The Start8 1.09 beta is now available with new features and improvements!
To update, download from here : https://stardock.cachefly.net/Start8_1.09.2_beta_setup.exe
Check out the full change log below:
- NEW! Folders pinned to the Start Menu allow you to view the first X items as a jumplist
- NEW! Custom places locations.(Add a dropbox location for example).
- NEW! Improved "Go straight to desktop" on login feature
- NEW! UI supports translation via lng files. See \lang\en.lng file for info.
- Added rename support in the tree
- Added drag & drop including rearranging items in the all programs tree
- Search box now allows %appdata%
- Tweaks to "Search" to reduce memory usage slightly
- Performance enhancements in the all programs tree to work around a flaw in Windows Defender
- Resolved a problem with the Start Menu position when the taskbar was on the right and there is a docked app
- "Send to sub menu" now allowed on the tree right click menu
- Tree now includes hidden items
- When using the search box to view folders, the performance is now improved
- "Places" menus no longer select the first entry
- Option to make "Places" list entries and take less room, thus allowing more to show in less space
- Rearranging pinned shortcuts is now faster
- "Recent Items" list no longer includes folders
- Deleting an item from the "All Programs" list will delete it instantly from the tree vs waiting until the next refresh
- Fixed issue with Putty and jumplist not showing blank entries which did not launch the right things
- Fixed issue with Live Photo Gallery not opening images up in preview mode
- Added registry key option to hide tooltips in the Start Menu. This is HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Stardock\Start8\Start8.ini\Start8\HideTips = 1
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Start8 has also been quoted as being "the best solution" for adding the Windows Start Menu back to Windows 8 by USA Today, Forbes, CBS News, Lifehacker and more.
Haven't tried Start8 yet?
Purchase Start8 for only $4.99 OR Try it free for 30 days.
Learn more about Start8 here
I've just downloaded and installed this beta. It is showing as v1.1 BETA though not v1.09 BETA, presumably this is v1.10, a newer build than v1.09?
The good news is that it fixes the sluggish access to All Programs menus with lots of shortcuts and sub-menus in them such as my 3Planesoft and Games folders. Thank you for that.
The bad news is that the Start > Games menu (on the right hand side of the Start menu) which gives access to Games Explorer as a link or a menu, which is what I'm using, is more sluggish than ever, taking well over a minute to even display a single entry and in the meantime appearing as a white window that sits on top of everything else until the games list finally appears. With v1.03, they appeared within 30 seconds, slow but bearable. Also, when I scroll down it stops and starts and I can see game entries duplicated until they scroll up. If I stop part way down then go back to Games then I can then scroll down to that point fine until it reaches the part which I hadn't previously scrolled down to. It then goes through its stopping and starting routine until I get right to the bottom (X-Men Origins: Wolverine). At that point I can then access the menu instantly there after and scroll up and down it as speedily as I could with Windows 7. I do have almost 100 games in this list but, again, I'll add that I had no problems using the menu with Windows 7 and I have Windows 8 installed on the same 256 GB Crucial m4 SSD.
I'm not sure what is causing this behaviour because when I checked Task Manager I did not see Defender using more than a fraction of 1% of my CPU so it is unlikely that the sluggishness is caused by that unlike the All Programs issue.
Is anyone else having the same problem or am I the only one with a Games list that large?
The games menu is created by explorer rather than Start8 and there have been no changes what so ever to this so it will be the same speed in 1.1 beta as in 1.03.
It may have the same root cause if you are using Defender. As a test disable defender real time scanning, reboot and see if it continues to be a problem.
@ Neil Banfield - I did as you suggested and the Start > Games menu list appeared within 5-10 seconds, a little slower than Windows 7 but only by a second or two, so, yes, it does look as if it is Defender that causes the sluggish behaviour I'm experiencing. I can also scroll down the list much faster without it stopping and starting.
Interestingly too, I'd just bought Fence 2.0 this morning and noticed that the icons take about 15-20 seconds to appear on the desktop after booting up with Defender enabled. With Defender disabled they appear almost instantly!!!
Looks like Defender is causing some annoying issues with the Stardock software which can only be fixed by disabling it. Oddly, I never had any of these problems with its predecessor, Microsoft Security Essentials, when I used Windows 7. I'm wondering if I should consider using a different anti-virus package? It's a shame Microsoft Security Essentials doesn't work with Windows 8 really.
@ Neil Banfield
Will we be able to right click and "Rename" all items that are on the right side menu in the future too?
Also will we be able to re order all the items on the right side menu in the future?
I just installed the build 1.1 Beta and these 2 things I can see are not possible yet unfortunately.
However I see that I can add another personal folder under the new advanced settings and then re name it which is a great welcomed feature however there seems to be no way to move this new added folder under my user picture. I was going to hide the the default personal folder and then just move my new created personal folder that I re named but there seems to be no way to place it at the top of all the other item in the right side menu under my user picture.
Also how rearrange do you rearange the items under the All Programs List? I tried just left clicking and holding and dragging but that does not seem to work. Would be nice if it did
Also any chance of fixing Start8 so I can click on the power options menu arrow and then be able to move my mouse cursor to for exapme My Computer and be able to right click just one to bring up the context meny option with out having to click twice? Same thing for the scroll bar on All Programs List.
Anyway thanks for improving Start8 more and more
Also when now when sending a modern UI app to the desktop I now see the logo which is great however when I try and open it it open the IE browser
Regarding the all programs tree rearranging, that works as it does under Windows 7. Each level is sorted A-Z but you can move shortcuts into folders etc. You should hover over a folder to expand it while you are dragging.
