

 

[readymix]

start

 

[balloonshark]

I'm currently trying Classic Shell 3.9.5 RC. http://www.classicshell.net/

readymix, Do you have a link to the start menu mod you're using?

 

[Mem]

A proper start menu.
That lousy menu you have open trying to say it's the same function as the original start menu just proves you're trying to pretend its the same thing.

You want a proper start menu,try a few Linux distros infact I will go as far and say on some Linux distros they have it better both ways ie some really good ones(far superior to Windows crappy ones) and also Linux distros without start button menu again well designed but then Linux is mainly a desktop OS,horses for courses as they say.

You also forget and yes I keep saying it the old Windows start menu is crap for touch/phone users and limited application wise with how much you can pin to the start menu,Win8/8.1 is hybrid OS so they had to merge and make something that could handle both,fact is you may not like the new start UI but its very functional regardless,as to icons you keep moaning about well I have news for you they started appearing ever since they got rid of DOS decades ago so nothing new there, remember Win 1,3.1 etc and all those new icons.

Also it's not a question of me liking or disliking what they have done but I can understand and see why they have.

The big question is what will they change in Win9?....Book my front seat now .

 

[Zaap]

You want a proper start menu,try a few Linux distros infact I will go as far and say on some Linux distros they have it better both ways ie some really good ones(far superior to Windows crappy ones) and also Linux distros without start button menu again well designed but then Linux is mainly a desktop OS,horses for courses as they say.

Linux has come a long way, but it's just not my cup of tea. (Mainly, doesn't have most of the applications I use.)

Personally, I prefer the OSX dock to everything else.

 

[escrow4]

I'd use Linux if my time wasn't valuable. Its still got a LONG way to go before it approaches Windows way of just working (8 with modern hardware, not something from 1995).

 

[Berryracer]

I'm currently trying Classic Shell 3.9.5 RC. http://www.classicshell.net/

readymix, Do you have a link to the start menu mod you're using?

pls can u give meh your wallpaper the full sized one?

 

[Rhonda the Sly]

The search bar/launcher is very important for power users. You can run services - "services.msc", command line "cmd" and startup items "msconfig" from there easily.

If you want to get into your computer and you're a fast typer, for example, it's often quicker to just tap Win Key and type C: than actually find and click on the icons.

That's all part of run, which can be accessed by typing at the Start Screen.

-Easy way to get into Computer/Documents/Control Panel/Printers/Pictures & Music

-Location of all of your installed programs - not all of us want every single program/app/game installed to be displayed on the start menu bar, and tapping the start button is a super quick way to get into it.

All of which can be either pinned to Start or founds in All Apps.

Same goes for the desktop full of application shortcuts.

 

[akugami]

I have to be on the side of the start menu too for reasons already pointed out. One big thing that I got used to is the search box. One key (winkey) and I can easily search for a program or file.

With 8 its now a 2-3 button/movement function. which makes it not as quick to get to stuff. plus the search is separate between the 3 items, programs, doc, settings, which they fixed in 8.1 and I am going to give 8.1 another go. But if it cant adjust, a start menu is coming back

The bolded part is a major reason why I am not a big fan of Win8's GUI changes.

I am not against change at all. I actually liked the Ribbon interface which started in Office 2007 because I saw where MS was going with it and saw how it could actually be an improvement over the old drop down menu driven system. The Ribbon was somewhat of a waste of space but on the plus side, things were grouped more intelligently and could be easier to find.

If you're going to replace something that's familiar, it must be either quicker or have a better flow. The new Start Screen does neither. It actually takes longer to get to the search box. When I need to access the Group Policy Editor, I don't drill down into the Control Panel and look for it. I just type gpedit.msc in the search box. With Win8 it takes me longer to get to the search box.

You keep saying the 18 year old start button menu is something special which as we all know is crap for touch users...

