StartIsBack is a tiny application that gives you the possibility of assigning the classical Start button and Start menu to Windows 8. It packs a few configuration settings that can be handled by users of any level of experience.
What’s cool in StartIsBack?
New unique features :
– Everything at once. Hold down Windows key for half a second until search icon appears in the center of the screen; release it and have instant access to all your running apps, taskbar and charms or search bar at the same time from any app you use. Its a great multitasking helper which should be very useful for both tablet and classic PCs. You don’t have to learn all keyboard shortcuts, run your mouse to the screen corners or perform awkward swipes. Just hold down Windows key on keyboard or double-tap Win logo on the tablet! (off by default)
– Taskbar on Start screen. You can set StartIsBack to always display taskbar on Start screen and greatly reduce Start screen stress!
Although this function appeared in SIB 2.1, it really shines in Windows 8.1 when you set your wallpaper for Start screen.
General :
– Start menu has been rebuilt from ground up. It no longer uses code present in explorer; but! No features were lost and actually has been improved with new features and many fixes for bugs present in original menu code. StartIsBack+ uses LESS resources than native menu!
– Start menu utilizes start menu “soul” left in Windows; it’s fully compatible with Windows 7 / StartIsBack settings and policies
– StartIsBack+ does not require a process or service to run, comes with support / translation for all Windows languages (where MUI is available)
– StartIsBack+ is better suited for tablets and convertibles.
Start menu :
– Start menu has been rebuilt from ground up. Lot of Windows 7 menu bugs were fixed
– Items in right pane can be removed or tweaked in-place (hold shift with right-click)
– Items in right pane can be configured as menu for more items (like Connect To)
– You can add your own folders into right pane by drag & drop
– All Programs can show folders before items
– Start menu configuration is much more streamlined
– Start menu can be configured not to cover taskbar when it’s placed on screen side
Start Apps (Modern apps) folder in All Programs :
– Higher-quality icons are used
– You can create a shortcut for Modern app from Start Apps folder directly via drag & drop
– You can uninstall Modern apps directly from context menu
Start button:
– StartIsBack+ provides start button for each taskbar
– StartIsBack+ uses built-in Windows 8.1 start button image (by default), but with different selection / animation effect to distinguish it
Skinning:
– Same skins included; Plain8 is the default
– Start menu is a full sheet of glass; without hacks
– Glass layer can be turned off totally; without hacks
– StartIsBack+ allows using msstyles from Windows 8 unaltered (you still need UxStyle or whatever)
– StartIsBack+ has built-in high contrast skin
Other changes:
– All screen edges but bottom-left are enabled by default
– Settings for bottom-left corner were removed
– F3 on desktop no longer launches desktop search
– StartIsBack+ settings for start menu are now stored in ..\StartIsBack registry key, not in …\Explorer\Advanced. Existing settings are migrated.
– StartIsBack+ is not yet optimized for screen readers
Fully translated: English, Russian, Brazilian Portuguese, European Portuguese, French, Danish, Greek, Italian, Turkish, Spanish, German, Polish, Czech, Croatian, Slovak, Finnish, Korean, Dutch, Norwegian, Serbian, Slovenian, Bangla, Hungarian, Swedish, Simplified Chinese, Indonesian, Arabic, Thai, Traditional Chinese, Farsi, Ukrainian, Lithuanian, Bulgarian, Latvian.
New's in Version ++ 1.3 ~ 19 June 2016
• Support for Windows 10 Anniversary Update
• New feature to disable application preloader on Windows 10 Anniversary Update
• Improved Plain10 visual style (search results are no longer black on white)
• StartIsBack now does not require reinstallation after Windows build upgrade
• Added glyph icons to PC settings
• Added support for non-numeric metro icon badges
• Added 'Open file location' for jumplist items
• Various fixes and improvements
New's in Version +1.7.5 ~ 6 March 2015
- Dynamic high-DPI start menu scale adjustment
- Start menu searches in PC settings as well
- Improved compatibility with Windows 10 Technical Preview
- Offline activation for enterprise licenses
- Fixed minor issues
New's in Version 2.1.2 ~ 30 August 2013
- New: Latvian, Bulgarian translation
- Fixed: minor configuration program issues
- Updated group policy file
Download StartIsBack++ 1.3 | Windows 10 | 1,16 MB |
Download StartIsBack+ 1.7.5 | Windows 8.1 | 1,14 MB |
Download StartIsBack 2.1.2 | Windows 8 | 923 KB |