Simple work around for the built-in windows defender:
- Open Windows Defender.
- Click 'Settings' TAB (top right).
- Click 'Exluded Files and Locations' on the left.
- Click 'Browse' on the right.
- Navigate to this path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Stardock\Start8 (actually selecting the Start8 folder).
- Click OK and then click the 'Add' button which is below the 'Browse' button you clicked earlier.
- Finally, Click 'Save Changes' at the bottom.
TIP: If UAC is turned on, you will be prompted for a password or to click continue as an administrator of the PC.
Another TIP: If you are not using a x64 (64BIT) system, the path will be this: C:\Program Files\Stardock\Start8.
Last TIP: The above exclusion method can almost certainly be applied to any AV product out there in their own way which will improve performance.
This is what I did and it has helped and is a permanent solution including future updates. The folder will not get scanned and running EXE files within it will not get scanned.
Cheers,
Found a bypass-solution to DVBViewer Pro not showing up in search: there are quite a few files in its folder with a filename that starts with "DVBViewer..." (various .exe and text files). Start8 get confused, and when typing "dvb" in the search, it will give 5 'Program' results that include .exe and .rtf files, but will never include the main application. It will only do so, if the full "dvbviewer" is typed. The result of this will be a "dvbviewer" result that doesn't look right (it's more like a filename result), but it works.
What I did was to delete a couple of .rtf files from the folder, thus reducing the possible results. "DVB Viewer Pro" now comes up properly. If the full "dvbviewer" is typed, the "DVB Viewer Pro" result will be replaced by the weirder "dvbviewer". Hope it helps.
Hi Stardock,
I just updated from 1.03a to 1.09 beta and Start8 is no longer booting direct to desktop (all earlier versions have worked perfectly), after log in the desktop loads for a couple of seconds and then the Metro start screen loads. I've tried uninstalling Start8, rebooting and reinstalling, no change, toggling the Automatically go to the desktop option has no effect. Let me know if you'd like any more info.
Thanks,
Rob
Windows 8 Pro x64
So you get the desktop visible and then the Metro start screen appears?
Hi Neil,
Thanks for the quick reply. Yes the desktop loads for a couple of seconds and then it flashes over to the Metro start screen. I just uninstalled and rolled back to 1.03a and windows is booting direct to the desktop again.
Do you have anything installed like Decor8 which customizes the Metro start screen?
Nope, the only differences from a stock Windows 8 x64 install would be: all uninstallable metro apps are uninstalled, task-bar is on the right side of the screen and Change the size of all items is set to medium (125%)
The strange part is that 1.09 beta is the first version where I've run into this issue, all other version since 1.0 have booted to the desktop without incident.
Hi, now that Start8 is supporting translations, I will help with Brazilian Portuguese translation, how should I proceed and where to send the lng file?
The configure menu is greyed out in this release. Is that normal?
Are you sure you have not selected Windows 8 style on the style tab?
The configure tab only applies to the Windows 7 style menu so to avoid confusion we grey it out when you have the other menu selected. Perhaps we should simply hide it instead as greying it seems to cause more confusion!
The file would be stored in the lang folder and for your language it would be called pt-br.lng. This is a slight difference from the main languages as I understand Brazilian Portuguese differs somewhat from normal Portugese.
Because it is a sublanguage you also need to add Exist = 1 to the top of the file under [Strings]
To make the file you should make a copy of the en.lng file (called pt-br.lng), translate the strings on the right hand side. So it would read English String = Translated string, add in the Exist = 1 line under [Strings].
As the Start8 folder is off program files it is write protected so you may need to put the file elsewhere and then copy it in place and accept the UAC prompts.
Once you are done please sent it to support@stardock.com and include a bit of text that grants us permission to distribute the file as without that we cannot do anything with it.
Are you using any antivirus or anti malware applications? The latest beta changed how the startup code worked and it is possible they are delaying things sufficiently to cause that most unusual issue.
Also is this on a SSD or standard HD?
AV is Windows 8 Defender with default settings, I disabled it and rebooted, same result, desktop loads for around 2 seconds and then flashes over to Metro.
OS, apps, temp and swap files are on two SSD: OS, apps and swap(system managed) on C:\ temp files on F:\
Windows 8 x64 | Intel i7 920 CPU | 12GB RAM
Edit: Explorer is crashing with v1.09, I've isolated the logs and PM'd you a link to them, let me know if you would like any other logs.
Edit 1: I rolled back to v1.03a and rebooted, no explorer crash or anything unusual in the event logs.
Also when I ment add %appdata% I ment if you if you type this into the start8 menu and click enter it opens up the appdata explorer window and not just search for it in the start menu , still a good improvement currently but it would be nice if you could add that little other bit in too so then its like real windows start menu
Kudos for trying
help. I appear to be stuck in a loop. I was searching in settings and typed windows and hit enter.
It took me to the windows update part of the pc settings screen, rather than the control panel applet.
I dragged it down to close it and now I click the flag and the screen just flashed and nothing happens.
Is there a way around this or do I have to reboot?
Thanks for this beta update , and please if you can fix the appearance of ".lnk" extension when clicking over some programs from "All Programs" menu
It seems that the problem occurs at least once and disappeared now leaving the previously opened file names with ".lnk" extension
Thanks again
dear stardock-team.
can you bring the ability to activate "default to application view" in full screen windows 8 style?
greets
joe
Any updates on this post or my PM?
I have sent you a PM with something to try.
There are many great features available to you once you register, including:
Sign in or Create Account
