Classic Shell: Forum

These are animated Windows 8.1 Start Buttons with default accent colors pulled directly from Metro/Modern interface. These are pixel perfect, proper animation, fade and all, with the exception of a few usability changes that I made. I have made a handful of colors at the moment but will make more later and some minor fixes as well. I have also created a transparent version as well that follows the taskbar/wallpaper color. I don't have time at the moment to tidy up this description or provide additional download links or previews. Just simply providing the goods at the moment downloadable through the forum as attachments. These Start Buttons with animation are only for Classic Shell (4.0.5 and newer).

Enjoy!


EDIT: Oh man, apparently there is a 3 attachment limit. I've attached a .7z archive containing the colors that I've got done so far. Use 7-Zip to extract. (http://www.7-zip.org/)

Wow! Excellent! I posted it to Classic Shell's Facebook page so all the fans can see it.

Now we really need a feature to cycle through Start Menu buttons. There are so many nice ones.

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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, this sounds looks very interesting. Are these ready to use? Couldn't find a way to "install" them.

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Windows 10 Pro x64

Download the attached .7z file(s) and extract the images to any folder you want. Open Classic Start Menu Settings and from the Start Menu Style tab or Start Button tab, browse to the folder where you extracted them and set them as the current button, click OK to save settings.

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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. Not sure if it works as intended, made a small video where I switch between my current button and the Animated Blue. I also get the unattractive black box around the button - not sure why this happens on some buttons only (button size is set to default - tried both DPI 100-125%).

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Windows 10 Pro x64

The black background is part of the button. That is exactly how the Windows 8.1 button is and the color of the flag is the accent color you set on the Start screen.

For a vertical taskbar, you could reduce the taskbar width by unlocking it so it fits the width of the button. 7+ Taskbar Tweaker (http://rammichael.com/) has a setting 'no_width_limit' in the Advanced Options so your vertical taskbar can be thinner.

_________________
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 GauravK, I understand it a little better now. The dominant black background gets in the way and confuses me but the animation and fading is there. Thank you WildByDesign and hope you could make black-box-free versions as well, if it's technically possible.

If it's relatively simple to do, it's be great if you could provide a tip on how it can be removed and I could try it myself.

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Windows 10 Pro x64

You're welcome. I have always been into skinning a previous version of Windows to make it look more like a newer version, in this case normally running Windows 7 but trying to make it resemble Windows 8.1 as closely as possible. So that's the reason for the black box and all, just trying to replicate it.

I have no problem trying to create this for you as an example. My initial worry is that without the black box, the subtle animation would likely not stand out very well. But anyways, I went ahead and tried creating an example. The button was a bit of work to change it from my previous project. But the main issue became the animation. It looks like that may be even more work then expected as well because it's going over the area outside of the Start button itself. I'll attach an example to this post so you can see. Personally, I still prefer it with the black box but I was happy to give it a try. If I can find an easier and quicker way to make it not go over the outer area of the Start button then I may give it another try tomorrow. See what you think. Not sure if it's worth it or not.

That looks a little bit weird, especially the animation effect that goes outside the button area. Thanks anyway.

_________________
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 a lot for your work. Agreed, the effect does look a bit unnatural outside the button. The 8.1 black box is visually much worse for me however... because it's just that: a blocky box instead of a distinct button (reminds me of 8-bit computers... but worse ).

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Windows 10 Pro x64

Cool! I LOVE 8-bit computers!!!1!!!

Constructive criticism: For the darker shades such as "(Animated) Windows 8.1 Start Button - Purple #3", the grey shaded box in the pressed state around the logo doesn't offer that much of a contrast. The logo is hard to see. Any ideas if some other color can be used there? Maybe a darker or light shade of gray depending on how dark or light the logo is?

_________________
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 WildByDesign, can you make a white version of this awesome button, please?

_________________
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.

Without the Black back it´s awesome !
Can You make some different Colors instead purple and green e.g. blue