AllApps menu alternative

Slartybart, what was the feedback you gave MS? So we can find and "me too" it.

Wynona said:

Do you have "Open File Location", Dave?

See my last post, Wynona. I started over from scratch and sorted it. Since then, I decided it didn't suit me so I have deleted again.

I decided in the end, to have a better try at customising the existing Start screen. Still working with it, but, so far:

Attachment 19003

Much the same as the old Windows 8 start window and still only a click away.

davehc said:

See my last post, Wynona. I started over from scratch and sorted it. Since then, I decided it didn't suit me so I have deleted again.

Yeah, I saw that. My thought was that maybe if you right click and "Open File Location" was available, you could pin from there.

I am glad to see many members helping others (and me too!) try to resolve what MS should offer (a choice of or customizable Start menu).

The special character (tilde ~ ) is not on the MS "do not use" list. It's always hairy to use characters outside of the norm.
So, it is a good idea to use only alpha-numeric chars in the folder and file names, even though the 'special' chars should not present a problem - who knows if some rookie coder missed the memo

Fraker: I have fed MS many times on the start menu, but I can't seem to find my feedback (another feedback I gave - "How about listing our own feedbacks?") You can see a count (mine hasn't moved since they began showing it), but you can't say "Find my feedback"
--> It's probably best to enter new feedback, even though it does seem that feedback is a popularity contest. In some ways. that makes sense, but in other ways, it is too easily manipulated. I think MS is doing a really good job processing all the feedback.

I've spent a few hours (days?) trying to find a suitable workaround to a few issues. This is my 7th install of 10_074 (man can I break a system or what :) )

Thanks Roger - that might be an easy solution to the presentation I'm trying to get nailed down.

A few other simple solutions would be
add a toolbar to the taskbar that points directly to C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs
make a link to that folder and pin the link anywhere you wish
export Start and make it the way you want, then live with a static Start (I did finally get an export to work - no idea why previous attempts failed)
I think I had 2 or 3 other options, but can't recall them now ... oh well .. I'm on the hunt for launching immersive shell instead of Windows shell. Funny thing, there's a workaround on askVG that describes a differnt option, but the reference to EdgeUi got my attention (this was written back in 2013, sooo Edge has been around)

The more input and more members trying different things helps everyone. Maybe if MS catches wind and peeks, they might be motivated to 'fix' this in some way that is manageable for them AND end users. I can't believe it is that difficult to offer a choice - they have many variants.

ok, I'm off to try Roger's suggestion in a folder that has a layout I want - will it stick or will the UI force the layout?

I'll post what I find out.

Bill
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Roger,

Either I misread your instructions or screwed something up.
I couldn't drop the string in the folder, so I put it in the name of the folder. That worked, but if you rename the folder, it stops working. I also couldn't get the layout the way I wanted (list view, sorted by name)

so I switched back to control panel.

I was building one from scratch when a member said "Hey Bill .. Brink wrote a tut". Of course he did

Control Panel All Tasks Shortcut - Create in Windows 10 - Windows 10 Forums

and in a funny response to Edwin's query about a uniVersal version, Shawn pointed to:

Settings - Open in Windows 10 - Windows 10 Forums

Roger also posted about Godmode in that thread. I'll have to try that as well (although I'm not sure I did the Applications folder he suggested correctly - oh well, this is fun stuff!)

So, I was in my 'workshop' folder and saw the Control Panel (CPL) .. thought hey, let's see if the same thing I used for Applications works for CPL.

What was that thing, you ask?
Right click the address bar in File Explorer (breadcrumbs view, not the path)
select copy address
navigate to a new folder
right click
paste shortcut

That does all of the heavy lifting.

Here are both versions in one zip (cPanelShawn & cPanelBill)

cPanels.zip

Don't forget to wash behind your ears and unblock.

Bill
.

It is a great lead in the direction of reviving the modern start screen. Is there a chance that the icons could be grouped? For clarity, that is the way I use it in Windows 8.1
No offence, but I would find it a hindrance to work with such a "busy" menu as is shown in posts #4 or, particularly, #30
No kidding, I follow and admire the effort and intention, but, for the moment, I am finding the closest thing to the old modern screen is a customised start menu, which can, of course, be grouped.

davehc said:

It is a great lead in the direction of reviving the modern start screen.
Is there a chance that the icons could be grouped? For clarity, that is the way I use it in Windows 8.1

Thanks Dave,

That IS the dilemma with this workaround then isn't it? The layout ... the layout ... the layout

Everyone has they're preferences, so no offence should be taken.

If I could bring back the Win8.1 Start screen that would be my preference.
If MS offered the full Screen, full All Apps as a choice that would be my real preference (that's where we started with this 8.2 (versioning numerically 8+2=10). Then it got terrible, but it is getting better. Cosmetic changes are always reserved for last ... after all of the hard work is completed. This usually means things slip through the cracks.

I have no problem keeping up with technology, but I haven't seen any improvement over the Win8.1 Screen and All Apps.
I do wish they'd stop calling it Start though .. it's a menu and a list. Start hasn't been on the button since XP, and now they bring it back ... Why? The 'neat' floating and transparency does nothing for me, absolutely nothing. I don't see why the Screen has to be docked to the top and right though - I think it should be 'windowed' just like everything else. Of course some folks probably like it there, so add a dock option.

So, I'll keep plugging away on this and a few other issues. My followup list is fairly short at this point, now I'm having fun.
I posted or have to post about 30 new feeds, so far, for 10_074. That's not including the ones that are carrying over from previous builds.

All in all, it's a good build, I wouldn't pay for it though