making custom tiles for the start screen of windows 8
TRANSCRIPT
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MAKING CUSTOM TILES
FOR THE
"START" SCREEN
OF "WINDOWS 8.."
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Web location for this
presentation:
http://aztcs.orgClick on
“Meeting Notes”
3
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The new-fangled "Start" screen
of "Windows 8" is growing in
popularity. Here are the steps
for creating custom tiles on the
"Start" screen that point to your
photos, documents, Internet
shortcuts, and portable third-
party application programs.
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TOPICS• The problem: "Start" screen search does not
find your photos, documents, and Internet
shortcuts so you cannot do a "Pin to Start" to
put them on the "Start" screen of "Windows
8" as a tile.
• One solution: Make shortcuts to your photos,
documents, and put them in "ProgramFiles"
• Another solution: Use Microsoft or third party
software utilities to make tiles for the "Start"
screen of "Windows 8.."
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc.One paragraph description: You can make a
tile for the "Start" screen of "Windows 8.." by
doing the following: From "File Explorer" or the
"Desktop", use the RIGHT mouse button drag
and create a "shortcut" to the target photo, data
file, or traditional software application, place
this shortcut in
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start
Menu, go to the Start screen, type in the name
of the shortcut to search for it, use the RIGHT
mouse button to click on it, and click on "Pin to
Start" in the bottom "App bar".
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
• You cannot add an executable file, a
data file, a folder, an Internet
shortcut, or a batch file directly to
the "Start" screen".
• However, you can add tiles that
point to any of the above items to
the "Start" screen of "Windows 8.."
by putting shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" folder.
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 1:
Go to the "Desktop" of "Windows
8..":
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 2:
Hover the mouse cursor over the
lower-left corner:
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 3:
A thumbnail of the "Start" screen
will appear:
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 4:
Use the RIGHT mouse button to
click once.
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 5:
A Power User's "Win+x" menu will
pop up:
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 6:
Click on "Control Panel":
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 7:
A "Control Panel" window will be
displayed:
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 8:
Locate and double-click on "Folder
Options" in the "Control Panel".
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 9: Click on the "View" tab of
the "Folder Options" box:
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 10: You might have to scroll
down or page down to get to the
"Hidden files and folders" section:
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 11: Select the "Show hidden
files, folders, and drives" radio
option button:
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 12: Click on the "Apply"
button:
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 13: Click on the "OK" button:
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 14: The folder options box will
disappear.
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 15: The folder options box will
disappear.
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 16: Close the "Control Panel"
by clicking on the "x" button in its
upper-right corner:
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 17: Go to the "Desktop" or
"File Explorer" and locate the
photo, documents, Internet
shortcut, and portable third-party
application program that you wish
to create a tile on the "Start"
screen for:
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 18: In this example, we found
a photo (file) called
MP900422854.JPG on the
Desktop and we wish create a tile
for it on "Start" screen of "Windows
8..":
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 19: When we use the RIGHT
mouse button to click on this
photo, a popup context menu will
be displayed:
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 20: We then clicked on
"Preview" in the popup context
menu:
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 20: The photo (file) opened
up in the "Windows Photo Viewer":
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 21: We then closed the
"Windows Photo Viewer" window
by clicking on the "x" button in its
upper-right corner:
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 22: Use the RIGHT mouse
button to drag the
MP900422854.JPG file for at least
1/2 inch:
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 23: Release the right mouse
button and a popup context menu
will be displayed:
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 24: Click on "Create shortcuts
here" in the popup context menu:
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 25: A file called
MP900422854.JPG - Shortcut
is created:
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 26: Start "File Explorer" by
double-clicking on its icon:
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 27: A "File Explorer" window
will be displayed:
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 28: Click on the C: drive:
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 29: Double-click on the
"ProgramData" folder:
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 30: Double-click on the
"Microsoft" folder:
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 31: Double-click on the
"Windows" folder:
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 32: Double-click on the "Start
Menu" folder:
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 33: Use the LEFT mouse
button to drag the shortcut that you
created in Step 24 into the "Start
Menu" folder:
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 34: Click on the "Continue"
button of the "Destination Folder
Access Denied" box:
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 35: The shortcut will move
into the "Start Menu" folder:
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 36: Close the "File Explorer"
window by clicking on its "x" button
in the upper-right corner:
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 37: Go the "Start" screen of
"Windows 8" (by pressing on the
"Windows" key of the keyboard):
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 38: Use the keyboard and
start typing in the name of the
photo, data file, Internet shortcut,
or portable application that you
wish to create the tile for. In our
example here, we started typing
MP900422854.JPG
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 39: You might have to click
on "Settings" or "Files" in order to
locate the desired tile (that points
to the target photo, data file,
Internet shortcut, or portable
application). In our example here,
we found a tile called
MP900422854.JPG:
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 40: Use the RIGHT mouse
button to click on the desired tile:
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 41: A bottom "App bar" will be
displayed:
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 42: Click on "Pin To Start" in
the bottom "App bar":
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 43: Press the "Windows" key
once.
