Start menu still not as good as Win 7 - no hierarchy of folders?

[Growltiger]

Looking at the description of the preview, I'm worried that it still doesn't do what XP and Win 7 did - gave me a hierarchy of folders, each containing shortcuts. It isn't the frequently used programs that are the problem, it is the ones that I rarely use.

I have a number of top level categories for programs, such as Photography, Reference, Search, Utilities. For example I can click on Start/All Programs/Photography/Faststone/Faststone Viewer. Some programs install a bunch of shortcuts, which will be confusing if listed by first letter.

If I only had a small number of programs it wouldn't be a problem, but to show you the scale of the problem I have just checked and my Start menu has 752 files in 257 folders. Surely there must be people at Microsoft who use quite a bit of software and see this issue?

With Win 8.1 I have to use Start8, if Microsoft really have failed even now to make Win 10 as capable as XP, I will have to hope that there is a Start10 that works.

Can anyone with Win 10 tell me if Microsoft really has left out this important feature?

 

[CaedenV]

You are not a typical user, and win10 may not be for you. And the answer is; No, MS is not opening up hierarchical folders. There is an app list that can have a few folders, but it is not meant to be used that way.

For myself, I pin my most used 15-20 programs to the taskbar, then use the new tile menu to categorize and organize programs by theme (ie games, productivity, news, etc.). Beyond that, hit the windows key, type in the first few letters of the program, and hit enter and it opens. On the rare occasion that I am really lost then I browse the application folders in Windows Explorer by publisher.

... If you have 700+ (heck, even 200+) applications/links on your start menu, then you should perhaps look into a more efficient way of doing things beyond what win95 gave you the option to do.

 

[Growltiger]

Thank you for your answer. I am very disappointed that Microsoft are again failing to give us a proper folder system in the Start menu. They did it well in Windows 7, and you would think they would at least allow it as an option for the more advanced Desktop users.

As you say I will have to look into alternative ways of starting programs.

 

[CaedenV]

out of curiosity, what do you do that you have 700+ applications on the start menu? Are a bunch of these links to things like documents and websites? Or do you truly have 700 applicaitons and utilities at your disposal at any given point in time? Personally, I wouldn't be able to keep 700 things in my head at any given point in time... that is just a lot to manage.

 

[Growltiger]

There are not really 700 applications, only about 257. Many programs install a Start menu folder and put several shortcuts in it. Often only one of those is useful, the other may be links to documentation or other little programs.

I have not added more than one or two shortcuts myself, they have all been added by installing software. I have about 20 top level categories I have created, such as Books, Hardware, Internet, Photography, Sound and Video, Utilities. After an install, the new folder gets put into one of these category folders.

I have a number of interests and have accumulated quite a lot of programs over the years. If I install one and find I don't want it I always uninstall it immediately. But I admit there are some I have not used in years, but they could still be useful, as I must have found them useful once.

I have no problem with programs I use a lot, I pin them. The problem is remembering the name of a little program that I last ran a few years ago.

I will give you an example. Webex, a video conferencing system, has a program to play recordings it has made.
I can find it at the moment by this sequence:
- Sound and Video
-- Webex
--- Network Recording Player
If I can't remember its proper name, and have to look through 700+ files for one entry that doesn't even have Webex in its name, and might have a name starting with Network or Recorder or Player or something else, it takes too long. And what category would Microsoft have put it into?

Win10 will certainly be for me, I just need to find a good solution that works for me.

(My last clean install was Win 7, and I hope never to have to do one again, as it takes a long time, as you may imagine. I have a good backup routine covering both system images and data. My machine is incredibly fast, and never goes wrong, in case someone is thinking of telling me that it would work better if I wiped it clean.)

 

[alicepattinson]

Yeah I do agree with you, win 7 still the best.

 

[orlbuckeye]

Thank you for your answer. I am very disappointed that Microsoft are again failing to give us a proper folder system in the Start menu. They did it well in Windows 7, and you would think they would at least allow it as an option for the more advanced Desktop users.

As you say I will have to look into alternative ways of starting programs.

I don't know if I'm a typical user but I've never really used the start menu. I'm a shortcut on the desktop person. I really never used the taskbar much either but I started using more with Windows 8.1. It's like when I install Office I go to the Windows explorer and goto the properties of the .exe file and right click and send to desktop so I don't have to use the start menu. I've been doing this for years.

 

[CaedenV]

I don't know if I'm a typical user but I've never really used the start menu. I'm a shortcut on the desktop person. I really never used the taskbar much either but I started using more with Windows 8.1. It's like when I install Office I go to the Windows explorer and goto the properties of the .exe file and right click and send to desktop so I don't have to use the start menu. I've been doing this for years.

Totally agree with you. I started using computers before the start menu and have always been somewhat fascinated in how people use it, and how much they deeply care about it. Shortcuts and links to the stuff I care about is what really matters, and if I really have to go searching in the start menu for something it is almost just as easy to open up file explorer or run a search for it. I do like the new Windows Phone style menu (can't wait until we can get WP8.1 style folders!) as it is a great simple way to organize things visually... but the traditional start menu requires too much reading and searching to be fast and useful. I mean, at least win7 alphabetized things which made it easier, but I find it much easier working with the smallest and simplest number of shortcuts possible, and otherwise just dealing with the real files.
I was really amazed at how much people hated the win8 start screen, because you pretty much never see it. Turn the computer on from a cold boot and you saw it for a seccond. Otherwise you go to desktop, and if you go to sleep from the desktop, then you wake from sleep on the desktop... unless you still use machines like it is 1990 and turn it all the way off every time you walk away there was pretty much no reason to ever see the thing. Settings on the charms menu was super useful, and search ran amazingly well, it was a great OS. 10 is a great improvement on that.

 

[zarpce]

You can try Classic Shell (www.classicshell.net) (that is, if you haven't already done it)
It´s free and works like a charm.

 

[100pr00f]

You can Buy and or use a free software for Docks and pin shortcuts to them. Rocketdock is what I use (free). With a small hack you can set up multiple docks and they can auto-hide if want them to. But with multi dock hack only one will load at startup and you will need to open the others up manually after. I use multiple docks because I have 3 screens

That classic Shell option looks like it will be perfect for you. Im saving that one for when I try windows 10