Tuesday 3 September 2013

How to configure the Windows button to trigger the Start menu in Windows 8

Till Windows-7, the Start menu could be triggered by pressing the Windows button, but this functionality is missing in Windows 8, and pressing it opens the Start page of the Modern UI. But you can set Windows to trigger the Start menu with a mouse click, by writing and running a small script. To do this, open notepad and type the following:
 "Set.WshShell.=.WScript.CreateObject(_WScript.Shell”)WshShell.sendkeys..^{ESC}”

Save the new text file as an EXE file under a name such as “win_key.exe”. This is necessary so that you can pin it to the taskbar. Now open Windows Explorer and navigate to the file you saved. Right-click the entry and select the context command “Pin to taskbar”.

Now right-click again on “win_key. exe” and select the context command “Rename”. Change the name to “win_key. vbs”. Confirm the warning for changing the file type with “Yes”. Now you must edit the target for the shortcut in the taskbar. To do this, press and hold the [Shift] button and right-click on the file you pinned earlier. Select the context command “Properties”. In the "Target" field, change the link to the location of the VBS file. You can also choose to set an icon of your choice using the button “Other icons”. The file offers several selections such as “C:\Windows\ System32\shell32.dll”.

On the other hand, you will find a typical windows logo in the file “C:\ Windows\ehome\ehdrop.dll”. Finally, confirm the selection and acknowledge the settings with “Apply” and “OK”. The new icon will be updated in the taskbar. Clicking this icon will let you open the Start menu easily and without too much of a fuss.

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