Windows Ten Desktop, Folders, and Shortcuts

The basic theme was available from Windows 95 through XP, this is the classic theme. I use the green background because when I worked in a Data Center the blue back ground that was the default would give me headaches after working on a Server for a hour or more. The green back ground didn't bother my eyes so that is what I try to use.

The "Start" button is opens to a menu of programs and options. If you customized the desktop you could have all the tools you need along the left side.

 

When you clicked on the "Start" button the menu displays, selecting an item will either launch the program or open a sub menu.

 

The sub menu may have more programs sorted by category, no searching through layers of large boxes looking for your program, a small useful menu.

 

When you right click on the desktop the menu has a list of options, one is "New". You can create a shortcut or a folder on the desktop . This image is of the pre Library type folder, in the Control Panel you can set the options for the folder to remove all the frivolous options. Thus making the folder simpler and functional with out using excessive memory for things you do not need.

 

Vista startup screen...

 

Vista start button...

 

Vista menu system, looks familiar to the older XP style, basically unchanged in the Classic view.

 

Open the folder for your user ID and this is the layout for your profile, both windows have a few added items. Some of these items are useful, however the "Network" shortcut will cause the folder to open very slowly if you are on a slow or very large network. One way around this is to turn off the navigation pane.

 

If you create a folder on the desktop the layout is the same as your profile folder, changing any of the two options on the layout will propagate through all folders, that is if you turn off the left window (navigation pane) through the options all folders will have that option turned off.

 

You can add a short cut by drag and drop or by browsing for the program or file you want to use.

 

Windows 7 startup screen...

 

Like your desktop? I wonder if you can keep it in future versions...

 

Slowly moving the things you use on a everyday bais further from the first layer of your menu.

 

With pre Vista menus your program would be one maybe two clicks away, now?

 

Fancy stuff those Libraries, however you need to consider how much memory those fancy options use...

The new Windows 7 folder has four separate sections you may work from; or turn on or turn off.

1. Libraries can only be removed by turning off the Navigation pane.

2. If you are on a slow network this will cause the folder to open very slowly. (You have to turn off the Navigation pane to keep Windows 7 file system from searching all available resources).

3. The "Preview" pane. (you can turn this off)

4. The "Navigation pane, you can turn this off and the folder will open almost as fast as a XP folder.

Give it time... The way you make a folder will change from two clicks to over four...

 

And creating that short cut will become more time consuming (well how often do you make a folder?) but the programmers don't use their creations... (If they did this conglomeration would disappear!)

 

Windows 8 startup screen...

 

How nice, the Microsoft programmers have changed your desktop into a mobile device, just tuck it under your arm and walk away from your desk, what you don't have enough batteries in your UPS? Silly programmers it is a computer not a cell phone!

Two things about this fancy desktop:

How many of those shortcuts do you actually use on a daily basis?

The logon ID was erased in this image, why you ask? Because it is one of the two things a hacker needs to gain access to your computer...

 

Have you tried to change the background on your Windows 8 installation? Not many choices are there?

Opps we seem to have lost the start button! How do you shut this conglomeration down gracefully?

And where are your programs? Don't say the startup page, they aren't there, unless you...

 

Well this still works as it has since Windows 95, create a folder or shortcut.

 

Whew, I first thought I would have to go down four or five layers of clicks to actually create a folder then a shortcut for my favorite programs, which by the way are still in the same place and with the same name. The command box (or window) and notepad.

 

Copy a item not move it! Or create a short cut, simple enough...

 

Windows 8.1 startup screen...

 

New welcome screen, as I said: The logon ID was removed...

 

Still at the cell phone desktop, you have to find and click on the desktop shortcut (hint - I colored mine green)...

Notice the start button and taskbar...

 

Now at the desktop where you can actually do some work, play a game, or something useful.

Try clicking the "start button", where do you go???

Then again you may have to create a toolbar to actually get to your programs...

 

Two clicks to create a folder or a shortcut.

Need an app (program)? Supposedly (like the mobile devices) the Windows Store only has programs that will work seamlessly with all Windows Operating System versions...

