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#1
AllApps menu alternative
I prefer the AllApps screen in Win8.1 to the alpha list in Win10. I've suggested a few variants to MS through feedback.
It looks as though the alpha list will be the defacto standard, although a leaked peek shows it is a little better (can be hidden) and the Start Screen is not cluttered with a list that's too small and not nearly granular enough to be useful.
Windows has always been friendly to customization, and if I get the time to learn the XAML coding pertaining to Start, I might build my own. I tried exporting Start though PS, but it failed - that's ok because if you go that route, the Start screen becomes static. The export serves companies who want to have the same screen for all users.
Until then, I made a poor man's AllApps screen
Download ~AllApps.zip folder and extract the shortcut
After you have extracted the shortcut, check the properties of the shortcut and unblock it if it is marked blocked.
If you would rather a different icon or the icon I set did not make it through the transfer, change it while you're in properties.
I used the right arrow icon in %SystemRoot%\system32\SHELL32.dll
You can see it in the screen shots and if you have to 'fix' the icon, it's about in the middle of the slider displaying icons in shell32.dll
When you are finished with the shortcut properties
Move ~AllApps.lnk (the shortcut) to your personal Start menu
%Appdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs
When you look at the Start menu list, the new item, ~AllApps, will be first in the list since tilde ~ is lower in value that most other characters.
Pin ~AllApps to Start and place it where it's convenient to you. I mimicked the Win8.1 placement of an arrow at the lower left area.
When you're finished, you will have a pseudo AllApps screen. One of the niceties is that you can use all of the File Explorer organization features.
I set mine to
Hide the Navigation pane (organize button)
view as list (top view selector - press the icon to cycle through available views or press the down arrow to select the one you want)
Right click an open area of the main window
sort by name
group by none
There is one problem ... the settings do not stick.
I'll post an update once (if) I figure that out - I'd venture that some member will post the solution before I get back to it. It might be as simple as changing the shortcut target to call rundll shell32 or explorer.