Classic Shell: Forum

I have been using the windows 8.1 start screen and I just tried out classic shell, and what I've noticed is lack of space for pinning and terrible organization that is inherent to Windows 7. I have however seen great menus on Linux distros (Looking at Gnome Classic) that have things organized in categories such as games, utilities, video, system, etc. Can this be done in Classic Shell, or should I just stick to the Windows 8.1 menu?

You can pin items to the start menu just fine via drag/drop or right click>Pin to start menu(Classic Shell)
and from the screenshot below (googling Gnome classic) It appears that virtually everything there can be replicated just fine in the start menu (even the theme if you were to make a custom skin)
To get started, right click the start button, and choose settings. You might want to change to one of the classic style's to get started, as the 'windows 7 style' is much more limited. Also make sure to check 'Show all settings' in the top corner. Then have a look around for what you need

What phly95 means probably is there is less space in the Classic Start Menu for pinned programs. As you pin more, the MFU list gets shorter.

Also, there is a no way to group those pinned programs yet keep them directly in the main menu although there is a way to group pinned items inside folders.

@phly95, in the main menu, right click any shortcut in the Pinned area and click "New folder" (The New Folder command might be inside a submenu of the context menu called "Organize Start Menu"). Give it any name of the category you want (Videos, Games, Utilities) and then drag the pinned shortcut inside that folder. Although I agree, the space is kind of limited in the main menu for pinned items because it competes with the Frequent/Recent list. The more items you add to the Pinned area, the less number of Frequently used items are visible.

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Links to some general topics:

● Compare Start Menus

● Read the Search box usage guide.

I am a Windows enthusiast and helped a little with Classic Shell's testing and usability/UX feedback.

I found this app called Handy Start Menu that does something I've wanted but does not work with Classic Shell. I sent them feedback. Maybe there can be some cross pollination/ collaboration here?

"Takes over Classic Shell in Win 8.1. Needs to work with/ include its "Organizational/ Categorization" functionality into the various look & feels + features that Classic Shell supports. "