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Huge crowded All Apps screen? A Tip.
I've noticed many comments relating to the All Apps screen being too large with too many icons/tiles, meaning the user has to scroll for miles to get to the right-hand end. This turns many off using it, instead of the Start screen, as a Start menu, despite it being arguably far superior.
Limited customising options for the All Apps screen also makes it hard to cull these unwanted entries.
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/20705-apps-screen-add-remove-items-windows-8-a.html
Oh, and do back the Programs folder up first, in case you make a mistake.
I reduced the length and clutter of my All Apps screen by over 50% using this method. See below.
Hope some of you may find this to be of some help.
Wenda.
Before...
After...
Last edited by a moderator: Apr 9, 2014
OS
Windows 8.1 'Ultimate' RTM 64 bit (Pro/WMC).
Computer type
Laptop
System Manufacturer/Model
Acer AS8951G 'Desktop Replacement'.
CPU
i7-2670QM@2.2/3.1Ghz.
Motherboard
Acer
Memory
8GB@1366Mhz.
Graphics Card(s)
GeForce GT555M 2GB DDR3
Sound Card
Realtek HD w/Dolby 5.1 surround.
Monitor(s) Displays
Built-in. Non-touch.
Screen Resolution
18/4" 1920x1080 full-HD.
Hard Drives
Toshiba 750GBx2 internal. 1x2TB, 2x640GB, 1x500GB external.
PSU
Stock.
Case
Laptop.
Cooling
Stock.
Keyboard
Full 101-key
Mouse
USB cordless.
Browser
IE11, Firefox, Tor.
Antivirus
Windows Defender, MalwareBytes Pro.
Other Info
BD-ROM drive.
slightly off center
VIP Member
Guru
Gold Member
:thumb: There is stuff in "C:\Users\(your username)\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\" too. I've been doing this for a while, getting rid of all the readme's etc. I like to remove the uninstall shortcuts too, it saves that accidental click. I'd just as soon uninstall from control panel anyway. I originally found those locations while searching for the "Startup" folders. The nag to register my Logitech device was getting to a pain.
OS
Windows 10 Education 64 Bit
Computer type
PC/Desktop
System Manufacturer/Model
Asus
CPU
AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
Motherboard
ASUS M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
Memory
8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
Sound Card
VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
Monitor(s) Displays
22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
Screen Resolution
1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
Hard Drives
Crucial MX100 256 GB SSD and 500 GB WD Blue SATA
PSU
Thermaltake TR 620
Case
Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
Cooling
Stock heatsink fan
Keyboard
Logitech Wireless K350 Wave
Mouse
Logitech M570 Trackball and T650 TouchPad
Internet Speed
80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
Browser
Internet Explorer 11
Antivirus
Windows Defender
Other Info
HP DVD1040e Lightscribe - External USB2
Yes, Alphanumeric, you are correct re the entries under Users, but (in my case at least) it contained very few entries, none of which I desired to get rid of. This is why I didn't think to mention it.
Sorry...
Cheers!
Wenda.
OS
Windows 8.1 'Ultimate' RTM 64 bit (Pro/WMC).
Computer type
Laptop
System Manufacturer/Model
Acer AS8951G 'Desktop Replacement'.
CPU
i7-2670QM@2.2/3.1Ghz.
Motherboard
Acer
Memory
8GB@1366Mhz.
Graphics Card(s)
GeForce GT555M 2GB DDR3
Sound Card
Realtek HD w/Dolby 5.1 surround.
Monitor(s) Displays
Built-in. Non-touch.
Screen Resolution
18/4" 1920x1080 full-HD.
Hard Drives
Toshiba 750GBx2 internal. 1x2TB, 2x640GB, 1x500GB external.
PSU
Stock.
Case
Laptop.
Cooling
Stock.
Keyboard
Full 101-key
Mouse
USB cordless.
Browser
IE11, Firefox, Tor.
Antivirus
Windows Defender, MalwareBytes Pro.
Other Info
BD-ROM drive.
slightly off center
VIP Member
Guru
Gold Member
No need to be sorry. Like you said, most of the shortcuts are in the other location. I wasn't sure that you knew of both so I posted the second one.
