Classic Shell: Forum

To download a button from the forum, right click its image and pick "Save image as.../Save picture as...". Save it to the location you want. It can be any folder e.g. C:\Users\<Your user name>\Documents\My Start buttons

How to change/install the Start button in Classic Shell (requires at least Classic Shell 3.9.1 or later):


1. Remember where you saved the image from the above step e.g. C:\Users\<Your user name>\Documents\My Start buttons .

2. Right click the Classic Shell Start button on the Taskbar -> Settings. Go to the Start Menu Style tab.

3. Check "Replace Start button" and pick Custom. Then click Pick image. A dialog box will open asking you to select the image file. Browse to the image where you saved it, select it and click Open.

4. If the size is OK (that is, if the button fits the Taskbar just fine), then click OK button.

5. If you need to manually adjust the button size, click the blue link called "Advanced Button options". That will take you to the tab called "Start Button". There are more options there. Under "Custom Button", you can enter a value to resize the button on-the-fly. 0 means Automatic i.e. it will use the width (in pixels) of the image as the size. Try values like 48 to 60 for most buttons. Switch to the "Start Menu style" tab again to preview the size changes live. If the size is fine, finally click the OK button.

6. Optionally: You can set a custom tooltip for the button! See the "Button tooltip" setting on the "Start Button tab". You can also set it to an environment variable like %computername% or %username%. The tooltip appears when you hover over the Start button.

You can find MANY different Start Buttons in our forum here: http://www.classicshell.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=18 . You can also look for more Start buttons on sites like deviantart.com or sevenforums.com. Or just pick from the buttons linked below:

Browse by Popular Start buttons:


1. 'Start' (text only) button: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=3087
2. Windows 8.1 button which follows Taskbar color: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=1567
3. Windows 7 original logo: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=174
4. Windows 8 White logo with glow: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=514
5. Windows 7 logo without orb: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=741
6. Windows Media Center logo (The Green Button): viewtopic.php?f=18&t=743
7. Windows Vista orb: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=742
8. Classic Shell orb: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=192
9. Metro button based on Windows 8 logo: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=802
10. Classic Shell older Metro button: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=734
11. Apple Logo button: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=3086
12. Angry Birds button: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=2924

OR

Browse by Start button compilations:

1. Classic (pre-XP) Windows versions buttons: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=4400
2. Windows 7/Vista Orbs: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=3207
3. XP style buttons: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=3206
4. Windows 8 themed buttons: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=3209
5. Classic Shell Themed Buttons: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=3208

Browse only the animated Start buttons:
Click here to see the animated buttons in the forum


How to find your favorite and best Start buttons:
You could use the forum search or go through each and every button thread individually to find the buttons you like but the search sucks. A better way to find Start buttons is to use Google. For example, suppose I want to find a Spiderman Start button, type this on Google:
Spiderman site:classicshell.net/forum/


How to change the Start button in Classic Shell (longer method for versions earlier than 3.9.1):
Here's how to change the Start button if you haven't figured it out (longer method no longer required for Classic Shell 3.9.1 & later, look at shorter version above):

To change the Start button from the default button to a custom button,

1. Open Start Menu settings by right clicking the button.
2. If only basic settings are showing, enable all settings.
3. Go to the 'Start Button' tab.
4. To set your own button, click "Custom Button".
5. Then click on 'Button Image' and then click again on the [...] button next to it.
6. Browse to the Start button image of your choice. The image should have 3 states - normal, hot (mouse hovered state) and pressed. The image must be a 32-bit PNG or BMP (24-bit BMP may not show properly as it doesn't support transparency).
7. Setting the width of the button is optional. 0 means it will use the width of the button image as the size. You can override that by entering a custom width to make the Start button smaller or larger.
8. You can set a custom tooltip too. Or set it to an environment variable like %computername% or %username% when you hover over the Start button.

Note: The method to change the Classic style button is similar. The Classic button is the grey rectangular Windows 2000 style button which shows a little icon to its left instead of an image. So the only difference from the above steps is that instead of a button image (.png or .bmp), for theClassic button, you must set a button icon (.ico).

_________________
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, thanks.

Does it matter where you store the custom button image? If so what is the best location? Thanks.

No, doesn't matter.

it doesn't really matter, but i like to store mine in the install directory, this way it doesn't easily get deleted, and its not in the way unless i'm looking for it.
Also its a good idea to keep the button on the computer rather than on a network, so the button remains even when your network connection is lost