Classic Shell: Forum

Welp, things have changed. For better or worse, we're officially open-source. And we need all the help we can get to make this happen.

More info regarding what happened here: http://start9.menu/Index.html

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That's interesting Splitwirez.
Can the blocks & icons on right be resized, or just screenshots?
My logic hasn't woken up yet.
Is this your start menu that you have talked about before that only works on Win8.1,
without CSM, because of ME?

The tiles...oh man you haven't seen anything yet...forget resizing, they can do THIS:

(Though to answer your question, yes they're resizeable, just like on 8+)



Lel, rip




Start9, Yes...




...wat no, that's not what I said at all - Start9 supports everything Vista and up ._.




I apologize, but I don't quite understand this part of your post... D:

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Cocka doodle doo
Something impressive going on there.

...?


:333

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Hi Splitwirez

Cockadoodle
Just a meaningless expression used at a time of being speechless, like a Tarzan yell.

The menu. It is starting to sink in.
This is not a start menu skin/theme you have been working on from the past, with a collaborator.
It is probably an old stand alone Pokki type flash based start menu?

Hi Splitwirez
I looked around the net.
I thought menu was this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txBaLPFWKzM

or this:

https://start-menu-10.softonic.com/

Then I found your pictures everywhere.
So now I think it is really this:

https://www.betaarchive.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36739


Shiney glass nice:

https://www.betaarchive.com/imageupload ... .36850.png

@Juniper7 You're correct - Start9 is a whole new menu, not just a skin or theme for something that already exists ^-^

(oh and it pretty much works alongside CSM :V )

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...where's the drool emoticon when you need it?

Impressive, Splitwirez.

Only one question (at least for now... ) is it customizable as a standard ClassicShell menu?

Saliva and computers don't mix well.


Thanks :7


Currently? Not quite...

...yet >:3

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I know, but... it's inevitable.



Oh, don't worry Splitwirez, I can wait...

When can we try it out?
Want to see if it is more likable to use than original Win10 menu.




I'm sidetracking off topic here,
but isn't that other menu link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txBaLPFWKzM

something right up fonpaolo's alley?
I read a little more into it, and it is based on Rainmeter!
Possibly two or more versions out there.

Yes juniper7, as it seems, it's based on Rainmeter, I have to investigate how it's made, since I know some (...ok. most) Classic Shell features are simply impossible or very complicated to simulate. (note I said simulate, not duplicate)

edit: ok, I watched the video and all the already known "problems" of this kind of "start menu" are there, you can only manually add the folders to browse, you can't add or modify anything in a dynamic way, maybe some drag and drop... but not really in the Windows way.
A lot of code for something only aesthetically pleasant, the main reason because I still, only, always use Classic Shell.

fonpaolo
About the not Start9 menu.


I just tried the "release_update__flash_menu_by_chezburgur-d81jzyx"
with Rainmeter & got nowhere with it. Says something about .ini does not contain any meters?
I never used Rainmeter. The internal illustro samples work though.

Downloaded "fmv_3_by_chezburgur-d8w7j7h" & got same problem. I think I will give up on it,
and wait for Splitwirez.

juniper7, did you install it with double click on the .rmskin file?

Just tried it and for me works, but... argh!!! ...what a nightmare!

I can admire his hard work, but it's a sort of an hack, even if I know how to use Rainmeter, I had to spend quite some time to come back to my desktop.

edit: not to offend the creator in any way, but not the kind of Rainmeter skin I can suggest, it kills the taskbar, hides Rainmeter commands... ok I used it for a few minutes, but if I had problems to go back, I can imagine someone less experienced, because you have to manually go back, since there's no uninstall (it's not a program, it's a Rainmeter skin, well, more than one).

I did something wrong. Didn't even see a .rmskin file,
so I made it into a .rmskin package, then installed it.
From what you have said, I don't even want go any further with it.

I still like Classic Shell Menu,. It's so fast and fluid, and 99.99% reliable.

I may want to read more into Rainmeter stuff.
Reason- For years, I had The Weather Channel desktop gadget installed on Win8/10.
Then something happened, the link broke or changed to a more secure link, and does not work anymore.
Using "Undisputed VS 2 Weather gadget now, but updates very slowly.
I see people have made weather Rainmeter skins. Will have to try some.

I hate self promotions...
...however I also have one weather "gadget" in my suite (read as: it contains a lot of other things )
Probably you don't want anything more than that...
Probably it's not the design you're looking at...
...but I can help, if you need something.

Interesting.

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Impressive, most impressive.
Ping me if you need any code samples from Classic Shell. I wouldn't mind sharing.

