_DW_ 628 Posted February 13, 2020 Share Posted February 13, 2020 1 hour ago, EskeRahn said: Quite a number of launchers do support landscape mode, but most often just be stretching and squeezing the grid from portrait... Until now the only one I have seen with the two block approach (one over the other or side by side) is the one that comes with the Pro1. Yeah be interesting to see what they have done as this is for there new device so you would think they have given it some thought Quote Link to post Share on other sites
EskeRahn 5,350 Posted February 13, 2020 Share Posted February 13, 2020 1 hour ago, _DW_ said: Yeah be interesting to see what they have done as this is for there new device so you would think they have given it some thought When I see the word Microsoft in combination with launcher, my immediate thought is "OH NO! Hideous tiles on Android too?!?!" but of course there are those that actually like that tile-mess, so to each their own. nice that we have variety. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
_DW_ 628 Posted February 13, 2020 Share Posted February 13, 2020 24 minutes ago, EskeRahn said: When I see the word Microsoft in combination with launcher, my immediate thought is "OH NO! Hideous tiles on Android too?!?!" but of course there are those that actually like that tile-mess, so to each their own. nice that we have variety. I used older version on blackberry it was just like other launchers no tiles around 😄 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
EskeRahn 5,350 Posted February 13, 2020 Share Posted February 13, 2020 36 minutes ago, _DW_ said: I used older version on blackberry it was just like other launchers no tiles around 😄 OH! I shun the tiles so much I never even bothered to look at the images for the MS launcher. I better do then. Thanks. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
david 914 Posted February 13, 2020 Share Posted February 13, 2020 5 minutes ago, EskeRahn said: OH! I shun the tiles so much I never even bothered to look at the images for the MS launcher. I better do then. Thanks. Side topic, but do you have any apps you like that make Win10 more like Windows 7? I have 2 machines I am dreading upgrading. They really messed up how you access the settings, in addition to the tiles issue. Although that is much better in win10 than win8. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
EskeRahn 5,350 Posted February 13, 2020 Share Posted February 13, 2020 19 minutes ago, david said: Side topic, but do you have any apps you like that make Win10 more like Windows 7? I have 2 machines I am dreading upgrading. They really messed up how you access the settings, in addition to the tiles issue. Although that is much better in win10 than win8. Nope, I got used to the mess, and added a bunch of sticky shortcuts in the taskbar, You can add a shortcut to the folder "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs" and drag it close to the degenerated windows icon to the left, and here the small icon gives something close to a real start menu, and then remove all tiles from the fake start menu. (right click taskbar, toolbars, "New Toolbar", paste in the path. And then drag it all the way to the right, it first compresses your real taskbar, but finally pops to the right side, and then you can compact it by moving the separator to the left, silly yes, but it works....) 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hook 2,821 Posted February 13, 2020 Share Posted February 13, 2020 1 hour ago, david said: Side topic, but do you have any apps you like that make Win10 more like Windows 7? I have 2 machines I am dreading upgrading. They really messed up how you access the settings, in addition to the tiles issue. Although that is much better in win10 than win8. I haven't used it since years ago when it was "Classic Shell" but you can try "Open Shell" and see if it does enough for you. https://open-shell.github.io/Open-Shell-Menu/ I only use Windows for very basic stuff anymore and have no patience for tweaking it any more. I have all the programs I use on the task bar (including the depreciated "Command Prompt" DOS box they don't want you to use anymore) and, really, the task bar is my UI. 2 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
KingOfTerrible 69 Posted February 13, 2020 Share Posted February 13, 2020 5 hours ago, david said: Side topic, but do you have any apps you like that make Win10 more like Windows 7? I have 2 machines I am dreading upgrading. They really messed up how you access the settings, in addition to the tiles issue. Although that is much better in win10 than win8. 4 hours ago, Hook said: I haven't used it since years ago when it was "Classic Shell" but you can try "Open Shell" and see if it does enough for you. https://open-shell.github.io/Open-Shell-Menu/ I only use Windows for very basic stuff anymore and have no patience for tweaking it any more. I have all the programs I use on the task bar (including the depreciated "Command Prompt" DOS box they don't want you to use anymore) and, really, the task bar is my UI. I second what @Hook recommended. I've been using Classic Shell for years. I know it's out of active development and someone else took it over I guess as Open Shell, but I'm using classic shell 4.3.1 with my windows 10 at work. I am holding onto Win 7 at home, where I also use it since the "new menus" are terrible IMHO. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
