5 Tips On How To Disable Metro UI In Windows 8 Consumer Preview

Windows 8 is a revolutionary in the desktop world which offers many new enhancements that is not present in windows 7. Microsoft also has redesigned the entire desktop of windows 8 into metro UI which is also available in the windows phone 7.

Although the Metro UI in windows 8 makes it easier to use the windows there are people who might not be so comfortable with using the metro UI.

Disable Metro Windows 8

Unfortunately metro UI has deep integration into the OS but with little tweaking you can disable it and use the traditional windows desktop. But if you want to launch the apps that are designed specifically for metro UI then you have no choice but to work with Metro UI.

In this guide we will provide you with some tips with which you can disable the metro UI.

1.  Boot Directly To Desktop:

As soon as you boot you are directly introduced to the metro UI. To disable this and boot directly to traditional desktop do the following:

  • Open notepad and enter the following to create an explorer script file that will launch the desktop. Save the file in a place you remember.

[Shell]

 Command=2

 IconFile=Explorer.exe,3

 [Taskbar]

 Command=ToggleDesktop

  • Start the windows task scheduler and select task scheduler from left window pane.
  • Right click in task area and create new task
  • Enter a name for the new task such as showdesktop
  • Set the trigger for the task at log on by clicking the new trigger tab and selecting at log on.
  • Click new on action tab and select start a program and select the explorer script file you created.
  • Click ok and exit the task manager.

2.  How To Prevent Media Files From Launching In Metro

Every time you launch any of your media files the metro UI starts and at times it gets annoying. Here is a way to disable it.

  • Open control panel or just press Win + R
  • Select default programs and click on set your default programs
  • Select window photo viewer and click choose defaults for this program and a list of file extension will appear
  • Click on the box beside select all button and click save
  • Repeat the above steps for associating music and video files with desktop windows media player.

3.  How To Create Custom Toolbar For Programs Folder

Since windows 8 is missing the start orb accessing your programs folder becomes a pain. Thankfully there is a solution with which you can create a custom toolbar to access all your shortcuts by a click on the taskbar.

  • Right click the taskbar and select new toolbar from the toolbar menu
  • Then navigate to C:UsersMYUSERNAMEAppDataRoaming MicrosoftWindowsStart MenuPrograms where username is account with which you are logged in.
  • The moment you select the folder the programs menu will appear on the taskbar beside the date and time.
  • Select lock taskbar to lock the toolbar to prevent accidental misplace.

4.  How To Pin Shortcuts To Taskbar

You don’t always need the start menu to access your frequently used program because you can just pin them to your taskbar. This option also works in windows 7. Sometime you don’t have a shortcut icon for your program so in such cases do the following:

  • Launch windows explorer by using Win + E keys and enter the drive where you have installed your windows.
  • In the search bar enter the name of program
  • After the list appears look for the shortcut of the program and then drag it to your taskbar where it will be pinned.

5.  How To Create Keyboard Shortcuts In Windows 8

  • You need the applications shortcut for this method to work and if you can’t find the shortcut then use the above method to find out the shortcut for your program.
  • Right click the shortcut and click on properties
  • In the shortcut field enter a key combination that will be used to launch the app e.g. CTRL + ALT + L ( you can use any letter on the keyboard)
  • Click ok to close the dialog box

Hopefully the above tips were helpful to you and you are able to use the desktop in windows 8 instead of the metro UI.

Do let us know if you come across some other way that will enable you to use desktop more rather than the metro UI.

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