*sigh of relief*



Soon™



I would hope so...my group of testers seem...optimistic, thus far.



Fine by me, I'd by a hypocrite to shoot you down .___.



...you didn't already know tha-*remembers mention of Flash Menu being based on Flash*
Oh.



Not possibly. Definitely.








All of this:


is why I wasn't satisfied when I tried Flash Menu. (Fun fact: Start9 and Flash Menu share a common ancestor: the early Windows 10 Technical Preview builds

See?)




:3





Also, I forgot to mention Start9's (currently somewhat performance-challenged) Task View reimplementation:

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It's been nearly 2 weeks since the last post. Any idea on when we can expect this other than "soon" ?

Well...no. Two weeks of mostly drowning in School and frantically working on a different project that urgently needs to get a hotfix release out the door isn't going to make Start9's release date any more predictable :/

I have fixed a few bugs since, though.

Also I should note that it isn't even feature-complete, and that mentioning it this much this early miiiiight have been a poor decision on my end... ._.


EDIT:

O:

HOLY SOMETHING THANK YOU HOW DID I MISS THIS POST EARLIER OOOOOOOOOOOO

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I like the first gray one. Good work! This is awesome, hopefully we will see more of start 9.

Thanks redblade8. Still not ready for release, but now that my computer is fixed, I can atleast show some stuff, like this:

:D

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Yes that's real Windows Vista, and yes Start9 runs on it ._.

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Looking sweet.. wondering if there would be a way to run your menu (atleast the tiles) as an overlay, on an extended Classic shell menu (by increasing the padding on the right side)
Best of both worlds that way
Also from a legal standpoint, you might not want to name your product start9 (since stardocks owns both start8 and start10; you may be forced to change it later (better now than later)

Thanks :7


I don't know about merging the menus, but I'm trying to get it set up so you can run Start9 on top of Classic Shell for the latter's other features (e.g. Taskbar skinning), with partial success...




That did occur to me at one point, however, after doing some research, it doesn't look like that is likely to be an issue. They tried to claim the name Start9 in 2013, yes, but that was before we knew there wasn't going to be a Windows 9, and prior to that, it would be an entirely logical assumption to assume that there would have been a Windows 9. Further supporting the idea that they don't care about that name anymore is the fact that their attempt to claim the name was officially abandoned not long after Windows 10's name was known. I figure that as long as I have a disclaimer somewhere, saying that there's no connection, I'll more than likely be fine.
Plus I've yet to think of any other names that don't sound awkward, stupid, or otherwise not fit for purpose

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just because they decided to abandon it, doesnt mean that its open to take, as noted it is quite similar, and it would be highly plausible for someone to mistake it.(or find yours, and then download/purchase start10 thinking its from you)
Kinda like If i were to make a brand called appIe and try to sell overpriced phones, and gimped computers
Besides Im sure there are better names out there?

Split Menu
10+ Start menu (note; 7+ taskbar tweaker, so you may just be in the same boat, though this is a big stretch)
Win 10 Menu mod
Modern+ Start menu (I think windows 10 start menu is still called modern, like they did with 8?)


and as for a 'merger' all you would need to do is ensure your Z position is higher than classic shell's
add a slight delay and/or a fade-in then it should always open after CSM without looking too disjointed. (yes it still means more configuring, but IMO most people leave their start menu alone once its perfect)

That wasn't the whole of my reasoning... ._.



Well that's just cruel
(Not to mention much closer)


Would've liked if if I didn't go by the name Splitwirez



...are you ((HECK))ing kidding me



Except it's not a mod for the existing Windows 10 menu .-.



Awkward


Not quite - the two menus kinda fight over control of the size of Taskband, which causes problems once the TaskItemButtons overflow and require a scrollbar due to Start9's search bar existing.



It already does a fade/glide-in, kinda like the Windows 10 menu, though the transition can be disabled by the user ._.

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Thats why i made that name >.> (I was gonna call it SplitzMenu)


Im not exactly sure what you mean here; the scrollbar needs to dynamically increase the width of IVO's menu?
Because I was talking a bare-bones hard-coded excerpt of your tiles, without any of the dynamic features (possibly even requiring a user modify a parsed text file)
though it could obviously be implemented far better with collaboration between you two. (also sent you a PM)

...but it's not about me...plus I already have one too many projects named after myself (and one in total) ._.


