Classic Shell: Forum

There's one feature of the XP start menu that I'm surprised isn't in Classic Start menu (or at least I can't find it). In XP, it hides items in my start menu programs that I haven't recently used and puts a little arrow button at the bottom of the menu (and each submenu) that will expand it to show all items (with the normally hidden items a slightly different color). I find this feature really useful when I have a lot of programs installed that I only want to use occasionally. With everything showing all the time, the list is very long, it is difficult to find what I'm looking for visually, and the keyboard shortcuts are much less likely to bring up the item I want. When they are normally collapsed like they were in XP, then the menu is usually much more manageable containing only the things I use often (or at least recently) and the ones I use a lot via the keyboard are more likely to be fewer keystrokes.

Does Classic Start Menu have this feature and I've just missed what it is called? If not, is there a reason why it doesn't have this feature? Can I request this feature be added? I've seen the option to highlight recently installed programs, so I know it can't be too hard to show some items with a different visual style and track metadata per item (when it was added to the menu). What I'm asking for doesn't seem like it would be too hard, tracking instead when items were last clicked on, if hopefully the hide/expand isn't too hard.

Despite this one issue, thank you so much for Classic Shell. It is a godsend. While I still greatly prefer the classic Windows UI of XP (or really 2K), Classic Shell makes Windows 7 tolerable.

That feature was called Personalized menus (or Intellimenus). It was there for the Classic Windows 2000 style menu and I think Ivo has no plans to add it (I agree with him) as it was a less efficient implementation of separating lesser used programs and frequently used programs. Hiding the main alphabetical Program list which is supposed to be like a master index means there is no reliable way for the user to know what is going to get hidden vs what will be shown. Plus the position of the little arrow keeps changing as the size of the Programs menu is never the same.

Instead, the Windows XP menu evolved to show the most frequently used programs in a separate list directly in the main menu and this frequent list even eliminates the folder hierarchy for accessing those most used shortcuts. Because these most used programs are now 1 click away, the lesser used ones are automatically hidden inside All Programs. The concept is similar but more efficient IMHO which is why I think the Personalized Menus feature is not worth 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.

I'm sorry to disagree with you. You can decide that it was less efficient for you, but I prefer that classic style. Perhaps it is just because it is what I got used to, but some would say that they like the Windows 7 style menus better than the XP style that you like, so it is a matter of opinion. For me, I dislike having multiple different areas of my start menu where the same programs appear. I don't mind going through the all programs hierarchy, because it helps me remember where things are. With the recent programs area I have to look in two places: first in recent programs and then if I don't find it there in all programs. With the style that I prefer I always go to the same place in all programs, and if the item I want is hidden I just hover for a second and then the menu expands for me to find it right where I expect it (and the same place it will be next time now that it is a recent program).

All I'm trying to say is that since it is possible to make Classic Start Menu look and function just like the classic win2k style menu, it would be nice to have the ability to turn on this feature that goes with it. I'm happy to post about this in the feature request forum if necessary, but I don't want to double-post if that's not ok. Also, I might be willing to build this myself and submit a patch if that is an option.

I understand that it works better for you/you prefer that style. Which implementation was better can always be debated, I agree that it's a matter of opinion.

In my humble opinion, personalized menus were confusing because choices on the menus kept disappearing too if you didn't use the program often enough. Even if the list was in the same location, you did have to essentially look twice - first check if the program existed in the trimmed down list and then hover/click the arrow to show the full list and then relocate the program. Not only is the location of the arrow changing depending on how big or small the trimmed list is but the location of programs also changed as the list is rebuilt to show itself in its entirety. Changing locations isn't good for motor memory. Plus, there was no end user control given over how many frequently used programs should be shown in the trimmed list.

With the separation of most used programs into a separate area, you actually save a few clicks if your program is in the MFU list. You click Start and then the program. The MFU list does not change that much and that often, it's fairly static except for certain programs replacing others. Plus you can pin any program which you always want to the top area. If it's not there in the MFU list, there is the All Programs list which is static (think of "All Programs" as the arrow you used to click, but the location of the arrow is also static now). As an additional improvement, we also have an option in Classic Shell to sort the MFU list alphabetically so it's easier to determine if a program exists in the top most used apps. It also supports keyboard accelerators.

With personalized menus, the user could never be certain what's going to be in the menu when the trimmed down list was shown. One of the rules in usability is to let the user know what to expect and that it should be in the same place to aid muscle memory. But if the menus are constantly in a state of flux, you are never sure what to expect. Not only did the shortened list in "personalized menu" not always show a fixed number of programs but they weren't even sorted by name!

These arguments aside, there are technical challenges too. Implementing "personalized menus" will require solving several problems - understanding how exactly the personalized menus worked, adding new graphical elements to all skins and applying the system of what programs you use most often on the whole All Programs list. This can affect performance of the menu. Plus, the Windows 7 style uses a treeview which can't dynamically change.

Btw, the last open source version is available here: http://sourceforge.net/projects/classic ... elease%29/ (The file 'ClassicShellSrc_3_6_8.zip' contains the source). Since it is the Classic menu which you are after, it should have everything you need. If you are a developer, you could modify and compile it yourself or submit a patch for it which adds personalized menus.

_________________
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.