OS
Windows 10 Education 64 Bit
Computer type
PC/Desktop
System Manufacturer/Model
Asus
CPU
AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
Motherboard
ASUS M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
Memory
8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
Sound Card
VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
Monitor(s) Displays
22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
Screen Resolution
1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
Hard Drives
Crucial MX100 256 GB SSD and 500 GB WD Blue SATA
PSU
Thermaltake TR 620
Case
Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
Cooling
Stock heatsink fan
Keyboard
Logitech Wireless K350 Wave
Mouse
Logitech M570 Trackball and T650 TouchPad
Internet Speed
80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
Browser
Internet Explorer 11
Antivirus
Windows Defender
Other Info
HP DVD1040e Lightscribe - External USB2
Well-Known Member
VIP Member
Guru
Just don't delete some of these, especially the Store which is a live link, it'll cause problems:
View attachment 41235
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium
Computer type
PC/Desktop
System Manufacturer/Model
HP Pavillion
PC2
Tablet - Windows 10 Home
Administrator
Administrator
mvp
OS
64-bit Windows 10
Computer type
PC/Desktop
System Manufacturer/Model
Custom self built
CPU
Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
Motherboard
ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
Memory
64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
Graphics Card(s)
ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
Sound Card
Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
Monitor(s) Displays
2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
Screen Resolution
2560x1440
Hard Drives
1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
PSU
OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
Case
Thermaltake Core P3
Cooling
Corsair Hydro H115i
Keyboard
Logitech wireless K800
Mouse
Logitech MX Master 3
Internet Speed
1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
Browser
Internet Explorer 11
Antivirus
Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
Other Info
Logitech Z625 speaker system,
Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
Galaxy S23 Plus phone
slightly off center
VIP Member
Guru
Gold Member
I only nuke the useless shortcuts for readme's etc. Still it doesn't hurt to advise some caution. If there was a delete option instead of the uninstall you wouldn't have to go hunting for the shortcuts in the first place.
OS
Windows 10 Education 64 Bit
Computer type
PC/Desktop
System Manufacturer/Model
Asus
CPU
AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
Motherboard
ASUS M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
Memory
8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
Sound Card
VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
Monitor(s) Displays
22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
Screen Resolution
1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
Hard Drives
Crucial MX100 256 GB SSD and 500 GB WD Blue SATA
PSU
Thermaltake TR 620
Case
Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
Cooling
Stock heatsink fan
Keyboard
Logitech Wireless K350 Wave
Mouse
Logitech M570 Trackball and T650 TouchPad
Internet Speed
80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
Browser
Internet Explorer 11
Antivirus
Windows Defender
Other Info
HP DVD1040e Lightscribe - External USB2
Yes, I've left all of those alone.
I found that it was programs etc that I'd installed myself that were causing most of the clutter, so got rid of a lot of that.
But the stuff Windows installs by default, I left alone.
Perhaps I should have added a rider: Do not attempt this unless you are absolutely sure you know what you are doing.
Wenda.
OS
Windows 8.1 'Ultimate' RTM 64 bit (Pro/WMC).
Computer type
Laptop
System Manufacturer/Model
Acer AS8951G 'Desktop Replacement'.
CPU
i7-2670QM@2.2/3.1Ghz.
Motherboard
Acer
Memory
8GB@1366Mhz.
Graphics Card(s)
GeForce GT555M 2GB DDR3
Sound Card
Realtek HD w/Dolby 5.1 surround.
Monitor(s) Displays
Built-in. Non-touch.
Screen Resolution
18/4" 1920x1080 full-HD.
Hard Drives
Toshiba 750GBx2 internal. 1x2TB, 2x640GB, 1x500GB external.
PSU
Stock.
Case
Laptop.
Cooling
Stock.
Keyboard
Full 101-key
Mouse
USB cordless.
Browser
IE11, Firefox, Tor.
Antivirus
Windows Defender, MalwareBytes Pro.
Other Info
BD-ROM drive.
slightly off center
VIP Member
Guru
Gold Member
Yeah, its installed programs that create most of the clutter. Readme's, web link's to the authors site, help files, etc.
OS
Windows 10 Education 64 Bit
Computer type
PC/Desktop
System Manufacturer/Model
Asus
CPU
AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
Motherboard
ASUS M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
Memory
8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
Sound Card
VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
Monitor(s) Displays
22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
Screen Resolution
1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
Hard Drives
Crucial MX100 256 GB SSD and 500 GB WD Blue SATA
PSU
Thermaltake TR 620
Case
Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
Cooling
Stock heatsink fan
Keyboard
Logitech Wireless K350 Wave
Mouse
Logitech M570 Trackball and T650 TouchPad
Internet Speed
80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
Browser
Internet Explorer 11
Antivirus
Windows Defender
Other Info
HP DVD1040e Lightscribe - External USB2
Well-Known Member
VIP Member
Guru
Bare minimum Apps Screen. Everything else resides on the task bar, in the Startup folder or is launched from the right click context menu.
View attachment 41240
(The system icons were moved to an auxiliary folder within the System Folder)
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium
Computer type
PC/Desktop
System Manufacturer/Model
HP Pavillion
PC2
Tablet - Windows 10 Home
Yeah, good point Brink. Tried that too.
