Classic Shell: Forum

In the new 8.1 that just came out yesterday (the full version, not the preview or the release candidate), where Microsoft brought the start button back out again, it's not showing programs, it's just showing apps. Up at the very top of it, it shows a link to the Start Screen (the Metro Screen), and it just refuses to show Chrome or any other program, although it does show the Skype for desktop that I installed after I uninstalled the Skype app.

Do you see an item All Programs? If so, click it.

I want the Start menu to work like it used to -- to give me an instant link to my commonly used programs, not just the apps I use but all programs. With 8 and the 8.1 preview, I had two "all programs" links, one that pulled up non-apps and one that pulled up apps, and above those links it had instant links to my 10 most commonly used programs. Now with the real 8.1 released, I've lost that "10 most commonly used programs" and I only have "10 most commonly used apps".

There is only one list of commonly used programs. It shows both desktop programs and apps. If you used mostly apps, then that's what will be shown. If you want this list to never display apps, then look for the setting "Show recent Metro apps" in the Main Menu tab and uncheck it.

Classic Shell's Start Menu certainly shows the links to both, your frequently used programs, as well as apps however you will have to make sure the right settings are turned on and then use your programs for some time (Windows collects that data of frequently used programs, not Classic Shell).

1. First, right click an empty area of the Taskbar, click Properties and go to the Jump Lists tab. Make sure the setting called "Store recently opened programs" is checked there. That setting controls whether Windows maintains a list of commonly opened programs in the registry.

2. Now, right click the Start button and click Settings. Go to the Main menu tab (All Settings). There look for the setting "Show recent or frequent programs". The Recent list is maintained by Classic Shell. The frequent list data is maintained by Windows, Classic Shell shows it if the above setting in step 1 is enabled. You can pick between Recent or Frequent. You can also check or uncheck "Show Recent Metro apps" as you want. If you use the Recent list, only programs and apps launched from inside the Start Menu are tracked. If you use the Frequent list, they are tracked systemwide, even if you launch them, for example from the Desktop or by double clicking a file associated with a program.

As you use your programs over time, the Frequent or Recent lists will populate. Above it is the Pinned list where you can drag shortcuts to pin them.

_________________
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.

Ok, this is weird, it actually appears to be tracking everything except Google Chrome. Right now, my list (and I increased its size) is:
Skype for Desktop
Excel 2013
Notepad
Word 2013
SketchUp
Steam
Adobe Reader X
Free Alarm Clock
Netflix
Character Map (was typing ch-Enter for Chrome, hit an arrow key by mistake and opened it)
Function Key (this program that came installed with my computer)
iCookbook SE

I just don't understand, I've had Chrome open a lot, I've opened it a lot, from the start menu even, but it's just not appearing on the list.

Is Google Chrome pinned to your Taskbar? Programs pinned to the Taskbar are not shown.

That said, I do remember Google Chrome never showing up in the Windows UserAssist data. UserAssist is the mechanism used for the Frequent Programs list and to determine if a program has been run so it isn't highlighted etc. Chrome just doesn't show up there despite how many times you run it.

_________________
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.