Tag Archives: Metro

Adjust Threshold For Closing Metro Apps Through Mouse & Touch Gestures In Windows 8

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One of the main attractions of Windows 8 is its snazzy new UI. Formerly known as Metro, the new user interface is based on a tiled design, previously found only on Windows Phone 7 smartphones. Cosmetics aren’t the only change around, but how you interact with the operating system has also been reworked. As Windows 8 is designed to work with both tablets and desktops, you actually use your mouse the same way as you use finger gestures on touch screen devices. This simply means that on Modern UI apps, there no longer are close, minimize or maximize buttons, and you’d need to drag the opened application from top to all the way down in order to close it. The same, if done on a touch screen device, is a lucid experience, as you only need to swipe your finger from up to down, but is an entirely different story on a mouse. Windows 8 doesn’t let you specify the threshold required for the close behavior natively. If you want to control this behavior, or disable it entirely and rely on Alt+F4 instead, then what you probably need is Close Threshold for Metro Apps. This utility lets you adjust threshold for mouse, as well as touch gestures. Read More

Immersive Explorer: Metro-Style Alternative To Windows Explorer

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Although the new Metro User Interface (introduced through Windows 8) didn’t have a love-at-first-sight experience with the loyal users, its fan following is increasing day by day. People have started to realize that the new interface may be different than anything Microsoft has ever incorporated in earlier version of Windows yet these changes are for the better keeping in view user-friendliness, touch-friendly interface and an organized, vibrant layout of resources. Immersive explorer is a metro-style navigator serving as alternative to Windows Explorer. The aim is to focus more on the content rather than opening multiple windows and switching from one to the other. Images can be viewed and zoomed easily using this application with basic file management features appearing at the bottom. It is not in any way a replacement of Windows Shell and doesn’t require any installation granting immediate access to the attractive interface without admin rights. Read More

Set Up Google Chrome Metro App In Windows 8

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You may know that Windows 8 supports two types of applications - Metro Style Apps and Desktop Apps. In the Desktop mode, applications run normally as they do in Windows 7, but Metro Style apps, accessible from the Start Screen, are quite different from desktop applications. There are some apps, such as the Internet Explorer, that have the ability to run in both Metro UI and Desktop modes, depending on their launch location and default file association settings.  For instance, if you launch Internet Explore from the Desktop while it is set as the Default Browser, it will be launched as a desktop app, but if you launch it directly from the start screen, it will open  Metro Style Internet Explorer. A lot of people like to use either Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome as their default browser, instead of stock Internet Explorer. However, both Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome were only available as Desktop apps till now. Recently, The Chromium Projects team developed a new version of Google Chrome that can be run as Desktop app as well as Metro Style App. Since it is in experimental phase, you may encounter some bugs and exceptions while browsing. In this post, we will show you how to download, install and run Google Chrome as a Metro Style App in Windows 8. Read More

How To Completely Close (Kill) Metro Apps In Windows 8 [Tip]

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When Windows 8 Consumers Preview was released, reaction was somewhat mixed from users and tech pundits alike. Much has been changed from past Windows versions and the software giant wants to merge both tablets and desktop UI into one single package. Since its a hybrid OS, desktop users doesn't seem to look any happy. Along with revamped UI, unified desktop/tablet usage, and other enhancements, there are many features that have been either reworked, or removed for good. One of these features that is reworked, is application handling. Unlike previous versions of Windows, Windows 8 handles running applications in a different way. As you know that Windows 8 is optimized for both PCs and tablets, and features metro style applications, which run in the Metro UI environment. The metro applications behave similar to that of Android/iOS apps (well, that's the closest example i can think of). For instance, when you move to home screen (i.e. the Metro Start Screen) while using a metro app, the OS suspends the application to conserve CPU resources for other apps. Even though this reduces the load time of metro apps, suspended applications (apps running in the background) do consume memory resources, which can be serious problem if you don't have enough memory at your disposal. In this post, we will show you a few ways to properly quit Metro apps. Read More

Download Our Windows 8 Metro Wallpapers

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Have Windows 8 on your PC but can't find Metro-themed wallpapers to match the new look? The consumer preview comes packed with a single default wallpaper and, as of this writing, you'd be hard-pressed to find Metroish Windows 8 wallpapers on the web. So, we decided to make a few of our own and compile them in one place to save our readers some time and effort. Hope you like them! Read More

