Windows 8 start: can you explain this?

By wehavetogoback
in The Fast Ring (Insider Previews)

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wehavetogoback

Posted
Posted

I'm using Windows 8 RTM as a sort of duplicate as my main machine for work, everything's ok except a couple of things I still can't understand of the start screen.

Here the first:

http://i46.tinypic.com/soba84.jpg

This is the All Apps portion of my start, and while the second part is basically the start menu with all the folders of the apps installed, I can't understand the first two columns, or simply the first group named just APPS.

There's a strange mix of Metro apps (are these ALL the metro apps I have?) and normal apps, which I pinned to be organinized in the first start screen. They don't even seems to be my most used apps. So what define what's in this group?

Second:

http://i46.tinypic.com/15psl81.jpg

Why the hell Chrome is GREY?

Third:

Some apps, AFAIK just Chrome, always open in Metro style from the Start menu. Which is of course just nonsense, for reasons I don't even have to explain. Solution?

Grand Master

Detection

Posted
Posted

Apps is just all apps installed, Metro + Classic

Chrome is probably just its own Metro app colour, your other tiles are not real Metro tiles, just pinned classic icons using the blue colour scheme, look at the real metro apps to the left, they have their own colours too

Proficient

dafin0

Posted
Posted

1: that shows all apps installed, the first lot you see are not organised into any folders so they just show up in alphabetical order. (hope that makes sense)

2/3. i have not used chrome on my win 8 yet but from what i hear it installed a metro app (or what ever they call it now), that is why it acts as one... im not sure if you can go back to the normal desktop version.

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contextfree

Posted
Posted

I'm using Windows 8 RTM as a sort of duplicate as my main machine for work, everything's ok except a couple of things I still can't understand of the start screen.

Here the first:

http://i46.tinypic.com/soba84.jpg

This is the All Apps portion of my start, and while the second part is basically the start menu with all the folders of the apps installed, I can't understand the first two columns, or simply the first group named just APPS.

There's a strange mix of Metro apps (are these ALL the metro apps I have?) and normal apps, which I pinned to be organinized in the first start screen. They don't even seems to be my most used apps. So what define what's in this group?

You've basically got it right. The All Apps screen is more or less the equivalent of the All Programs view in the classic Start menu. The first, alphabetical group is a bit different as it consists of all Metro apps, plus all apps not in any folder, plus all pinned tiles - including tiles that aren't actually for apps. Even pinned folders, websites, or for example people from the People app are counted as "apps" on this screen. This is weird, but does provide a handy way to find things once you have a ton of tiles pinned. (They are also included as "apps" in the Search charm).

Second:

http://i46.tinypic.com/15psl81.jpg

Why the hell Chrome is GREY?

Third:

Some apps, AFAIK just Chrome, always open in Metro style from the Start menu. Which is of course just nonsense, for reasons I don't even have to explain. Solution?

Yeah, that's because web browsers, or rather only the web browser you've set as your default, get a special exception from the normal separation between desktop and Metro apps. Your default browser is allowed to have both a desktop and Metro UI mode for the same executable. IE10 works the same way - it is really just one app, not two, just with two UI modes it can open in. Which mode it opens in is up to the browser itself, so if there's a way to change that it'll be in the browser's own settings somewhere, not the OS settings. With IE you'll find it in the desktop Internet Options dialog under Programs, Chrome I'm not sure.

Veteran

siah1214

Posted
Posted

The current implementation of Chrome as a metro app is horrible. Not Windows 8's fault, Google pushed out a half baked attempt at a metro browser and it's a piece of crap. I feel sorry for all of the people out there that are going listen to their tech-head idiot friends that insist IE is a bad browser, install Chrome instead, and get an abysmal experience when trying to browse the web.

Just uninstall chrome and use IE instead, and you won't have to put up with that crap :)

Of course, people are going to blame Microsoft for Chrome's bad performance. You can't fix stupid.

Collaborator

contextfree

Posted
Posted

The current implementation of Chrome as a metro app is horrible. Not Windows 8's fault, Google pushed out a half baked attempt at a metro browser and it's a piece of crap. I feel sorry for all of the people out there that are going listen to their tech-head idiot friends that insist IE is a bad browser, install Chrome instead, and get an abysmal experience when trying to browse the web.

Just uninstall chrome and use IE instead, and you won't have to put up with that crap :)

Of course, people are going to blame Microsoft for Chrome's bad performance. You can't fix stupid.

The Metro Chrome is still experimental. It's fine since Windows 8 hasn't been released to the public yet, we'll see what it looks like when it does get released.

Contributor

wehavetogoback

Posted
  • Author
Posted

You've basically got it right. The All Apps screen is more or less the equivalent of the All Programs view in the classic Start menu. The first, alphabetical group is a bit different as it consists of all Metro apps, plus all apps not in any folder, plus all pinned tiles - including tiles that aren't actually for apps. Even pinned folders, websites, or for example people from the People app are counted as "apps" on this screen. This is weird, but does provide a handy way to find things once you have a ton of tiles pinned. (They are also included as "apps" in the Search charm).

Ok I got it.

So to sum it up, the first group with no name contains:

-ALL metro apps

-apps inside C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs without their own folder

-ALL the apps you pin on the FIRST start menu page

Is it weird? Yes.

Is it confusing? Yes.

Thanks for all the replies and also to the guy who explained the exception of the main browser, which seems to be the only app to have this strange dual nature, part metro part normal app.

