Classic Shell updates and discussion thread

This thread is mostly meant for the updates for Classic Shell.

It can be used for the pro's and contra's of it (if the mods allow it!), but I don't want the thread to be used for an endless discussion A versus B. Please do keep that in mind.

We had in the past update notices for Classic Shell in different threads.
My proposal is to have them from now on in one thread, this one. I hope it will work.

Previous threads for example:
classic shell 3.6.0 released
Classic Shell 3.6.2 released [28 Oct 2012]

And more about the discussion, by Mrkvonic :
How to use Windows 8 WITHOUT Metro - Classic Shell
and How to use Windows 8 WITHOUT Metro - Classic Shell


Once again, I want this thread mostly for updates of Classic Shell.

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Classic Shell:

Site:
http://www.classicshell.net/

Download:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/classicshell/files/latest/download

Files:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/classicshell/files/

 

Classic Shell 3.6.6 released.

(with thanks to chachazz for the post at DSLR)

History:
http://www.classicshell.net/history/

 

Gonna give it a try on 7.

 

For me it works - I stick with it because its open source, free and the best classic Windows start menu I've ever tried.

 

Me too, exact reasons. Love it on Win7.

 

Hi FanJ; thanks for the mention.

3.6.6 updated and working without a hitch.
Another good release!

 

Well I installed it on Windows 7. Didn't really find a good reason to keep it. Im glad this exists thou, might be worth trying on Windows 9.

 

Apr 13th, 2013 - Version 3.6.7 is released

• Fixed incompatibility with the taskbar of Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012

All downloads: http://sourceforge.net/projects/classicshell/files/Version 3.6.7 general release/

 

Version 3.6.8 general release - June 2013

Site:
http://www.classicshell.net/

Changelog:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/classicshell/files/Version 3.6.7 general release/

Thanks to the nice folks at DSLR for the update.
That DSLR thread may be worth reading. It also points to the following thread at the Classic Shell forum: http://classicshell.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=802

 

Version 3.9.0 beta (Jul, 2013)

http://www.classicshell.net/history/#v390

 

Aug 17th, 2013 - Beta version 3.9.1 is released

http://www.classicshell.net/

 

Classic Shell 4.0 is awesome

This is a super-important review of Classic Shell 4.0, a superior alternative to Start Screen in Windows 8 family desktops, featuring several skins, a high level of customization and a brand-new powerful inline search, with almost 100% fidelity in behavior compared to Windows 7, and more. Absolutely splendid.

http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/classic-shell-4-awesome.html


Cheers,
Mrk

 

Thanks for the article Mrk.
I've been using V4 for the last couple of weeks on Win7 and it is a wonderful program.

 

Excellent Mrk. Thank you

 

It's obvious why it would be used with Windows 8, but since it emulates the existing Start Menu in Windows 7 why use it there?

 

You can use the classic Windows 95/98 Start Menu or the menu used in Windows XP/Vista. If you wanted to use the Windows 7 Start Menu in Classic Shell, the answer its more customizable than the default one in Windows 7.

 

As NormanF said there are options not present in the Windows 7 default Start Menu.
Also I want to get familiar with it for when I migrate to Win8.

 

Classic Shell 3.9.5 Release Candidate - Sept 15, 2013

Download: http://www.classicshell.net/downloads/

 

Version 4.0.0 general release (5th Oct , 2013)

Release notes:
•The first official release of Classic Shell 4.0
•Improved support for downloading and installing language files
•Improved compatibility with Windows 8.1

http://www.classicshell.net/downloads/

 

Version 4.0.2 has been released recently.

Version 4.0.2 general release (Oct, 2013):
- Quick fix for the taskbar showing up on top of fullscreen programs under some conditions


Version 4.0.1 general release (Oct, 2013):
- New setting to hide Metro apps from the Programs folder
- Improved compatibility with the final build of Windows 8.1
- Minor bugfixes

http://www.classicshell.net/history/#v402
http://www.classicshell.net/
http://www.classicshell.net/downloads/

 

I tried this version (4.0.2) yesterday and all I can say is not bad...not bad at all. If you put the skin on Aero and change the Start button (you can use Win 8.1's if you wish) it looks and behaves almost like StartIsBack+(IMO, the best)...and it's free. Very nice.

Later...

Bob

 

Classic Shell 4.0.4 is out
http://www.classicshell.net/

Here's the full change log for Classic Shell 4.0.4:

