Classic Shell: Forum

Hello, I've been using CSM for quite some time but never really understood this one.

When enabled ("Track frequency of use" also enabled), I never see any effect. The list of programs in the Start Menu remains essentially unchanged, containing stuff like Calculator, Paint and the Snipping Tool which I never use. If I switch to Recent programs, it works as expected.

What am I missing? I read in an old thread that "Frequent programs" might not work when launching programs outside of the Start Menu, but that's not my case.

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Windows 10 Pro x64

"Track frequency of use" only affects search results.

Frequent programs is based on UserAssist data *maintained by Windows* which is encoded in the Registry. Classic Shell's Start Menu only shows that data. Whether the data is collected or not is controlled by the setting related to jumplists to maintain a list of such programs.

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Links to some general topics:

● Compare Start Menus

● Read the Search box usage guide.

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

Thanks, are you referring to the settings below (Settings/Personalization/Start)? Can't find something wrong with them.

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Windows 10 Pro x64

"Show most used apps" off=turns off frequently used programs. Most used=frequently used. If you are using the "Recent" list in Classic Start Menu, that setting won't make a difference.

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Links to some general topics:

● Compare Start Menus

● Read the Search box usage guide.

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

Sorry, but these two sentences seem to contradict each other. So, in order to use "Frequent Programs" in Classic Start Menu, "Show most used apps" in Windows needs to be turned off? Because I've always had "Show most used apps" enabled, and while "Recent Programs" works in CSM, "Frequent Programs" does not.

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Windows 10 Pro x64

To use Frequent programs in Classic Start Menu, "Show most used apps" must be turned on. Only if it's on, Windows can collect data about the most used apps and the Classic Start Menu can show it. After turning on "Show most used apps", you must open some apps before they will show up in the Frequent list.

Recent programs works independently of that setting.

_________________
Links to some general topics:

● Compare Start Menus

● Read the Search box usage guide.

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

Ok, then there's probably something else that prevents Frequent programs from working in CSM (I have never seen it working, even after leaving it for days and using various programs).

Perhaps some of the Windows 10 privacy settings that I usually change is interfering, perhaps the disabled Cortana and blocked searchui.exe - I don't know.

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Windows 10 Pro x64

You could try turning it off and turning it on again. That will reset any history of the data that Windows 10 has collected in the Registry.

_________________
Links to some general topics:

● Compare Start Menus

● Read the Search box usage guide.

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

Can't make it work no matter what, "Frequent Programs" always gives me basically a static list. Thanks though, guess I'll stick with "Recent Programs".

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Windows 10 Pro x64