BUT I'M NOT USING A DAMN TOUCH SCREEN! I'm using a keyboard and a mouse. The old Start Menu is faster using a keyboard and mouse combo. It's not that hard to understand. If I'm using a touchscreen or other touch based device, then yes, allow me to switch to the Modern UI. It's not rocket science. If I'm using a desktop computer, let me use a desktop OS. And I'm speaking as someone who deals with touch based devices all day long.

 

[readymix]

If you're going to replace something that's familiar, it must be either quicker or have a better flow. The new Start Screen does neither. It actually takes longer to get to the search box. When I need to access the Group Policy Editor, I don't drill down into the Control Panel and look for it. I just type gpedit.msc in the search box. With Win8 it takes me longer to get to the search box.

win + r key combo, and type your command. what could be quicker? maybe a gpedit shortcut would be useful if you used it a lot.

pardon me and I don't mean to single you out or debase your proficiency, but the win8 whiners do not seem to have a clue how to make it easier. they don't on 8 or in 7 or in xp. and the louder the whine...well, you know.

 

[balloonshark]

pls can u give meh your wallpaper the full sized one?

Sure! I grabbed it from deviantart.com. http://www.deviantart.com/art/Fog-Rolls-In-67321505

Instead of downloading it I enlarged the pic all the way, right-clicked and "save image as...". The guy that uploaded it has other nice looking pics so browse around.

 

[Berryracer]

Sure! I grabbed it from deviantart.com. http://www.deviantart.com/art/Fog-Rolls-In-67321505

Instead of downloading it I enlarged the pic all the way, right-clicked and "save image as...". The guy that uploaded it has other nice looking pics so browse around.

thanks chief

 

[Mem]

BUT I'M NOT USING A DAMN TOUCH SCREEN! I'm using a keyboard and a mouse. The old Start Menu is faster using a keyboard and mouse combo. It's not that hard to understand. If I'm using a touchscreen or other touch based device, then yes, allow me to switch to the Modern UI. It's not rocket science. If I'm using a desktop computer, let me use a desktop OS. And I'm speaking as someone who deals with touch based devices all day long.

I'm not either but can appreciate Win8 is a hybrid OS rather then desktop only,fact is it does not change my statement.

I still use mouse and keyboard and have everything within 2 clicks max,actually similar to what I had on Win7 so goes to show no difference.
You can use Win8 as a desktop,but with respect some people can't be bothered to use Win8 properly,sorry user error IMHO.

As to rocket science well you be surprised how some people can't figure out Win8,sad times indeed,they would never of got past first base on DOS in the old days.
I too have some touch devices ie android tablet,smartphone,but laptop and PCs good old mouse and keyboard.

 

[mikeymikec]

My Start menu (Win7):

I enabled small icons on the Start menu so I can pack a lot in. My database is shortcutted there for quick access. The 'Clear Recent' script is one I wrote to clean out document types that I'm just not interested in seeing in 'Recent items' or jump lists (inc. porn or stupid file types like ini files or something equally useless to have as a 'recent item'). The little arrows pointing off from some of the apps is the Windows 7 'Jump list' feature, think 'Recent items' but filtered by app, which I find extremely useful. The 'Recent items' start menu shortcut is also handy. I've made the Start menu that large by preference (1080p screen), simply by the number of pinned items and the number of 'recently used programs' specified in the Start menu's properties.

The taskbar is for currently open programs (set to small icons for more screen space, non-combined and therefore labelled), rather than the (IMO) mess of "this is a pinned app which isn't open, and this is an open app", aka. MacOS Dock ripoff (also IMO).

I have a fair number of medium sized icons on the desktop, but if I had all my Start menu pinned items on the desktop then I'd have about 20 more icons on there, or my taskbar would be probably 90% full of pinned-but-not-open apps. With my method I can actually see my desktop background and I can easily see what apps I have open. It gives me a much cleaner view to begin with.