It only saved me around a third of a screen, if that, though it would be useful if you didn't want to go through the procedure I described, but still wanted to reduce the distance you need to scroll.
My method above reduced the width of my All Apps screen from just over six screens wide to just on three.
I'd never bothered to play with the All Apps screen in Win 8 because 1/ I had Classic Start installed and 2/ in Win 8 you can't go directly to All Apps from the Start button but must go through the Start screen. But when I installed the Win 8.1 RTM I refrained from installing Classic Shell and decided to use All Apps as my Start menu because now I could go directly to it. Once the unwanted tiles are removed, and if you run it set to sort the tiles by category, it works like a dream. So much so that I hardly ever even go to or use the Start screen any longer (as can be seen in the pic below).
And now, with the added options available on All Apps (and the Start screen) it's what it should have been in Win 8. Had it been, I reckon Win 8 would have been far more successful than it actually was.
Wenda.
OS
Windows 8.1 'Ultimate' RTM 64 bit (Pro/WMC).
Computer type
Laptop
System Manufacturer/Model
Acer AS8951G 'Desktop Replacement'.
CPU
i7-2670QM@2.2/3.1Ghz.
Motherboard
Acer
Memory
8GB@1366Mhz.
Graphics Card(s)
GeForce GT555M 2GB DDR3
Sound Card
Realtek HD w/Dolby 5.1 surround.
Monitor(s) Displays
Built-in. Non-touch.
Screen Resolution
18/4" 1920x1080 full-HD.
Hard Drives
Toshiba 750GBx2 internal. 1x2TB, 2x640GB, 1x500GB external.
PSU
Stock.
Case
Laptop.
Cooling
Stock.
Keyboard
Full 101-key
Mouse
USB cordless.
Browser
IE11, Firefox, Tor.
Antivirus
Windows Defender, MalwareBytes Pro.
Other Info
BD-ROM drive.
This worked great for me, thanks
OS
W10 Pro X64
Computer type
PC/Desktop
System Manufacturer/Model
Dude
CPU
Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-3570K CPU OC@ 4.5 GHZ Turbo
Motherboard
MSI Z77MA-G45 (MS-7759)
Memory
8.00 GB DDR3 1600Mhz
Graphics Card(s)
PNY GTX 760
Sound Card
Realtek High Definition
Monitor(s) Displays
Dell S23O9W, HP L1710
Screen Resolution
DELL-1920 x 1080 HP-1280 x1024
Hard Drives
Crucial m4 256 SSD WD 7200RPM 500GB
PSU
Seasonic X650 Gold
Case
Zalman Z12
Cooling
Antec Kuhler 920
Keyboard
Logitech
Mouse
MSI DS100 Interceptor
Internet Speed
50 down 5 up
Browser
Chrome, IE 11
Antivirus
Windows Defender
Other Info
Logitech X-620 Speakers
Bare minimum Apps Screen. Everything else resides on the task bar, in the Startup folder or is launched from the right click context menu.
View attachment 41240
(The system icons were moved to an auxiliary folder within the System Folder)
Very neat and functional, Edwin. Looks good, well done. :thumb:
I'm one of those who dislike programs pinned to the taskbar, though. I prefer mine to show running programs only, so rather than pin to the taskbar as you have, I've enabled the Quick-Launch toolbar and run my most-used programs from there.
In the pic below IE, Media Player and File Explorer are shown 'pinned' as they are my most-commonly used entries in the QL toolbar. I can hide them by sliding QL to the extreme left of the taskbar. The icons to the right are currently open, but minimised programs.
Wenda
OS
Windows 8.1 'Ultimate' RTM 64 bit (Pro/WMC).
Computer type
Laptop
System Manufacturer/Model
Acer AS8951G 'Desktop Replacement'.
CPU
i7-2670QM@2.2/3.1Ghz.
Motherboard
Acer
Memory
8GB@1366Mhz.
Graphics Card(s)
GeForce GT555M 2GB DDR3
Sound Card
Realtek HD w/Dolby 5.1 surround.
Monitor(s) Displays
Built-in. Non-touch.
Screen Resolution
18/4" 1920x1080 full-HD.
Hard Drives
Toshiba 750GBx2 internal. 1x2TB, 2x640GB, 1x500GB external.
PSU
Stock.
Case
Laptop.
Cooling
Stock.
Keyboard
Full 101-key
Mouse
USB cordless.
Browser
IE11, Firefox, Tor.
Antivirus
Windows Defender, MalwareBytes Pro.
Other Info
BD-ROM drive.
