Create A Pseudo Start Menu In Windows 8 Developer
Preview
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A (very) brief bit of history to start. Windows 8
Developer Preview is released. The Metro user interface is
'the' hot topic among users whose focus is content creation
rather than content consumption. Microsoft chose not to
include a kill switch for the Metro user interface, although a registry hack is
available that brings back the Windows 7 Start Menu. The
problem is, implementing the registry edit effectively
cripples a lot of the new features in Windows 8.
I'm among the 'content creator' group that uses a
personal computer for work and am quite interested in the
changes in Windows 8 on the desktop side, while truthfully I
could care less about Metro and the consumption side. So, I
decided to make my own 'Start Menu' for Windows 8 so I could
ignore the registry hack and still have the majority of the
Start Menu functions available - and still be able to flip
over to the Metro side when desired.
I do want to make it clear this method isn't integrated
into Windows 8 via any hooks, calls, or coding. The real
Start Menu is basically a set of shortcuts in a fancy
wrapper. All I've done here is create a set of folders that
contains many of the same shortcuts found on an actual Start
Menu and added them to the Taskbar as a new toolbar. For the
Search function I use Google Desktop which can be added to
the Taskbar as well and set to search and display results
from many different sources.
Implementing this workaround disables nothing from the
Metro interface. If you click the Windows icon lower left on
the Taskbar it still takes you back to Metro and all the
Windows + shortcuts function normally. Obviously the ideal
situation would be for Microsoft to include a Metro kill
switch at some point in the beta release cycle, but for now
this method suits my needs for about a 30 minute time
investment. I'll detail what I did to set up the Windows 8
Pseudo Start Menu below.
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| Note: All the steps at this point are being performed inside a
current, running Windows 7 installation. |
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| Step 1 - Create the Start
Menu Folder, Sub-Folders and Shortcuts |
| This entire process is nothing
more than creating a series of folders, sub-folders, and
filling them with shortcuts. That may sound fairly daunting,
but it's actually quite easy, especially if you base the
setup on an existing Windows 7 (or earlier version)
operating system already in place. The file structure in
Windows 8 is very similar to earlier Windows versions, for
the most part almost identical, at least where items
referenced in the Start Menu are concerned. |
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| Be Selective |
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Let me point out a
couple of things to consider when you're deciding
what to add to the Start Menu folder. Remember that
these are nothing but shortcuts; pointers that
direct the operating system to open something that
exists in the file structure. If you copy a shortcut
to, let's say for example, a drive partition that
exists on the Windows 7 system but doesn't exist in
the Windows 8 installation, then that item will be
useless in the new start menu.
The same applies for
installed applications. You may have Microsoft
Office installed in Windows 7, but unless it's
installed in Windows 8 any shortcut you include to
it will fail. Of course, you could include the
shortcut as a reminder to install the application
later in Win 8, but until you do, the shortcut will
just return a bad link error.
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In Windows 7, create a new
folder on the desktop and give it a name. I called it Start
Menu, but any name will do. Open the Windows 7 Start Menu
and start dragging items from it into the new folder using a
single click/drag/drop routine for each item you want in the
new Start Menu. Pay close attention to the message provided
as you are dragging items. You can see below the message
displayed is [Create Link In Start Menu], but some items
will display a [Move to Desktop] message. If you see the
[Move to Desktop] message, stop right there and drag the
item back to its original location on the start menu. You
want to create links, not move the items. You can overcome
this problem by right clicking and dragging the item to the
desktop/folder, release the click and select the create
shortcut option from the displayed context menu.
Once you're done, copy the new
Start Menu folder containing all the shortcuts onto a USB
drive and copy the folder to the desktop of the Windows 8
Developer Preview installation or to wherever the folder
will be kept permanently. I suggest you place it in the root
of the C drive.
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| Step 2 - Create the New
Taskbar Button |
| Below is the Windows 8
Developer Preview installation with the new Start Menu
folder copied. Right click on the Taskbar, make sure [Lock
The Taskbar] is unchecked, then click [New Toolbar...]
option. |
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| An explorer window opens where
you need to navigate to where you placed the new Start Menu
folder. In this tutorial I placed it on the desktop for
clarity, but that's obviously not a good place unless you
just like desktop clutter. Wherever you place it, navigate
there, highlight the folder, then click the [Select Folder]
button. |
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| The window will close and you
now have a new Start Menu button on the Taskbar. By default
it will appear on the right side of the taskbar, but you can
easily move it to the left side by hovering the mouse over
the title until a four directional arrow appears and
dragging it to the left. |
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| To use the new Start Menu
simply click on the double chevrons [>>] just to the right
of the Start Menu words and the menu will expand upward. The
example above is very simplistic but a few tweaks here and
there can make it much more functional. |
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| Step 3 - Fine Tune the
Start Menu Folder |
| Here's a look at the way I've
structured my Start Menu when the chevrons are clicked. I've
tossed some items in here for illustrative purposes that I
would never bother with in daily use, but you get the idea.
