Do you use category view in the control panel?

By +Warwagon
in Microsoft (Windows)

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Do you use category view in the control panel?  

99 members have voted

  1. 1. Do you use category view in the control panel?

    • Yes
      23
    • No
      44
    • No, how worthless!
      32

  2. 2. Start Screen and Category View

    • I like the Wndows 8 start screen and I also like category view
      18
    • I like the Windows 8 start screen but dislike category view
      24
    • I dislike both the WIndows 8 start screen and category view
      40
    • I dislike the WIndows 8 start screen but I like category view
      8

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Grand Master

+Warwagon MVC

Posted
  • Author
  • MVC
Posted

On every machine, category view is the first thing to go. I find it totally worthless. My feeling is "Please don't hide stuff from me, I want to see everything"

Grand Master

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Posted
Posted

I've never used it. Do not like it at all, but it's good for simple stuff, like Shane said. I leave it in category view for my parents' machine, and they have no trouble using it that way. They're older too, though, and they're technologically challenged, so to speak. If they get any kind of error message at all they freak out and don't know what to do, so they call me, lol.

Grand Master

Max Norris

Posted
Posted

Don't think I've ever used the category view. Or even the control panel itself as a whole for that matter. Been accessing whatever component I needed at the time via the start menu directly since at least XP, some of the more common ones I've also added as a context menu to the computer desktop icon. In 8 have them all pinned in their own group on the start screen. Same for administrative tools.

Veteran

Darrian

Posted
Posted

Hell no, it's one of the first thing I change after I set up Windows. What a worthless pain in the ass. I can't believe they kept that but got rid of sidebar gadgets.

Grand Master

Ambroos

Posted
Posted

I usually just search for what I need in the start menu, otherwise I use category view, always. It's so, so much easier and faster to find things. That huge heap of tiny applets is horrible if you can't remember the exact name.

Especially since the column flow is ridiculous. Instead of going from top to bottom then from left to right they first go from left to right then from top to bottom. CONSISTENCY PLS MS.

Grand Master

Japlabot

Posted
Posted

I try to, unless I give up in frustration, more and more however I use the Windows 7 Start menu search to go to the exact control panel item because that is well indexed of all the things you can do in the control panel. Windows 8 is much more of a pain, not just finding the control panel for Desktop, but the search doesn't find anything as you type, you have to complete what you are typing for the search, then manually take control of the mouse and click 'settings' and then click what you want.

Grand Master

+Fahim S. MVC

Posted
  • MVC
Posted

Thought it sucked on XP but since Vista I have been using category view. I find a hierarchical system easier to use when locating stuff but have search when I get stuck.

Can't stand the 'sprayed on' UI view. More than 15 or so icons and I find myself spending way too much time scanning.

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