One thing that turns me off Win8 is the loss of the jump lists feature and the apparent loss of 'Recent items' in any convenient form. It also irritates that putting my own shortcuts on the Start screen is an order of magnitude more complicated. If say I want a desktop icon for IE on Win7, I drag and drop it from the Start menu (with the right mouse button so I get the option to copy the shortcut rather than move it). On Win8 I seemingly have to browse or manually type the shortcut info myself.

Getting a desktop IE shortcut onto the Start screen doesn't seem particularly simple either. As I have a spare Win8 box here at the moment I might give it another crack.

- edit - Heh, I've just tried to get desktop IE on the Start screen. The local user's Start screen folder is in: %appdata%\microsoft\windows\start menu\programs. If I create a shortcut in there to Notepad and call the shortcut say 'boogie', when I search for that shortcut to pin it to the Start screen, it appears as one might expect. Try it with desktop IE. Win8 sticks its finger up at you. The way to do it is to create a shortcut there to a URL and have IE as the default browser. For some bizarre reason clicking on a shortcut to a URL from the Start screen opens desktop IE (assuming IE is the default browser).

- edit 2 - I've learnt a better way of making the Start Screen's IE tile go to desktop IE.

Control Panel > Internet Options > Program tab > Tick 'Open Internet Explorer tiles on the desktop'.

 

[nehalem256]

That's what pinning apps to the taskbar is for. Otherwise your taskbar is just sitting there wasting space.

I have 19 apps in my Quicklaunch. Somehow I don't think they would all fit on a horizontal taskbar. And pinning sucks if you orient your taskbar vertically.

Not to mention that if I need a 2nd notepad window if I pin notepad I first have to locate the open notepad window in the taskbar then right-click and select notepad on the popup. Significantly less productive than the quicklauch

 

[Mem]

I have 19 apps in my Quicklaunch. Somehow I don't think they would all fit on a horizontal taskbar. And pinning sucks if you orient your taskbar vertically.

Not to mention that if I need a 2nd notepad window if I pin notepad I first have to locate the open notepad window in the taskbar then right-click and select notepad on the popup. Significantly less productive than the quicklauch

That's why I like Metro I can have over 100 applications etc if I want and organise them in columns etc..The old start button menu was limited with how much you could get on there pinned,at least I can now use whole of Metro Start screen and also the old desktop as well( ie taskbar and shortcuts if I want),I can also add some programs to Win+X menu too.

Best of both worlds in a way,anyway got it working great for me.

 

[Remobz]

Thx!..I got it from here,plenty of good ones at this site http://www.hdwallpapers.in/digital_universe-desktop-wallpapers.html

Thanks for link. Nice wallpapers there.

 

[StinkyPinky]

I have 19 apps in my Quicklaunch. Somehow I don't think they would all fit on a horizontal taskbar. And pinning sucks if you orient your taskbar vertically.

Not to mention that if I need a 2nd notepad window if I pin notepad I first have to locate the open notepad window in the taskbar then right-click and select notepad on the popup. Significantly less productive than the quicklauch

In your case metro actually works for you then. Pin them to the metro screen and all you need to do everytime is hit the windows key and click the app.

Every single example someone has given can be done in Windows 8 just as quickly if not quicker than Window 7, but people just don't want to learn. The best example of this is the search and launch function. In Windows 7 we would search for a common app (say "cmd") and then launch it right? In Windows 8 you can do exactly the same. Win key+r or just hit the windows key and start typing. Same result, same amount of time.

I stand by my claim that the start menu is retro and serves no function.

 

[fixbsod]

Start menu is where it's at! Anyone who thinks otherwise can GTFO just like Sinofsky and Ballmer!!

 

[akugami]

win + r key combo, and type your command. what could be quicker? maybe a gpedit shortcut would be useful if you used it a lot.

pardon me and I don't mean to single you out or debase your proficiency, but the win8 whiners do not seem to have a clue how to make it easier. they don't on 8 or in 7 or in xp. and the louder the whine...well, you know.