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 44: You will now be back at
the "Start" screen of "Windows 8..":
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 45: Use the bottom horizontal
scroll bar of the "Start" screen to
move to the right:
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 46: You will find the newly-
created tile on the far right edge of
the "Start" screen:
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 47: If you click on this tile, it
will open up in the "Windows Store
App" called "Photo". "Photo" will
display the photo in a lot higher
resolution compared to "Windows
Photo Viewer" in the "Desktop":
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 48: To close the "Photos"
Windows Store App, use the left
mouse button to drag from the top
of the monitor screen to the bottom
of the monitor screen.
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 49: Feel free to drag the
newly-created tile to a new location
on the "Start" screen:
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 50: Here are a few steps for
renaming the tile: Use the RIGHT
mouse button to click on the tile:
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 51: A bottom "App bar" will be
displayed:
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 52: Click on "Open file
location" in the bottom "App bar":
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 53: You will be taken to the
location of the shortcut that you
created in Step 24:
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 54: To rename the tile, you
can rename the shortcut by using
the RIGHT mouse button to click
on it:
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 55: Then click on "Rename"
in the popup context menu:
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 56: In this example, we
changed the name of the shortcut
from
MP900422854.JPG - Shortcut
to 2013-02-06 Photo of Johnny
MP90022854.JPT
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 57: Close the "File Explorer"
window by clicking on the "x"
button in its upper-right corner:
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 58: Return to the "Start"
screen by pressing once on the
"Windows" button:
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 59: Note that the name of the
tile has changed:
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
Step 60: When you hover the
mouse cursor over the tile, the full
name of the tile shows up in a
popup "tool tip":
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Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
For additional advice, see
http://www.howtogeek.com/107451/how-
to-pin-apps-or-folders-to-the-metro-start-
screen-in-windows-8/
and
http://www.mmo-
champion.com/threads/977781-Windows-
8-Adding-Shortcuts-to-Metro-UI
130
Making Tiles by Putting Shortcuts in the
"ProgramData" Folder, Etc. (continued)
and
http://www.howtogeek.com/77061/how-to-
add-shutdown-restart-sleep-to-the-
windows-8-metro-start-screen/
131
Custom Software Utilities Are Another Way
to Make Custom Tiles for the "Start" screen
of "Window 8.."
o See
http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-
us/app/custom-tiles-maker/6192f3b0-
03e5-421c-82f4-33ae16537559
132
Custom Software Utilities Are Another Way
to Make Custom Tiles for the "Start" screen
of "Window 8.." (continued)
o See
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Create-
Custom-Start-Screen-Tiles-in-Windows-
8-312343.shtml
and
http://www.c-
sharpcorner.com/UploadFile/7e39ca/cre
ate-custom-tiles-in-windows-8/
133
Custom Software Utilities Are Another Way
to Make Custom Tiles for the "Start" screen
of "Window 8.." (continued)
o See
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdIEn
PYjqiQ