Yes, it's very reminiscent of the old expanding menus rather
than the current fad of vertical dropdowns, but I find it
quite functional. |
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The easiest way to edit the menu is to open the Start
Menu folder in Windows Explorer and make any changes there.
All items in the root of the folder will be displayed on the
initial click of the chevrons. Each level deeper in the
folder tree results in a separate pane being displayed on
the desktop.
For example, double clicking the Control Panel folder
below would display all the shortcuts for the Control Panel
folder shown above. Each level down you create will be
accessible via the small right facing arrows. I suggest you
limit the depth to the root plus two levels. More than that
and it becomes unwieldy to navigate easily with the mouse
through the panes displayed onscreen. You can create as many
folders as you want and shuffle the shortcuts among them in
any way you wish, tailoring the menu to suit your personal
style of work. I just used the basic structure of the
Windows 7 Start Menu because I use it daily and find it
convenient.
If you've transferred a link that has no counterpart in
Windows 8 you'll receive a message essentially saying the
link is broken or asking you to associate the link with a
different program. In most cases just delete the link since
it's pointing to something that simply doesn't exist in
Windows 8. No harm, no foul.
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| While that takes care of the
basic Start Menu, you may have noticed one big part of the
Windows 7 version that's missing and that's the search
feature at the lower left of the Start Menu. Instead of
investing a lot of time in trying to figure out how to
recreate that aspect, I wanted this to be quick and simple,
so I went another direction and used the "Google Desktop"
application as a replacement that accomplishes essentially
the same thing. The steps to add it to the taskbar are
below. |
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Adding "Search" to the
Taskbar - All steps for this part are performed
inside the Windows 8 Developer Preview installation. |
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| Step 1 - Obtaining Google
Desktop |
| The first thing to do is
obtain the Google Desktop application from Google. The
link will take you directly to the download page. Make sure
you are performing these steps inside the Windows 8
Developer Preview Installation, not from inside Windows 7 or
some other Windows version. When you're ready, click the
[Install Google Desktop] button. |
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| At the bottom of the browser
you'll be asked if you want to [Run] or [Save] the file. You
could save it if you wanted but it's easier to just click
[Run]. You'll have to pass through the UAC prompt and the
installation will start. |
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| The installer appears and you
see the Welcome to Google Desktop! screen. Click [I Agree]
button to continue. |
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| If memory serves me correctly,
all the boxes have checkmarks as the default. I unchecked
everything except the Default Search box which must remain
checked. If you want the Enhanced Search that's fine, but
make sure Sidebar with Gadgets is unchecked. Additional
Settings is your preference. Click the [Done] button. |
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| This is what you'll end up
with after the installation is complete; a new search bar
located on the taskbar. If you want to reposition the search
box do it the same way as I explained further up in the
Start Menu section. Clicking the downward facing arrow to
the right of the search field opens the options panel for
Google Desktop where you can alter the search parameters,
how the results are displayed, and a few other variables. |
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| Here's a
quick example of what you can expect when using the search
box. I typed in 'defrag' and you can see the results. A
quick click on 'Defragment and Optimize Drives - Start Menu'
opens the window where drives can be defragmented. Quick and
easy. |
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| Here's
the final Start Menu/Taskbar I have been using for the past
couple of weeks as I explored Windows 8 Developer Preview.
Is it the same as having a genuine, full featured start menu
available in Windows 7? No, certainly not, but unlike
implementing the
registry hack to disable the Metro User Interface which
also disables features like the ribbon in Windows Explorer
and reverts to the old style task manager, I have full
access to Metro on demand and all the Windows 8 changes are
fully functional. The hardest thing to get used to is
remembering not to click the Windows logo at the extreme
left on the taskbar or it shoots you straight back to the
Metro Start Screen, but that only lasts for only a few hours
until it becomes a non-issue. |
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| The question has been asked
what is the "TEG" button to the right of the "Start Menu"
button. That's just a separate toolbar created the same way
the Start Menu was except it just links to the TEG user
folder. You can add as many toolbars to the taskbar as you
wish. Just link the toolbar to the folder of choice. |
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| Final Note |
| If you do create the Pseudo
Start Menu, I suggest you save any special folders you
create to a flash drive so if you wipe the system and
reinstall for any reason it's a quick job to copy it into
the new installation. Have fun exploring Windows 8. |
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