I don't take things personally when it's not meant to be insulting or derogatory in some way.

I didn't know about that key combo. Admittedly I'm not that big with memorizing keyboard commands and I get around very quick on the old desktop interface. The win+r does help, but I still find the old start menu faster since I don't even have to look up to click the start menu then typing in my search.

I'm not either but can appreciate Win8 is a hybrid OS rather then desktop only,fact is it does not change my statement.

I still use mouse and keyboard and have everything within 2 clicks max,actually similar to what I had on Win7 so goes to show no difference.
You can use Win8 as a desktop,but with respect some people can't be bothered to use Win8 properly,sorry user error IMHO.

As to rocket science well you be surprised how some people can't figure out Win8,sad times indeed,they would never of got past first base on DOS in the old days.
I too have some touch devices ie android tablet,smartphone,but laptop and PCs good old mouse and keyboard.

And the changes force me to learn some new way of doing something I've already done without raising ease of use or speed. If that's not a reason to condemn the changes, I don't know what is. The fact is that the decision made in Win8 to remove the Start Menu doesn't serve a purpose other than for the sake of change. The change don't make my daily workflow faster or easier.

You keep mentioning how you can still work as fast as you did in an older Windows OS but you never explain how the new way of doing things makes me faster. You also don't explain how the new way of doing things is easier. Because it isn't faster, or easier, for a desktop user. It's just different.

 

[PliotronX]

I love my new start button. So much better than any start screen.

 

[Zaap]

I never used...

I'm not quite sure when it happened that "I never used..." became the expert opinion on the use or need of something.

 

[balloonshark]

I didn't know about that key combo.

More here. http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/new-keyboard-shortcuts

and a more complete list here. http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/keyboard-shortcuts

 

[Rhonda the Sly]

If say I want a desktop icon for IE on Win7, I drag and drop it from the Start menu (with the right mouse button so I get the option to copy the shortcut rather than move it). On Win8 I seemingly have to browse or manually type the shortcut info myself.

Right-click on the item, Pin to Start. Browsers are a weird exception in that the default browser will always launched as a Store app, unless configured otherwise, as you found out.

And the changes force me to learn some new way of doing something I've already done without raising ease of use or speed. If that's not a reason to condemn the changes, I don't know what is. The fact is that the decision made in Win8 to remove the Start Menu doesn't serve a purpose other than for the sake of change. The change don't make my daily workflow faster or easier.

You keep mentioning how you can still work as fast as you did in an older Windows OS but you never explain how the new way of doing things makes me faster. You also don't explain how the new way of doing things is easier. Because it isn't faster, or easier, for a desktop user. It's just different.

Above it was mentioned 32 icons fit on the Start Menu at 1080p, 78 can fit on the Start Screen (in one giant block) with that number jumping to 156 on 8.1. Of course, under both scenarios I would consider the lists to be an unorganized mess at best but the Start Screen gives one the opportunity to exchange some of those slots for organization. Moreover, at the flick of the mouse wheel the user can access even more applications. I used Search a lot in Windows 7 because I felt the Start Menu wasn't that great with a mouse but in Windows 8 I used the mouse a lot more because I can access 90% of the apps I want with ease.

And every change likely has a purpose, even if you don't agree with it.

Not to mention that if I need a 2nd notepad window if I pin notepad I first have to locate the open notepad window in the taskbar then right-click and select notepad on the popup. Significantly less productive than the quicklauch

Middle-mouse button or SHFT+Click. Start Screen works the same way.

 

[mikeymikec]

Right-click on the item, Pin to Start. Browsers are a weird exception in that the default browser will always launched as a Store app, unless configured otherwise, as you found out.

I was talking about creating a desktop icon there, then I moved on to creating an IE-for-desktop tile in the Start screen, as well as the bizarro inconsistent behaviour regarding tiles pointing to URLs opening desktop IE by default.