Not quite...what happens is this:
1. User enables Start9 Task View and/or Search Button/Bar
2. Start9 button area becomes wider than Classic Shell button area
3. Taskband is pushed aside and shrunken accordingly by Start9
4. User's running applications no longer fit into the available space, so Windows adds a scrollbar to the Taskband
5. The user wants to switch to an application on the second page, so they click the arrow on the scrollbar
6. Classic Shell sees this, siezes control of the Taskband's width, causing it to increase dramatically
7. Windows realizes the Taskband is now large enough to contain all of the user's applications on one page, removes scrollbar and second page, thus forcing the user back to the first page
8. Within a few frames, Start9 regains control of Taskband and pushes it back over, causing it to shrink again, which re-adds the scrollbar, but does not automatically scroll back to the second page, meaning the user is unable to access any applications that reside on the second page.
See the problem now? ._:-.


seeY...although my code is in a different language, based on a different platform (WPF), and probably half-hardcoded to fit my menu .-.



Received, expect a response in a few minutes (unless you see this an hour from when I typed it or something )

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Actually I'm having slight trouble visualizing it.. (a video, or test version would really help ) (I didn't know your menu had multiple pages (only been skimming through the forums lately, since ive been busy))

and arent most object oriented languages robust enough to allow cross-language function calls?

Sure, here's a video. (Sorry for the potato recording, haven't salvaged my old copy of the Fraps trial from back when it was still useful...plus idk if I'd be able to get a decent enough framerate to show the problem at this point)



*screaming internally*



It doesn't, it just has a Scrollbar on the tile grid (though you can also make the Tile Grid wider, if you prefer. Choices! )



Yes, but idk about non-WPF stuff calling WPF stuff...

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I'm browsing quickly through these posts.
I still don't know what your project is.
Is this some kind of open source freeware/abandonware,
that people can modify,
or is it your very own creation?

My IQ took a hit today.
How to see your youtube vid?

Oh, I thought we'd cleared that up...woops .-.



...



To quote a very strange character from a very strange Garrysmod animation, It's the only one of its kind...and it's mine. (To clarify, no, I'm not saying it's only for my own use, just that AFAIK nobody else has made such a Start Menu replacement. What would be the point of making such a thing if I didn't plan to release it publicly? .-. )



.________.



Just click the link, now that I fixed it

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Wow, video is so fast. Don't blink.

I still don't know.

Is it part of an old Windows, that maybe has the very early version of the new start menu,
that has not been updated to a newer version, that now contains XAML?,
and in some way, you managed to isolate its code, or whatever from Windows,
and make as a separate Application Program Interface?
I'm not a programmer/coder, so hard for me to understand it all.

Close.

The idea is from an old version of Windows 10 that didn't use XAML for its Start Menu.

The code, however, is in no way derived from any build of Windows, it's all new.

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Well, congratulations on working so hard on it,
and hope to see a released version of it someday.

Thanks



I will, unless something goes horribly wrong. Worst-case scenario, though, I dump the source code somewhere and call it done.

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How long can a simple start menu take though ? You should have finished it by now if you put your mind to it.

as long as it takes. Some side-projects can go on for years, especially if they aren't worked on daily. Its not like he's being paid to make it (yet anyways).

Yes were all excited to see it once its released.. but that's no reason to rush him

Are you trying to make me regret prematurely hinting at that Creators Update menu? Because if so, you're doing a pretty good job. FYI I perform very poorly under pressure, so if you want it done sooner, rushing me means shooting yourself in the foot. I don't want to blow Start9's initial release, so I'm not going to set a deadline.



Honestly the issue is more time than monetary incentive. School comes first, after all... :/

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Also, question...who here is experienced in creating Classic Shell skins, and is very conscious of keyboard usability?

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...no-one? Okay...would more people be inclined to speak up if I said I'm asking because I'm on the hunt for more Start9 Insiders? (Yes Start9 has its own Insider Program, lel)

To be clear, I'm not taking just everyone who offers, only a few, so if you want in, speak up about why you'd be a good beta tester...or should I say...a beta beta tester? (Get it? Better beta tester? Okay sorry, that was terrible, I'll stop with the bad puns now)

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Not interested. Sorry. I am 100% sure you will understand.

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sure ill help out, I do love my hotkeys

Here, have another preview thingy:

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LIVE TILES MUAHAHAHAHA

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Might be alittle off topic here, but ince you're on the topic of rinmeter, if you ever want to try out some simply Spotify Player rainmeter skins, you can check out my DeviantArt page at darkwater409.deviantart.com

I have a few there since I enjoy porting NowPlaying rainmeter skins over to spotify. I always get permissions from the original creators too so all of mine are legit, unlike many others I've seen who simply post edits without getting proper permissions first, lol.

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"A book is a mirror. If an ass peers into it, it doesn't expect an apostle to peer out." - E.M. Forster

We've been busy...here, have some results:

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