Microsoft has heard the roar of disapproval and the start menu has returned. So how does it work? Darren Yates looks at the changes
We reckon there’ll come a day when Microsoft looks back on Windows 8 and admits the decision to remove the traditional Start menu was far from one of its best. Sure, plenty of geeks were happy to use Modern UI, some even preferred it, but I’ve seen nothing in 20 years galvanise Windows users quite like losing that little Start icon.
To its credit though, Microsoft heard the clamour and threw it back into the 8.1 update, but yet somehow missed the point — using the prized Start button to launch the Modern UI Start Screen was like a ‘red rag to a bull’ to those who hated Modern UI, with many simply heading straight off to install Classic Shell (classicshell.net).
THE NEW, OLD START MENU
Still, Modern UI was always a major plank in Microsoft’s plan for ruling the world from desktop to smartphone, but with Windows Phone 8’s market share languishing below 3% (tinyurl.com/nqedmxk), it clearly still has a long way to go on that goal.
However, Windows 10 proves Microsoft doesn’t have a tin ear and given the divergent goals of bring smiles back to Windows 7 users and forging on with Modern UI, it’s brought back a more traditional Start menu we’ve christened the ‘new old Start menu’ — and realistically, it’s probably as good a compromise as you’ll get.
By default, the new old Start menu keeps you on the desktop — no flying off into a Modern UI parallel universe, thank goodness. In fact, what’s great about Windows 10 is that Modern UI apps now initially fire up on the desktop — select the Tablet Mode option on the new Action Centre panel and Windows 10 switches to a more suitable Modern UI feel. It’s a much more intelligent switching method that puts control back into the hands of users. In other words, if Windows 8 pushed the pendulum too far towards Modern UI, Windows 10 is nature swinging it back again.
HOW IT WORKS
The new old Start menu’s default setup features your ‘Most used’ apps down the left-side menu, followed by your most ‘Recently added’ apps and finally, a basic control set that includes File Explorer, Settings, Power and All Apps. This last entry turns the whole left-side menu into an alphabetical list of all your apps — desktop and Modern UI — with a Back button to return.
Now unfortunately, while File Explorer brings up the traditional desktop app, Settings is seemingly a more Modern UI replacement for the old Windows 8 charms. Personally, I’m glad it’s not called Control Panel — I’d be about ready to toss the toys out of the pram if it was.
However, Microsoft has been clever enough this time not to go to ballistic with the changes — at least this far into the Preview builds. Right-click on the Windows icon and you still get the excellent power user menu from Windows 8 — in fact, it’s identical with all of the same desktop twiddly-bits, from Admin-rights command prompt to the proper Control Panel.
NOT YET PERFECT
But there are still a few high-visibility vests and hard hats around the Start menu, even as of Build 10158. For example, right-click on an empty part of the taskbar, select Properties from the context menu to bring up the common ‘Taskbar and Start Menu Properties’ applet — only, there’s no Start Menu tab. Instead, it’s moved to ‘Settings > Personalisation > Start’ in the Start menu. The only option in the Navigation tab so far is to replace Command Prompt with PowerShell in the power user menu.
QUICK CUSTOMISATION TWEAKS
However, there’s still a decent level of customisation available in this new Start menu — it’s not perfect, but not bad either. Here are a few tricks to get you warmed up:
It’s resizable. Don’t like the default menu panel size? No probs — just grab the top or right-edge of the panel and drag to resize it. The top edge is continuously adjustable; the right-edge collapses the Modern UI panels into a single scrollable vertical panel.
Turn o live tiles. Not everyone loves Modern UI’s live tiles, you can rightclick on an offending tile and choose ‘Turn live tile off’. The same context menu can also pin that app to the taskbar, resize the tile, unpin it from the Start menu and uninstall the app.
Change the Modern UI header titles. Don’t like the default ‘Life at a glance’ and ‘Play and Explore’ panel headings? Click on them and type in your own.
Change the menu accent colour. If you’re not thrilled with the gunmetalgrey colouring, head to ‘Settings > Personalisation > Colours’ and select the accent colour you prefer from the colour chart, or let Windows automatically pick a colour accent from your desktop background image. Don’t forget to throw the switch for ‘Show colour on Start, taskbar and action centre’ to ‘on’ as well.
Customise the left side menu. Yes, you can customise it, but only from a limited set of options at the moment. Head to ‘Settings > Personalisation > Start’ and select ‘Choose which folders appear on Start’. You’ll see File Explorer and Settings are in by default, but also available are Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, Videos, HomeGroup, Network and Personal Folder. But that’s it. Remember, the real inner-sanctum controls are just a right-click away on that Windows Start icon. Still, Control Panel on the Start list would’ve been nice.
Switch to tablet mode. Using Windows 10 on a tablet is now much easier. Open the new Action Center and hit the Tablet Mode button to switch to Modern UI full-screen mode (also works on notebooks).
Run as administrator. Right-click on a non-Modern UI desktop app in the Start list and you can choose to launch it in elevated-privileges ‘Run as Administrator’ mode.
WHAT DO WE THINK?
The lack of Control Panel as an option to add to Start’s fixed menu list is a bit of an oversight in our view. However, the fact the Start menu no longer has to send you off into Modern UI’s parallel universe is a definite plus. More customisation options would always be better, but provided Microsoft keeps the right-click power user menu on the Start button, we think this new Start menu is at least a much more workable solution for desktop devotees than Windows 8.1.