Start8 Adds Metro Start Menu In Windows 8, The Way It Should Have Been

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A while back, Aatif explained why Microsoft took a bold decision of removing the traditional Start Orb and Start Menu from Windows 8, and then Fawad featured a Windows 8 application named ViStart for all those avid Start Menu users who want to bring the classic Start Orb as well as Start Menu back to Windows 8. Even though ViStart requires you to tweak the settings and create a new toolbar to properly adjust the Start Orb, the Start Menu doesn’t support Windows 8 Aero Glass effect, and sometimes fails to add (pin) the folders and programs to the Start Menu. If you aren’t a die hard fan of Windows 7 Start Orb and Start Menu, and also don’t want the fuss of having to access Windows built-in utilities and installed apps from a newly designed Start Screen, then you may want to give Start8 a spin. It’s a freshly developed application for Windows 8 that adds Start Orb, and Metro style Start Menu to Windows 8. Read past the jump to find out what else Start8 has to offer. Read More

How To Remove Multiple Metro App Tiles From Windows 8 Start Screen

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When you first get started on Windows 8, you will be moving around the app tiles on the Metro Start Screen. You might also want to remove some or most of them. Even if you decide to keep all the default tiles, you will still accommodate junk tiles from apps that you install and having to delete them one by one isn’t going to make your day any productive. Deleting multiple tiles at once is not difficult, all you need to do is hold down the Ctrl key as you go selecting apps. Apps are selected by right clicking them and the option on the horizontal bar will change to accommodate your selections. Read More

Windows 8 PC Settings [Complete Guide]

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PC users have long been using Control Panel as the hub for controlling their system settings. With the introduction of Metro UI in Windows 8, this is going to change. While the Control Panel is still there for desktop mode, there has been a new hub introduced in Windows 8 called PC settings, that lets you change several important settings of your PC from a beautiful, streamlined, no-frills interface. Read More

Where (The Heck) Is Computer In Windows 8?

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So Microsoft unveiled Windows 8 Consumer Preview yesterday, making it available to the masses for testing and getting a taste of the new Metro UI and the OS in general. Amidst all the oohs and aahs, one frustration that many users came across was the (apparent) lack of the Computer icon on the desktop. Now, to be honest, that’s nothing new, since from the days of Windows XP, the desktop had been clear of any icons sans Recycle Bin. Where the problem arose this time around, was the fact that previously, you could’ve easily accessed Computer (or My Computer, if you prefer that) from the Start Menu. Windows 8, however, took away the Start Menu in its entirety, and even the infamous Start Screen didn’t present any shortcut for accessing computer, or exploring the contents of the hard drive. Even though nothing has changed with respect to brining the icons back to their place, and considering that you can still browse the directory structure by navigating through the Libraries (read: Windows Explorer) view, this post is just a summary of how you can bring the good old Computer icon back to your Desktop, or make it shine on Start Screen. Read More

How To Resize, Group & Manage App Tiles In Windows 8 Start Screen

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As most of us already know, Microsoft have ditched the Start button in Windows 8, replacing it with a Start Screen that uses Metro UI, with large tiles for launching apps. Many of these tiles can be customized in certain ways, to personalize your start screen to your taste. You can choose between tile sizes, static or live tiles, and organize the tiles into groups. You can also remove tiles from the Start screen, and add them back later. Read on for details on how to do all this to make your Start screen truly yours. Read More

All You Need To Know About Windows 8 Store [Review]

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With Windows 8 comes the Windows Store, your ultimate stop to finding Metro Apps. To make matters easier for users, Microsoft has provided this central hub for finding and installing Metro Apps on the new Windows 8 operating system. The concept of app stores is nothing new, as OS X already has one (and a highly populated one, at that), and so does the iTunes App Store exist for iOS. Add to the mix Android Market and Web Marketplace, and the list of application hubs becomes almost complete. Borrowing from the same concept, the Windows Store follows almost the same pattern, providing apps divided in categories like Games, Social, Entertainment etc., as well as lists for Top free, Top paid, New releases and rated apps. Read past the break for our first impressions. Read More

Windows 8 Charms Bar: System-Wide Access To Search, Sharing, Settings & Basic Actions

