Looking for some info/help organizing the apps/start scn.

klepp0906

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Location
Detroit
So i have become accustomed to/began using the apps screen as my start screen persay. With the right combination of options it functions the same as having a start button would.

The problem im having is that windows 8 makes it extremely difficult to rename/organize/customize this for the most part.

In particular I am trying to hide/get rid of pcsettings icon without losing the functionality of the pc settings option on the charms bar. I cant understand why deleting the shortcut for example causes the functionality there to disappear but i digress.

Another big issue is the inability to hide some of the un-uninstallable icons. Camera app for example. Right click and try to set as hidden, which is a concession/bandaid that is ok as opposed to being able to remove it outright. BS but i can live w/ it. (already found the registry entry to disable onedrive. Didnt want to lose it completely but since they cram it down your throat w/ auto run and no ability to hide taskbar icons etc) Im getting off topic :p The hidden option is grayed out completely on Desktop, Camera, PC Settings, and a few others. As i mentioned earlier they can be deleted which will remove them from the apps menu, but I lose functionality in places id rather not.

Finally, last but certainly not least. I'm trying to put all my games under a folder called (you guessed it) games!! If i sort by category they all end up in seperate folders under the name(s) of the developer. ie: /Blizzard/World of Warcraft and /Square Enix/FFXIV. I didnt have much trouble until I ran into a single game, in this case.. wow.

For some reason, unbeknownst to me - these shortcuts function as more than shortcuts. Deleting some totally break apps, others do not. Windows 8 has seemingly seperated some installed program's shortcuts to C:\Users\Kevin\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs and some of them to C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs. I have no idea why it differentiates nor how to reconcile what needs to belong where. It has been mostly a trial and error. Sometimes I will create a folder in one /programs subdir and get nothing. I move it to the other one of the two and POOF my folder shows up.

In this case, as i mentioned I created games. It ended up not showing in the apps menu unless it was in the first of the two i listed. Coincidentally all my games BUT wow were installed under the 2nd filetree. I moved those over and had no luck. However I created shortcuts and moved THOSE over while keeping the original shortcuts and bam! I now had NCsoft/Wildstar and SquareEnix/FFXIV gone and simply Games/Wildstar and Games/Square Enix (even though I moved them both over INSIDE the former folder). I know this is getting complicated so I apologize.

Anyhow, long story short... as i said Blizzard/WoW is by default on the same side as the newly created "Games" folder. I tried simply shifting it into there with the rest of the new shortcuts. Nothing, still shows as seperate on the apps menu. I tried making a shortcut and having essentially 2 blizzard/wow's in the same filetree (one under programs, one under games) and that seems to work but only part time lol. Sometimes it seems to group them all under games, other times it seems to revert to showing the first 2 under games and wow under blizzard and on its own.

Long story short - if anyone can help me understand wth M$ is doing and how to arrange/remove/customize the folders in the start menu manually - id be elated!!

Thats all :(
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Enterprise x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel i7 4790K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Z87X - OC Force
    Memory
    Corsair Dominator Platinum 2133 (32GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX TITAN SC x4
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U2713H x3
    Screen Resolution
    4680x2560
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 840 EVO x2 (512GB)
    Seagate Barracuda x2 (4TB)
    PSU
    EVGA NEX1500 Supernova x2
    Case
    Corsair Obsidian 900D
    Cooling
    EK Supremacy & XSPC RX360
    Keyboard
    Razer Deathstalker Ultimate
    Mouse
    Razer Naga Epic
    Internet Speed
    AT&T Uverse 45Mbp/s
    Browser
    Chromium x64
FWIW - resolved the "games" issue. Just had to redirect the shortcuts and get rid of the extras that for some reason seemed to be mandatory towards making it show up before.

Still working on how I can adequately m ake the last few "uninstallable" windows apps disappear. Cant hide them. Cant delete them without losing the functionality. (could care less about functionality on most of them to be fair)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Enterprise x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel i7 4790K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Z87X - OC Force
    Memory
    Corsair Dominator Platinum 2133 (32GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX TITAN SC x4
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U2713H x3
    Screen Resolution
    4680x2560
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 840 EVO x2 (512GB)
    Seagate Barracuda x2 (4TB)
    PSU
    EVGA NEX1500 Supernova x2
    Case
    Corsair Obsidian 900D
    Cooling
    EK Supremacy & XSPC RX360
    Keyboard
    Razer Deathstalker Ultimate
    Mouse
    Razer Naga Epic
    Internet Speed
    AT&T Uverse 45Mbp/s
    Browser
    Chromium x64
ok. Games resolved. Just thought to upload this possibility.
Any game title can be executed or listed on the apps screen if a shortcut is placed in
...\ AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu

games1.jpg

As far as the uninstallables, I almost never see them, unless as a part of a keystroke search list result
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Server 2012 / 8.0
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Built
    CPU
    Intel i7 QuadCore 3770k
    Motherboard
    Asrock Extreme 4
    Memory
    16GB Crucial Ballistix
    Graphics Card(s)
    intel embedded gpu
    Sound Card
    Sound Blaster Z
    Monitor(s) Displays
    AOC / Westinghouse
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Plextor pcie msata
    PSU
    Rosewill Silent Night 500W Fanless / PicoPSU
    Case
    open bench - no case enclosure
    Cooling
    Silverstone HEO2 Passive Silent
    Keyboard
    logitech washable K310
    Mouse
    logitech wired
    Browser
    ie / maxthon
    Other Info
    Totally silent. No fans at all.
yes! thats where I was getting confused. It seemed some (majority actually) of the shortcuts all ended up under programdata/startmenu/programs and no matter what i tried to do to that end - i got nada. Do you know the technical difference between the two and why some shortcuts display from the one side and not the other? Just curious. Prior versions of windows simply had one place to go/look if you wanted something in your start menu. Windows 9 /eager ON.

Either way, thank you for the reply :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Enterprise x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel i7 4790K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Z87X - OC Force
    Memory
    Corsair Dominator Platinum 2133 (32GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX TITAN SC x4
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U2713H x3
    Screen Resolution
    4680x2560
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 840 EVO x2 (512GB)
    Seagate Barracuda x2 (4TB)
    PSU
    EVGA NEX1500 Supernova x2
    Case
    Corsair Obsidian 900D
    Cooling
    EK Supremacy & XSPC RX360
    Keyboard
    Razer Deathstalker Ultimate
    Mouse
    Razer Naga Epic
    Internet Speed
    AT&T Uverse 45Mbp/s
    Browser
    Chromium x64
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