Ah. So I may as well not have bothered.
Oh well. (shrugs).
EDIT: I did look to see if anyone else had posted the tip, but somehow missed the tut.
Wenda.
Last edited: Apr 10, 2014
OS
Windows 8.1 'Ultimate' RTM 64 bit (Pro/WMC).
Computer type
Laptop
System Manufacturer/Model
Acer AS8951G 'Desktop Replacement'.
CPU
i7-2670QM@2.2/3.1Ghz.
Motherboard
Acer
Memory
8GB@1366Mhz.
Graphics Card(s)
GeForce GT555M 2GB DDR3
Sound Card
Realtek HD w/Dolby 5.1 surround.
Monitor(s) Displays
Built-in. Non-touch.
Screen Resolution
18/4" 1920x1080 full-HD.
Hard Drives
Toshiba 750GBx2 internal. 1x2TB, 2x640GB, 1x500GB external.
PSU
Stock.
Case
Laptop.
Cooling
Stock.
Keyboard
Full 101-key
Mouse
USB cordless.
Browser
IE11, Firefox, Tor.
Antivirus
Windows Defender, MalwareBytes Pro.
Other Info
BD-ROM drive.
Ah. So I may as well not have bothered.
Oh well.
Wenda.
I'm glad you did. I followed your suggestion and it is far better - especially deleting all those rubbish read-me and help page things.
OS
Windows 10 Pro Prieview x64
Computer type
Laptop
System Manufacturer/Model
MacBook Pro Core2Duo
CPU
T7600
Memory
3
Graphics Card(s)
ATI Radeon X1600
Monitor(s) Displays
Internal
Screen Resolution
1440 x 800
Hard Drives
40GB
Keyboard
Apple
Mouse
Apple
Internet Speed
Varies
Browser
Various
Antivirus
Defender
Thanks, Adam, and others who have 'repped' me for the tip.
It does make the All Apps screen much more user-friendly, doesn't it?
For another interesting comparison, here's my old (and seldom used) Windows 8 All Apps screen. Notice that the tiles are all over the place like a mad woman's breakfast, especially the games.
Wenda.
OS
Windows 8.1 'Ultimate' RTM 64 bit (Pro/WMC).
Computer type
Laptop
System Manufacturer/Model
Acer AS8951G 'Desktop Replacement'.
CPU
i7-2670QM@2.2/3.1Ghz.
Motherboard
Acer
Memory
8GB@1366Mhz.
Graphics Card(s)
GeForce GT555M 2GB DDR3
Sound Card
Realtek HD w/Dolby 5.1 surround.
Monitor(s) Displays
Built-in. Non-touch.
Screen Resolution
18/4" 1920x1080 full-HD.
Hard Drives
Toshiba 750GBx2 internal. 1x2TB, 2x640GB, 1x500GB external.
PSU
Stock.
Case
Laptop.
Cooling
Stock.
Keyboard
Full 101-key
Mouse
USB cordless.
Browser
IE11, Firefox, Tor.
Antivirus
Windows Defender, MalwareBytes Pro.
Other Info
BD-ROM drive.
The problem though is the same. In older operating systems they made you go through some bizarre hierarchy to find an application. Unlucky if it isn't in the path you expect. If you know the path you certainly don't need a start button and if you need a start button you need to know the path.
Windows 8 just dumps the lot and lets you have a stab at finding them.
If there was a better way I guess someone would have thought of it by now but at least your way lets us trim them out somewhat
OS
Windows 10 Pro Prieview x64
Computer type
Laptop
System Manufacturer/Model
MacBook Pro Core2Duo
CPU
T7600
Memory
3
Graphics Card(s)
ATI Radeon X1600
Monitor(s) Displays
Internal
Screen Resolution
1440 x 800
Hard Drives
40GB
Keyboard
Apple
Mouse
Apple
Internet Speed
Varies
Browser
Various
Antivirus
Defender
Windows 8 just dumps the lot and lets you have a stab at finding them. If there was a better way I guess someone would have thought of it by now but at least your way lets us trim them out somewhat
Using Ctrl Minus is useful. Typing a few letters while in apps view is also useful.
This is an area of interest to me. Has anyone mentioned Ctrl - (Ctrl minus).
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/4869-zoom-view-start-apps-screen-windows-8-a.html
... would like to add that it depends on
preference but it is not necessary to delete or move shortcuts out.
(Unless I missed the post.) Just hide them. Right click - properties - select hidden - reboot.
I like to place hundreds of shortcuts in the AppData - start menu folder under programs.
These are now available from apps or start screen, or explorer.
Last edited: Apr 10, 2014
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.