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A lot of things have been revamped in Windows 8. A very massive and very noticeable difference in Windows 8 is the removal of the Start Orb from desktop. Even though the Developers Preview had the Start Orb in the lower left corner of the screen, Microsoft has completely removed it from the Consumer Preview. A very prominent feature related to UI of the system included in the Windows 8 is the Charms Bar. We will discuss how to access the Charms bar and the functionalities that it offers. Read More

What Is Windows 8 Storage Spaces & How To Create Virtual Storage Pool

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Apart from Metro UI, ribbon-based Windows Explorer, Start Screen, fullscreen metro apps, and many other small performance-related changes, Windows 8 comes with an efficient large storage media management feature called Storage Spaces. Supporting the new Resilient File System, casually known as, ReFS, the Storage Spaces allows small and midsize businesses, as well as, home users to easily manage their large (very large) storage pools without having to install expensive devices to organize their data saved across the disks. The Storage Spaces is basically an expandable space that creates a virtual space/ disk of defined data size, allowing users to add as many physical drives as they want until the defined virtual disk’s limit is reached. This makes it easy to include additional storage devices without having to set up and manage each attached physical storage drive. Read More

ssLauncher: Highly Customizable, Metroish Home Screen Replacement App For Android

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ssLauncher is a highly customizable multi-lingual homescreen replacement app for Android that takes after the WP7 Metro interface. Apart from letting you personalize its layout to the very core, the launcher provides you with a few built-in layout templates (including one that mimics the Windows Phone 7 Start screen, complete with customizable tiles), and lets you create and save your own, filling each up with personalized shortcuts and widgets of your choice. In addition, you can customize the sliding or page-flip transition effect that appears between the launcher's many homescreens, one of which is the app drawer. You can also import and set any fonts of choice, and alter every single homescreen in several different ways. Read More

Bring Windows 8 App Bar To Windows 7 Desktop With Stardock Tiles

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Windows 8 includes a lot of changes, specially in terms of the UI. One of the features added to the new version is called Switch List. It allows you to manage all the open apps through a thumbnail preview that appears from the left side. You can switch between apps and close any that you no longer need. Having something like that to manage all the open documents can be really useful and the following tool does exactly that. If you have habit of opening a lot of applications at once, and face a hard time organizing and navigating through them, have a go at Stardock Tiles. It is an tool that manages active applications by installing a visual bar at the side of your computer screen, allowing you to quickly preview and maximize/minimize your active applications. It basically emulates the Windows 8 metro user-interface, allowing you to add and manage tiles for applications in Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7. The application lets you control the appearance, size, location, and pages appearing in the its visual bar. Read More

Bypass Windows 8 Start Screen On Startup & Jump Directly To Desktop

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Unlike previous versions of Windows where you are taken to desktop at system startup, Windows 8 welcomes you with Metro Start Screen, providing quick access to applications and system shortcuts, pinned programs, and so on. Apparently, Windows 8 doesn’t allow users to bring the classic Windows Startup behavior back. If you don’t want to click the Desktop metro tile every time after logging into Windows, here’s how to bypass Metro Start Screen and jump to desktop directly. Read More

Win Eight Metro UI Switcher: Switch Between Windows 7 And Windows 8 UI

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A while back, we covered Windows 8 tweaking applications including Metro Controller and Metro UI Tweaker, to bring the Windows 7-styled Start Menu and disable the Ribbon-based Windows 8 Explorer. If you’re looking for a comprehensive Windows 8 tweaking application to completely disable all Windows Metro UI elements such as Search, Settings and Share panes, revamped UAC prompts, Ribbon-based Windows Explorer, extended Task Manager, and Immersive Start Menu, Win Eight Metro UI Switcher is probably just what you need. This multilingual application lets you switch between Windows 7 and Windows 8 UI elements with one click. Read More

How To Enable Windows 8 Snap On Low Resolution Displays

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The Snap feature in Windows 8 was first introduced and demoed at Microsoft's Build Windows conference. It enables you to snap Metro applications with classic desktop interface. Unfortunately, Windows 8 comes with a limitation for using this Snap feature, i.e. it does not work on lower resolutions. It will only work on resolution of 1366×768 pixels or higher. In this post we will provide you with a simple registry tweak and an application known as Windows 8 Snap Enabler, to bring Windows 8 Snap feature on low resolution displays. Read More