Classic Shell 3.5.0

Classic Shell is a collection of features that were available in older versions of Windows but are removed from Vista and Windows 7. It has a classic start menu for Windows 7, it adds a toolbar for Windows Explorer and supports a variety of smaller features. There are 3 major components - Classic Explorer, Classic Start Menu and Classic IE9. Look here for the full list if features.

Classic Shell features:

• Classic Start Menu for Windows 7, 8 (with skins)
• Toolbar for Windows Explorer
• Classic copy UI
• Show file size in Explorer status bar

Classic Start Menu is a clone of the original start menu. It has a variety of advanced features:

• Drag and drop to let you organize your applications
• Options to show Favorites, expand Control Panel, etc
• Shows recently used documents. The number of documents to display is customizable
• Translated in 35 languages, including Right-to-left support for Arabic and Hebrew
• Does not disable the original start menu in Windows. You can access it by Shift+Click on the start button
• Right-click on an item in the menu to delete, rename, sort, or perform other tasks
• The search box helps you find your programs without getting in the way of your keyboard shortcuts
• Available for 32 and 64-bit operating systems
• Has support for skins, including additional 3rd party skins
• Fully customizable in both looks and functionality
• Support for Microsoft’s Active Accessibility
• Converts the “All Programs” button in the Windows menu into a cascading menu (Vista and Windows 7)
• Implements a customizable start button for Windows 8
• And last but not least – it's FREE!

Classic Explorer is a plugin for Windows Explorer that:

• Adds a toolbar to Explorer for some common operations (Go to parent folder, Cut, Copy, Paste, Delete, Properties, Email). The toolbar is fully customizable
• Replaces the copy UI in Vista and Windows 7 with the more user-friendly “classic” version similar to Windows XP
• Handles Alt+Enter in the folder panel of Windows Explorer and shows the properties of the selected folder
• Has options for customizing the folder panel to look more like the Windows XP version or to not fade the expand buttons
• Can show the free disk space and the total file size in the status bar
• Can disable the breadcrumbs in the address bar
• Fixes a long list of features that are broken in Windows 7 – missing icon overlay for shared folders, the jumping folders in the navigation pane, missing sorting headers in list view, and more

Classic IE9 is a plugin for Internet Explorer 9 that:

• Adds a caption to the title bar so you can see the full title of the page
• Shows the security zone in the status bar
• Shows the loading progress in the status bar

What's new in this version:

• Added support for Windows 8 Consumer Preview
• Added customizable start button
• Added a Metro skin for the start menu
• Updated all settings for Windows 8
• Fixed the missing caption in IE10
• Added a setting to control the menu shadows
• Added toolbar commands to map and disconnect network drives
• Improved the responsiveness of the check for a new version
• The check for new version is a separate component that can be skipped during install

Download: Classic Shell 3.5.0 | 8.5 MB (Open Source)
View: Homepage | Screenshot