Classic Shell: Forum

Have installed latest Classic Shell on Windows Server. Also imported GPO's (ADMX templates) to proper location but cannot make items e.g. Control Panel to disappear from the main menu?

When I hover mouse over the setting in UI it says restricted due to restriction in the GPO on Control Panel but it still displays it in the menu. Or do I customize the Windows component GPO under user? The Classic Shell GPO seems to be not having any effect when I turn off the Control Panel within Classic Start Menu policy option.

Anyone has the same experience?

Thanks

Jerry

Are you using Classic or Windows 7 style?

Here are the correct steps to customize Start menu items using Group Policy (GPO). You must extract the Group Policy templates (ADMX and ADML files) from C:\Program Files\Classic Shell\PolicyDefinitions.zip to the correct folder (either C:\Windows\PolicyDefinitions for Local Group Policy or to the Central Store for the domain controller at %logonserver%\sysvol\%userdnsdomain%\policies\PolicyDefinitions\).

Then you must use the "Menu style" policy setting to set the menu to "Classic with one column", "Classic with two column" or "Windows 7" style.

Now here is how you can customize the items using Group Policy for either style.

For the Windows 7 style, to enforce the customized items using GPO:

1. First configure the items in the Classic Start Menu settings GUI dialog. Add or remove items from Customize Start Menu tab.
2. Open Windows Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) and look up the value named MenuItems7 in HKCU\Software\IvoSoft\ClassicStartMenu\Settings.
3. Double click the MenuItems7 value and copy the value data of the 'MenuItems7' value.
4. Now open Group Policy and look for the policy setting called "Menu items for the Windows 7 style".
5. Double click it, set it to Enabled and "Locked to this value" and paste the registry value's data that you copied into the corresponding policy setting's field below the "State" option. Click OK to save the policy setting.
6. Exit and restart the Classic Start Menu or log off Windows and login back for the changes to take effect. For domain you may need to run Gpupdate /force from elevated command prompt.

For Classic style or Classic with two columns style, the steps are similar to enforce the customized items using GPO:

1. First configure the items in the Classic Start Menu settings GUI dialog. Add or remove items from Customize Start Menu tab.
2. Open Windows Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) and look up the value named MenuItems2 (for two columns) or MenuItems1 (for single column) in HKCU\Software\IvoSoft\ClassicStartMenu\Settings.
3. Double click the MenuItems2/MenuItems1 value and copy the value data of that value.
4. Now open Group Policy and look for the policy setting called "Menu items for classic menu with two columns" or "Menu items for classic menu with one column".
5. Double click it, set it to Enabled and "Locked to this value" and paste the registry value's data that you copied into the corresponding policy setting's field below the "State" option. Click OK to save the policy setting.
6. Exit and restart the Classic Start Menu or log off Windows and login back for the changes to take effect. For domain you may need to run Gpupdate /force from elevated command prompt.


What the Group Policy setting states mean:

Group Policy Settings under "Computer Configuration" can enforce settings for all users on that PC. Those under User Configuration can enforce them for only the currently logged-in user account.

- If you set the state to 'Locked to this value', the setting will be locked to the specified value (for all users if you set it under Computer Configuration) otherwise current user (User configuration).

- If you set the state to 'Locked to default', the setting will be locked to the predefined default value (for all users if you set it under Computer Configuration) otherwise current user (User configuration). The specified value is ignored.

- If you set the state to 'Unlocked', the default value for the setting will be changed to the specified value without enforcing it (for all users if you set it under Computer Configuration) otherwise current user (User configuration). Individual users can override the 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.

Hi everyone
I deployed Classic Start Menu in my company via GPO, we recently started adopting Windows 10 and I noticed that it possible to select a skin to make the menu more similar to older systems.
I was looking for the group policy setting to force the users to adopt a specific skin I decide, I was thinking to "Windows 8" skin.

Does someone know if that setting exist and how it is called?
Thank you in advance!

The GPO settings you need are "Skin for classic menu with one column", "Skin for classic menu with two columns" and "Skin for the Windows 7 style". Which one you need depends on the menu style you choose.

Hi there,
So i have been fiddling with the GPO for Classic Shell, and would like to know if there is a breakdown of the GPO settings?
In particular, do i change Computer config admin templates? or User config admin templates.. it would also be handy to have suggestions of what the options should be.. for eg Skin for windows 7 style i have been setting as Windows Aero - is this correct? I have seen on some other posts people use skinC or Skin7 etc...

If anyone can point me in the right direction, that would be handy

Much appreciated, and thank you for your awesome work!!

The settings under Computer Configuration affect all users on that PC. Those under User Configuration affect only the currently logged-in user account.

"Skin for the Windows 7 style" policy setting should include just the name. e.g. "Windows Aero". Not any extension. You can verify that it works by right clicking the Start menu -> Exit and then starting it again from C:\Program Files\Classic Shell\ClassicStartMenu.exe. If the same setting is greyed out in the Settings GUI and the change has been applied (e.g. the correct skin in this case), then it means you've configured it correctly as the policy setting.

I agree some settings are not as easy to configure via the Group Policy Editor as they are via the Settings GUI. Most settings have a description.

_________________
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.

Much appreciated Thanks..

So i am getting there now. My only problem now, is when another user logs onto the machine, and clicks on Start, they are presented with the Classic Shell first start, and you need to select the skin.

I have been through the policy objects, and have not been able to sort it... what am i missing please??? Thank you again!

Set the "Menu style" policy under "Computer Configuration". This will affect all user accounts.

_________________
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.

quick question: it's not clear to me how the color settings work in Group Policy, for example with taskbar color and menu glass color. It appears to limit the entry to 4 digits (max '9999'). I would think I'd need to enter a hex value, but the policy won't allow hex values and a decimal conversion ends up with far too many digits.

What value am I supposed to enter here? Also, it would be really helpful if you clarified this in the original post about how to set group policy settings for CSM.

Unfortunately that's a limitation of the GPO editor. You will need some other way to set the values, maybe by directly editing the registry.

Is it possible to just have classic start skip the initial setup screen?
I like the default settings. It's just a pain having all the users of my terminal server have to click ok before they can use the start menu the first time.

@tylerwatt12, see this: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1847

_________________
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.

hello there i am newbie here.
i will follow the instruction above also do more practice.

Followed your instructions but when I set the GPO for Menu items for the Windows 7 style, it comes back with an error: "No text was entered for this field. Make sure you enter text." Baffled here.