How To Pin Things To Start Menu Windows 8

There were a lot of expert comments on my postal service Windows eight productivity: Who moved my cheese? Oh, there it is. I've continued to explore ways to remove clicks from my life and shorten keystroke chains. A number of folks said they didn't like this affair or that thing because they felt something used to be 2 clicks and at present information technology'due south 3 or information technology used to be 1 and now it's eight. It's good to be reminded that you can customize near everything in Windows. Yous tin make scripts and batch files to your center's content, and nearly importantly, any shortcut to nearly anything can exist pinned to both the Taskbar and the Starting time Carte. Here'southward some examples just to make the indicate.

Folders

Allow'due south say that you want to apace get to the binder where you download stuff. Yous can brand the Downloads folder bachelor on the Taskbar as well as the new Start menu.

Pin to a Taskbar icon

You can drag any folder to your Explorer Taskbar icon and pin it. Here the menu is visible when right-clicking on the Explorer icon. You tin can as well pivot (promote) links from the Frequent section equally well.

Downloads is Pinned to the Explorer Taskbar

Pivot to the Windows 8 Start Menu Screen

You lot can too take any icon or folder from the desktop and right-click to Pivot to Offset.

Pin to Start

Now my Downloads folder is on my Starting time and can be opened in one click/impact after pressing the Windows key.

Download is pinned to Start

Pinning other Shortcuts of all Kinds

One time you know you tin can pin stuff, you can make custom shortcuts and pin other stuff. Right click anywhere and brand a new Shortcut. This is a generic pointer to whatever you like.

New Shortcut

Yous can change the properties of a shortcut like I have here. I've got a shortcut to shutdown with -t 0 added to the parameters then the organisation will shutdown immediately.

Note: You CAN make these shortcuts if it volition make you happy but in the case of Shutdown, I just press the Power Button.

shutdown.exe -s -t 0

Now only right click the new shortcut and pin it to either the Taskbar or Starting time. If yous're tidy, and I am certain you are, why not customize the icon?

Shutdown Icon customized

And at present my new Shutdown icon looks like this. There you go, i-click shutdown. Happy? ;)

A magical Shutdown Icon on my Start Menu

Pinning Custom Actions like Sleep and Restart

You can of course make more complex shortcuts to do things like Sleep your computer with other commands.

Shutdown Estimator

          Shutdown.exe -s -t 00

Restart Computer

          Shutdown.exe -r -t 00

Lock Workstation

          Rundll32.exe User32.dll,LockWorkStation

Hibernate Computer

          rundll32.exe PowrProf.dll,SetSuspendState

Slumber Computer

          rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,SetSuspendState 0,1,0

Notation: You Tin can make these shortcuts if it will make you happy but in the example of Sleep, I just close the chapeau on my laptop.

Pin Net Explorer 10 Desktop in the Starting time Menu

Now that yous have figured out how to make crazy shortcuts then Pin them. Hopefully this is as empowering to you as it is to me.

As a Web Developer I have a bunch of Web Browsers pinned to both Showtime and the Taskbar. However, the Internet Explorer icon in the Outset Carte du jour goes to the full screen IE10 and sometimes I want the Desktop IE10.

Desktop IE10

If you refer to this erstwhile old sometime Windows XP Noesis Base Commodity you'll run across that they show a number of ways you can brand Internet Explorer shortcuts. Of course, the easiest ane is the one you should do. ;)

NOTE: You tin can also make a more "real" Net Explorer link with this "%windir%\explorer.exe shell:::{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}" every bit a new Shortcut if you like.

Go to c:\program files\internet explorer and right click on iexplore.exe and pin information technology. Alternatively you can Copy, then Paste Shortcut, and so Rename the shortcut. I named mine "Internet Explorer (Desktop)."

Get iexplore.exe and pin it, then rename

Now I've got two choices! But like I like it.

Both IE10 metro and IE10 Desktop are both pinned to my Start Menu

Pinning Web Sites and Customizing IE10 Pinned Site Icons

You can pin Web Sites from inside IE10 using the menu in the lower right corner. That's also the aforementioned context menu that includes Leap Lists. Jump Lists can be added easily with but <meta> keys in your HTML.

Context Menu in Full Screen IE10

If your favicon.ico has a 32x32 version that is the resolution of Icon that volition be used for your pinned site. The background color for the icon comes from the chief color of the icon.

My giant forehead is now pinned to your Start Menu

If you want a unlike icon or colour, y'all can set those with Meta Tags likewise. Hm, my behemothic caput isn't big enough. I'll add a 144x144 PNG.

<meta proper noun="msapplication-TileImage" content="/weblog/images/hanselman-144.png" />

There we go. Much clearer. I tin also control the background color with msapplication-TileColor if I want using a #rgb color.

You can have a high-res 144x144 PNG if you like

I've pinned all sorts of stuff. Apps, Links, Folders, Browsers, Custom Tasks, Libraries and more. No, I didn't actually pin my face. Oh, and that days app is "Save The Date."

All sorts of pinning

Accept fun customizing!

About Scott

Scott Hanselman is a erstwhile professor, former Chief Architect in finance, now speaker, consultant, father, diabetic, and Microsoft employee. He is a failed stand up-up comic, a cornrower, and a volume author.

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