elvissteinjr 355 Posted February 13, 2020 Share Posted February 13, 2020 This is offtopic, but I feel like this is something I can get give my personal input on. I'm running Windows 10 Home with all UWP apps removed except Settings, automatic updates disabled, Classic Shell (maybe I should update, but ain't broken yet), OldNewExplorer to restore old Explorer UI, Glass8 to restore Aero looks, Windows 7 custom theme, 7+ Taskbar Tweaker for big icons in taskbar (and other neat things), as well as QTTabBar for tabs in Explorer (this one is slowly falling apart on newer Windows 10 builds, but still works). I like this setup, but some of the stuff is prone to break on major updates. Takes some patience and you better know what you're doing. One could wonder if it's worth the hassle. Maybe it isn't. The attached screenshot shows how I'm not exactly using a Windows 7-style window decoration or blur, but something more Aero-styled is also an option, just opted for something a little bit different. Perhaps this could be split off as well? Couldn't resist giving my two cents, sorry. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
david 914 Posted February 13, 2020 Share Posted February 13, 2020 (edited) It looks like Open Shell handles the Start Menu mess, but is there anything that will handle all the settings screens that they messed up, like networking? And Windows Explorer? Okay, I just googled around and found the following that might help. I don't have time to mess with it now, but will come back to it later: https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/how-to-make-windows-10-look-like-windows-7/ https://blog.usro.net/how-to-start-the-windows-classic-control-panel-in-windows-10/ It doesn't look like those will take care of the settings screens issue and getting to the settings through the wifi list in the system tray, but maybe there are some other tools out there for modifying that navigation/look-and-feel. Edited February 13, 2020 by david Quote Link to post Share on other sites
david 914 Posted February 13, 2020 Share Posted February 13, 2020 10 minutes ago, elvissteinjr said: Perhaps this could be split off as well? Couldn't resist giving my two cents, sorry. I bet @EskeRahn will be along shortly to whisk it away to another topic. :-) 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
_DW_ 628 Posted February 13, 2020 Share Posted February 13, 2020 9 hours ago, EskeRahn said: Quite a number of launchers do support landscape mode, but most often just be stretching and squeezing the grid from portrait... Until now the only one I have seen with the two block approach (one over the other or side by side) is the one that comes with the Pro1. I reset my phone back to android tonight so gave this a go. The icons part does just stretch the grid 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ahunter 108 Posted February 14, 2020 Share Posted February 14, 2020 On 1/31/2020 at 7:22 AM, EskeRahn said: Well the alternative would be that your widget would be stretched oddly when turning (most launchers do that). There are launchers out there where the layout in landscape and portrait are independent. Those unfortunately seems to lack some keyboard functionality, but might be a better option for you. Have a look at "Total Launcher" (despite initially putting things in a circle, there are a lot of options, including choosing grids of a size you choose) Other alternative, keep using stock launcher. Download Everywhere Launcher, side menu app. Widgets work portrait or landscape. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hook 2,821 Posted February 14, 2020 Share Posted February 14, 2020 5 hours ago, david said: It doesn't look like those will take care of the settings screens issue and getting to the settings through the wifi list in the system tray, but maybe there are some other tools out there for modifying that navigation/look-and-feel. I'm a little puzzled by this comment and may be misunderstanding. You can get to settings via the gear icon on the start menu and once launched, you can pin it to your task bar. As I've said, the task bar is really my Windows UI. Everything I use fits there. There's some very old legacy stuff like Device Manager that won't pin, but you can find it by right clicking on start. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
EskeRahn 5,350 Posted February 14, 2020 Share Posted February 14, 2020 55 minutes ago, Hook said: I'm a little puzzled by this comment and may be misunderstanding. You can get to settings via the gear icon on the start menu and once launched, you can pin it to your task bar. As I've said, the task bar is really my Windows UI. Everything I use fits there. There's some very old legacy stuff like Device Manager that won't pin, but you can find it by right clicking on start. Maybe we shall find a better place for this windows talk. But that said it is still a mess with some settings in the new flat hell, and some in the good old control panel. 2 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
david 914 Posted February 14, 2020 Share Posted February 14, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, EskeRahn said: Maybe we shall find a better place for this windows talk. But that said it is still a mess with some settings in the new flat hell, and some in the good old control panel. Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. "flat hell" is a good way to put it! LOL We wouldn't want to use tabs. That would be a horrible way to neatly organize things. It is better to have a bunch of scrolling screens and drilldowns. /s Edited February 14, 2020 by david 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