New features:
● Full Group Policy support for Classic Shell's settings. ADMX files for tweaking all Classic Shell settings are in C:\Program Files\Classic Shell\PolicyDefinitions.zip. You must extract the ADML and ADMX files to C:\Windows\PolicyDefinitions folder. If you have Active Directory domain, extract the files to %logonserver%\sysvol\%userdnsdomain%\policies\PolicyDefinitions\. Hidden (registry-only) settings not exposed in the Settings UI are also supported in Group Policy.
● All EXEs and DLLs now have a digital signature
● New hidden settings FolderStartMenu, FolderCommonStartMenu, FolderPrograms and FolderCommonPrograms to override the path to the Start Menu folders and redirect them. These hidden settings are present as a Group Policy setting too.
● New hidden registry settings ProgramsWidth and JumplistWidth to control the width of the Windows 7 style menu (the default value is 40). These hidden settings are present as a Group Policy setting too.
● New hidden setting "ShutdownW7", where you can list what commands you want to see in the Shutdown menu for Windows 7 style. This hidden setting is present as a Group Policy setting too.
● New hidden setting "DisablePinExt", which hides the "Pin to Start Menu (Classic Shell)" context menu item. This hidden setting is present as a Group Policy setting too.
● If you set a hotkey without Ctrl for the Up button, then Ctrl+hotkey will open the parent folder in a new window
● Added cross-fade between jumplists
● The installer now preserves the selected components during upgrade so you don't have to de-select the components that are not installed every time you update Classic Shell
● Shell folders in the format of "shell:name" show up in search results
● Drag/drop improvements:
◦ You can drop files onto shortcuts in the main menu (like drop a text file onto Notepad)
◦ The text changes to "Pin to Start menu" when you are about to pin
◦ Metro apps show the app’s icon when dragged
◦ The Apps folder in the tree shows its icon while dragged
● Many improvements to the update system
◦ The file that contains the update info is now signed. This will prevent spoofing of the update links
◦ The Download button now downloads the new installer and verifies the signature.
◦ New download box with progress bar and Cancel button for downloading the new version and the language files

Bug fixes and design changes:
● Fix for the empty submenus when network folders were added
● Fixed the blank icons for network links. They show correct icons – a network drive, a computer, a shared folder, or simply a folder
● Files with # in the path can be found by search
● The common folders are correctly removed from the All Programs tree if they are disabled by a Group Policy
● Autocompleting and executing from the search box are correctly disabled if Run is disabled by a Group Policy
● Adding a blank recent_programs item shows as a sub-menu instead of a blank separator
● Fixed a bug where the settings tabs were not immediately updated if XML file is imported that has a different style
● Fixed the Windows 7 context menu for the Start Button (the menu was showing but the items didn’t work)
● The cache is correctly discarded and rebuilt if the Windows language is changed
● Fixed a language bug if English is the first, but not the only available language
● Fixed the update notification that was popping in some cases even if auto-update is disabled
● Fixed the submenus not opening by hover bug after clicking on the search box
● Fixed the missing search icon for some skins when RTL language is used
● Fixed the incorrect placement of the vertical separator in the Full Glass skin when RTL language is used
● Fixed the missing icons from the Copy dialog in Hebrew
● Fixed the broken variations for old skins
● Fixed the main menu icons showing from under the Programs tree control in some cases
● Fixed the bug where in some cases text with '&' can be cut off
● The Start screen item in the main menu opens the start screen on the same monitor as the menu
● Apps from the Programs folder don’t show up in search results if Metro apps are excluded from search
● The WSM cascading menu settings are removed from the Basic tab but retained on the Windows Start Menu tab
● When searching for programs/settings, the results don’t show up until all items are parsed. This way the order of items won’t change while the search is in progress
● Added a time and count limit for computing the total file size in the status bar, so Explorer doesn’t freeze when viewing large folders like Indexed Locations
● Inline buttons can be used in the second column of the Classic style even if icons in the second column are disabled in the skin setting
● Fixed a bug where if you drop a file in the tree control, the new item is added to the end instead of at the location of the mouse
● Fixed the common folder files showing in searches. Also files from the Start Menu folders don’t redundantly show up in the Files category (unless searching for programs is disabled)
● The first jumplist item is not incorrectly selected when a jumplist is open with the mouse
● Fix for the custom icon for a folder not being shown until the cache is deleted
● Fix for Frequent Programs list items showing in all caps when the Start Menu is on the network
● Fix for the animation of the cascading All Programs menu in the Windows Start Menu when Windows 7 style was selected in Classic Start Menu
● The Start Menu hides unrecognizable items in the Control Panel that start with some GUID. These are broken/invalid entries left behind by apps
● When there are too many items in the jumplists, they don’t spill over the Shutdown button anymore
● Changed the highlight color for some skins from orange to peach
● When All Programs is cascading, it uses a normal sub-menu arrow
● Starting with this release, ClassicStartMenu.exe runs from the registry even on Windows 8 and 8.1
◦ It detects when you upgrade from 8 to 8.1 and offers to repair the installation
◦ It also serves as a backup in case the normal startup failed for some reason

 

Thanks Romagnolo!

 

Classic Shell is FANTASTIC on Windows 8.1..

I was a diehard Win7 holdout, until I saw how utterly fast 8.1 is, and the fact it is overall, twice as fast as Windows 7 in some categories, and at least 50% faster in other areas.

But the lack of a proper start menu was annoying. Classic shell picked it right up, now it's a champ.. Speed, flexibility of 8.1, with the friendly start menu.. The world is a better place now.

http://i44.tinypic.com/2wcgzd5.jpg

 

yes me too, without a classic start I'm lost.
And is a pain that Fences that I think you are using on your desktop is no more free software. It is another great peace of software.