The change in how the Windows Operating System displays colors will take some getting used to, gone are the soft colors and now the glaring bright colors, that maybe good for a cell phone (my cell phone will not display a web page...) but it sure does make my old tired eyes hurt... Still searching for a color scheme that I can live with.

 

I think the new options for the folder are a step in the right direction, but will it last?

The top toolbar can be shrunk down to a manageable size, however the left pane is still cluttered, turning it off will turn it off in all folders, something you may not want to do...

The right click menu is basically the same.

If you pick too many options (like with the newer Microsoft Office) your display window size will shrink. I did not try to resize the folder window. Why? Because when you resize one all other folder  when you open them will be the same size as the one you changed, this becomes annoying over time when you have two folders open, one has to be moved to the side or they will overlap, more commonly known as "tiling".

 

Windows 9 startup screen...

Sorry the Windows 9 kludge didn't make it out of beta testing - lucky us!

Windows Ten startup screen...

 

In the Windows Ten desktop / laptop world if the installed Operating System isn't in a domain then the user ID will be visible unless you use the Group Policy that you can set to remove the ID when the OS starts, one of my pet peeves, all a hacker needs is the user ID and then because the first ID that is created when the OS is installed it is the system Administrator ID, guess what? The system Administrator ID can not be locked out by entering the wrong password... This means a hacker can run a dictionary attack on the user ID to find the password. Hummm--- My suggestion is that you create another user ID and give it administrative rights, rename the first user ID to something else and only use the second user ID, the lock out on that ID will be 3 wrong passwords. Then the ID displaying on the log on screen is protected.

 

After Windows Ten logon this background will be the installed (it may change when Windows Ten actually goes into production). Normally I use a solid color for my background. The new "high def" colors of Windows Ten are really bright, trying to come up with a usable theme is time consuming and there are very few choices.

Test your start  button, not what you would expect with Windows Ten?

Of all these "shortcuts" I only see one that I might use: Microsoft Edge (the new web browser). There are reports that the new browser will use all available memory, one user said they had 12 GB of memory and it used every last bit, then it crashed the OS...  (This VBox virtual computer only has 1.2 GB of memory, Edge would not load...)

The left arrow shows some of the options on the start menu, the power off button is back!

Try adding a program to your start menu. Didn't work for me, then again...

When you need to change a setting try the "Settings" button or the Control Panel, you have to search through pages of very large thumbnails (new word here: tiles!) to find the actual item you are looking for and they have been moved further away from the old XP style icon that opened the properties page of the item you would like to change.

The screen size for this Windows Ten install is 1280x1024 pixels, that should be large enough to display what you need. However with out resizing the desktop folder I will have to move it to one side before I can create the test folder. Resizing any folder will make any other folder you open the same size, gone are the days of XP style folders that you could make as big or small as you needed and each individual folder retained those settings but did not propagate the changes to other folders. With Vista the rules changed, one size fits all.

 

Wonders never cease! Still two clicks to create a folder!

With the search function box now on the taskbar your real estate on the taskbar is less...

Now that the folder has been created (I gave up and resized the desktop folder, as you can see both folders are the same size) and now I need to make my shortcuts.

Windows Ten has a new feature, it is a second desktop, try it. I don't think you will like the results. If you truly need more than one desktop then search Microsoft's Technet web site for this program: desktops.exe (don't download this program from any other web site because the thieves have put a virus in it!)

Creating shortcuts stays the same, drag and drop or search. This image is of the drag and drop but I had to find the program wordpad.exe before I could drag it to the new folder.

 

Using the search box on the taskbar for cmd.exe revels where the programmers have hidden it:

 

Then I will drag and drop the program, you can either copy, move, or create a shotcut. Do not MOVE the file, it has a registry entry to it's location. Copy it if you need to change any of the files properties other wise create a shortcut.

 

When you do a search you have four options when you right click on the search return, why is the return box so large?

 

This is another image of doing a copy from the original location (notice it is not in the Systems32 directory anymore...)

 

I changed my mind and made a shortcut.