david 914 Posted February 14, 2020 Share Posted February 14, 2020 2 hours ago, Hook said: I'm a little puzzled by this comment and may be misunderstanding. You can get to settings via the gear icon on the start menu and once launched, you can pin it to your task bar. As I've said, the task bar is really my Windows UI. Everything I use fits there. There's some very old legacy stuff like Device Manager that won't pin, but you can find it by right clicking on start. To be honest, I only have 2 windows 10 machines that are in the house and I rarely use them. Oh, and my parent's machine is windows 10. And when I have to use any of them, it is very frustrating and takes much longer to get things done. The reason I'm using them, usually, is to fix something, hence needing to go through settings screens. I'll have to use one of the laptops here for a guinea pig to see if I can make it usable, before I upgrade my main machines. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Craig 1,435 Posted February 14, 2020 Share Posted February 14, 2020 I like classic shell for windows too. Starting using it with Windows 8 cuz they took away the start button, but stuck with it thru Windows 10. Now i just run linux and don't worry about that stuff. As to launchers for Pro¹, I've only tried the stock version of quickstep and nova. What launcher(s) allow you to set up separate widgets & shortcuts for landscape and portrait, as opposed to stock version of rotation (which is ok) or most other launchers that rotate but only look the way you want in the orientation you set it up for.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
david 914 Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 On 2/13/2020 at 9:36 AM, EskeRahn said: OH! I shun the tiles so much I never even bothered to look at the images for the MS launcher. I better do then. Thanks. A step in the right direction: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.howtogeek.com/659300/windows-10s-new-start-menu-may-kill-live-tiles-forever/amp/ 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
_DW_ 628 Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 53 minutes ago, david said: A step in the right direction: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.howtogeek.com/659300/windows-10s-new-start-menu-may-kill-live-tiles-forever/amp/ Yay!! (I did like them on windows phone worked well tbh :D) 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
andrepereira1768 7 Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 Try one S10 launcher and their camera app one S10 camera. the launcher works well in both landscape and portrait, customisable app draw, transition effects, change the font in the draw, you can buy the full version, I don't think it's worth it unless you want to create folders in your app draw. Camera app is ok don't really use my phone for taking professional/ high quality pics. I installed because it worked and the same people made the launcher. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
EskeRahn 5,350 Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 3 hours ago, david said: A step in the right direction: Indeed, slowly mowing forward again: 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hook 2,821 Posted March 23, 2020 Share Posted March 23, 2020 I'm still using Launchtime and find it refreshingly simple, but it suddenly dawned on me why I love it so much. As an old Palm PDA user from way back, this is essentially the old Palm Launcher... tabs with categories with each tab showing a window of icons of apps you have identified as belonging to that category. There are a few updated tweaks... tabs rather than a drop down (a tweak all third party Palm launchers added), a hidden category (very useful for getting Pro key icons and other useless things out of your way. and some personalization features. As mentioned much earlier in this thread, when you first install it, it autocategorizes everything. I turn that immediately off, change the names of categories and rearrange everything to my liking. I've found the easiest way to handle widgets is to give them their own tab. The launcher handles flipping them from Portrait to Landscape very well. I haven't been using widgets with the launcher long enough to know how stable it's handling of widgets is, but so far so good. I really like the simplicity of this launcher. I've been seeking out more simplicity in my life lately. This is a launcher that does one thing very well. It launches apps. And the bonus is, it handles the transition for landscape to portrait very well. And, if you happened to have had Palm PDAs before, it will make you smile. I just wanted to come back after more than a month of using this launcher, including many experiments to see if I could get Nova to behave the way I wanted, I am very happy with this launcher. 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Slion 1,200 Posted March 23, 2020 Share Posted March 23, 2020 On 2/26/2020 at 9:36 PM, andrepereira1768 said: one S10 launcher does it do landscape? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DieBruine 397 Posted March 25, 2020 Share Posted March 25, 2020 Paid NOVA launcher user here. I understand some people are unsatisfied with this launcher, I am not one of them. Shortcuts don't work, no idea what the F and Sym key were meant for, but apart from that I am happy. One complaint was about widgets, can't comment on that, don't use widgets. I am however very happy with the ability to size, resize, realign drawers and folders, in combination with an all blacked out background/theme. Shortcuts would be nice. But for now, the past three months, I can manage with a swipe up/down... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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