Classic Shell: Forum

If I have multiple programs with the same name (in my case, I have multiple instances of Spy++ with identical names because I have multiple versions of Visual Studio installed):
- open the start menu
- type the name (or part of the name) of the program
- only one of the programs is shown

If I rename the start menu shortcuts so that they have slightly different names, they will all show up. If I rename them back to the original names, the behaviour reverts to only finding one of them.

I'm running on Windows 8.1

The search removes the duplicate names because if you have multiple copies of the same program you don't want to see them all. Spy++ is a rare exception to that rule. You can rename the shortcuts to Spy++ 2008, etc.

The Windows 7/Vista Start Menu however does not have this behavior (probably because it uses Windows Search). If the target of two shortcuts having the same name is different, it shows both of them in search results.

Maybe in a future version, Classic Start Menu could search the target as well IF matching names are found and show both if the targets are different? The current design is not optimal.

_________________
Links to some general topics:

● Compare Start Menus

● Read the Search box usage guide.

I am a Windows enthusiast and helped a little with Classic Shell's testing and usability/UX feedback.

Except that I *do* want to see them all. In this case they happen to be different versions of the same program, but they are separate software installations and essentially different programs.



Yes, I can do that, but it's a bit of a pain, and not something everyone would know how to do. I had done that but a Visual Studio update renamed them back, so this is a solution that will require periodic redoing.

This is also something that users might not even be aware that is happening, and when it is noticed, it really feels like something is broken.

I agree with GauravK that it would be better to compare the shortcut's targets and not their names.

Comparing targets can be expensive though. Particularly for advertised shortcuts like the one Office uses, it may involve running the installer to get to the actual exe.
I've added it to my list to investigate in the future.