Veteran

Nazmus Shakib Khandaker

Posted
Posted

Thanks for all the replies and also to the guy who explained the exception of the main browser, which seems to be the only app to have this strange dual nature, part metro part normal app.

If you set Internet Explorer as default browser, chrome will loose its metro version (and its grey color). You will see metro version of IE10, which is much better for touch and works better as a metro style app than does chrome. Try it: set IE as default and launch it from the All Apps menu. Once you experiment with that, you can set chrome as default again, if you like.

Rising Star

Andrea Borman

Posted
Posted

I'm using Windows 8 RTM as a sort of duplicate as my main machine for work, everything's ok except a couple of things I still can't understand of the start screen.

Here the first:

http://i46.tinypic.com/soba84.jpg

This is the All Apps portion of my start, and while the second part is basically the start menu with all the folders of the apps installed, I can't understand the first two columns, or simply the first group named just APPS.

There's a strange mix of Metro apps (are these ALL the metro apps I have?) and normal apps, which I pinned to be organinized in the first start screen. They don't even seems to be my most used apps. So what define what's in this group?

Second:

http://i46.tinypic.com/15psl81.jpg

Why the hell Chrome is GREY?

Third:

Some apps, AFAIK just Chrome, always open in Metro style from the Start menu. Which is of course just nonsense, for reasons I don't even have to explain. Solution?

Oh, that is the Metro start menu,which is part of the Metro theme, that is on all versions of Windows 8. But if you find it difficult using the Metro start menu,you can install,Classic Shell,Vi Start or Start Menu 7. Like I have done. Which gives you both the start button and Windows 7 start menu.

And yes the grey Google Chrome icon is the metro version of Google Chrome. But you can just use the desktop version of Chrome if you don't like the Metro version.

Well,as I am running Windows 8 on a netbook,the Metro apps don't work. So I just use the ordinary non Metro software. Andrea Borman.

Mentor

LightShadow

Posted
Posted

Yes, it's annoying that Chrome always opens in Metro when you set it as the default browser. Hopefully they'll be a option to turn the Metro version off, for now the only solution is to set IE as your default browser.

Veteran

+DKAngel Subscriber²

Posted
  • Subscriber²
Posted

Oh, that is the Metro start menu,which is part of the Metro theme, that is on all versions of Windows 8. But if you find it difficult using the Metro start menu,you can install,Classic Shell,Vi Start or Start Menu 7. Like I have done. Which gives you both the start button and Windows 7 start menu.

And yes the grey Google Chrome icon is the metro version of Google Chrome. But you can just use the desktop version of Chrome if you don't like the Metro version.

Well,as I am running Windows 8 on a netbook,the Metro apps don't work. So I just use the ordinary non Metro software. Andrea Borman.

they only dont work because the screen resolution is to low, its not to do with your netbook, u may as well stick to windows 7 if ur just gonna put the startmenu back in

Rising Star

Andrea Borman

Posted
Posted

they only dont work because the screen resolution is to low, its not to do with your netbook, u may as well stick to windows 7 if ur just gonna put the startmenu back in

But you don't need the Metro apps on Windows 8. You can use all of the non Metro software you use on Windows 7. Most software is non Metro anyway. Andrea Borman.

Mentor

grayscale

Posted
Posted

Yes, it's annoying that Chrome always opens in Metro when you set it as the default browser. Hopefully they'll be a option to turn the Metro version off, for now the only solution is to set IE as your default browser.

For now, yes, but Google will most likely put the option to always open links on the Desktop version (like in IE10) before or slightly after the October 26.

Mentor

grayscale

Posted
Posted (edited)

But you don't need the Metro apps on Windows 8. You can use all of the non Metro software you use on Windows 7. Most software is non Metro anyway. Andrea Borman.

He's merely explaining that using a netbook doesn't mean you can't run Metro apps. The screen resolution is the one that determines that. Netbooks can run Metro apps as long as they meet the screen resolution requirements.

<snipped out quote from a removed post>

Edited by Calum
Rising Star

Andrea Borman

Posted
Posted

For now, yes, but Google will most likely put the option to always open links on the Desktop version (like in IE10) before or slightly after the October 26.

Well I don't have IE10 on Windows 8 because I uninstalled it. I have Advanced browser and Ace Explorer. Which are Internet Explorer shells for sites that require IE. But when I did have IE10 it was the desktop version, not the Metro version that I used. But that's the same as IE9 and just as horrible as. Andrea Borman.

Mentor

LightShadow

Posted
Posted

For now, yes, but Google will most likely put the option to always open links on the Desktop version (like in IE10) before or slightly after the October 26.

I hope so. I want Chrome as my default, but I don't want to use the Immersive version.

Grand Master

Dashel

Posted
Posted

the last screen shot show you that you can also look at the apps and programs in alphabetical order.

Yet if you click on the grouping you want, it just dumps you back to the 'full' list with no visual cue of what you clicked on (you just know its on the screen, somewhere).

Hopefully as Metro moves out of Alpha they will make the zoom the default view and allow you to expand 'into' that container, just like in classic.

Collaborator

contextfree

Posted
Posted

Hopefully as Metro moves out of Alpha they will make the zoom the default view and allow you to expand 'into' that container, just like in classic.

This would have the disadvantages of:

* Requiring you to know which group an app is in (which is hardly always obvious) or try different groups until you see the one you want

* Requiring an extra click even if you do know the group

* Making it harder to use spatial memory to get a feel for where your apps are

Maybe some users would still prefer it so maybe it should be an option in Settings, but it shouldn't be the default.

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