Windows 7 Classic vs. New Start Menu

Thanks man,

I figured this post should be brought up again as nobody id going to read each and every post in this thread,

hello

im using the hebrew version of win7. and choose hebrew language in CSmenu program.
the start menu in hebrew win7 locate on the right side.

but when im using CSmenu the menu open on the left side.(the start button stay on right)

how can i open the start menu on the right side using CSmenu? something in registery?
tnx
david.

sourcecodeboy said:

Hi there!

Try this app I made. It's very similar to start menu from XP but can't be customized directly: Link Removed

Click to expand...

Very Link Removed due to 404 Error.

dudubitn said:

hello

im using the hebrew version of win7. and choose hebrew language in CSmenu program.
the start menu in hebrew win7 locate on the right side.

but when im using CSmenu the menu open on the left side.(the start button stay on right)

how can i open the start menu on the right side using CSmenu? something in registery?
tnx
david.

Click to expand...

Check out the new Classic Start Menu, which is part of the Classic Shell package: http://classicshell.sourceforge.net/
It has right-to-left support for Hebrew and Arabic. There's much more to RTL than showing the start menu on the right. The text needs to be aligned on the right, the icons must be to the right from the text, menus must prefer opening to the left, etc. I hope I got all those details correctly.

Other notable features of Classic Shell include: keyboard support, drag/drop, right click, and many, many others.

I tried in on a Hebrew Win7 and it looks fine. I haven't tested it for long because I can't read the language and the mirrored layout is giving me a headache

Please try it and tell me what you think. You can respond on this forum. Any feedback is welcome and encouraged.

Regards
Ivo

Looking for the Best Windows 7 Classic Start Menu

The first thing that Windows 7 users would notice is that they can no longer change their start menu to a classic start menu. We could still do that on Vista but Microsofy has decided to remove it once and for all starting from Windows 7.

From my point of view, Microsoft made a right move on that because a lot of times I had to first ask the person that I am helping if he/she is using the classic or standard start menu. It’s annoying to me and confusing to them when I ask them to go to Start then select Run but they can’t find it in Start Menu!

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Now I’ve helped many friends and customers to upgrade their computer to Windows 7 especially those that were previously using the buggy Vista and they are really having a hard time getting used to the Windows 7 start menu. I know that there are quite a few third party program that can turn the Windows 7 start menu into classic and I am looking for a simple program that simply does just that. Before I suggest any of the doftware to my friends on what to use, I had to make sure that it is stable. I’ve made a simple comparison on five Windows 7 classic start menu and got my answer.

1. Classic Shell---------------------My personal favotite
Classic Shell is free and takes up only 1.3MB of memory. It changes the Windows 7 start menu to classic and it looks exactly the same like what you see in XP. You can navigate around the classic start menu with the arrow keys and also hitting any of the first letter brings you to the menu. Other than that, it also adds a toolbar like in XP. Finally, it can also bring back the simpler dialog boxwhen you overwrite a file.
[ Download Classic Shell ]

2. Seven Classic Start
It takes up a whopping 10MB from your memory and it only replaces the Windows 7 start menu to look like the classic one. This software cost $24.95 just for this feature alone. You can use the arrow keys to navigate around the start menu but it won’t bring you to the menu if you hit the first letter on your keyboard.
[ Link Removed due to 404 Error ]

3. Classic WindowsStart Menu
This is another free software that can turn Windows 7 start menu to classic. There is no setup and all you need to do is just run the executable file. Takes up 2.5MB of memory. It is possible to navigate around the Start Menu with arrow keys and also first letter from keyboard. Tested the latest beta version and it turns the menu into green color (new visual appearance).
[ Link Removed ]

4. CSMenu
This is free too but it takes up 12MB of memory. You cannot navigate around the start menu using keyboard as both arrow keys and hitting any letters won’t do a thing. During installation you have to be very careful or you will end up with an extra Ask toolbar on your web browser. I encountered a bug when selecting the Run from the start menu. An error window appeared with the message “when select run, i get a Microsoft .NET Framework error that says “Unhandled exception has occurred in your application If you click Continue, the application will ignore this error and attempt to continue. If you click Quit, the application will close immediately. Object reference not set to an instance of an object.â€Â￾
[ Download CSMenu ]

5. Classic Start Menu
This is like the commercial version of the CSMenu above. It cost $19.99 and the program takes up 10MB of memory. It doesn’t look exactly like the original XP classic start menu. Arrow keys work but not the first letters. Run command didn’t crash like what happened on CSMenu.
[ Download Classic Start Menu ]
After testing the 5 software that transforms the Windows 7 start menu into Classic, I’d have to say that Classic Shell, the first on the list is the best. Takes up the least memory and also changes a few other things to make Windows 7 have the Windows XP feel. Moreover it is free.


Source:Link Removed

Thanks Reghakr for the links to a classic menu. I am in the progress of building a new i7 box and hate the Windows 7 GUI. Take care and happy holidays.

There is an additional classic start menu and classic Windows Explorer menu application available as of Dec 13 through SourceForge. This application is still beta, but does seem to duplicate a familiar classic look and feel better than other similar applications. This program is called "ClassicShell" and is available through SourceForge at http://classicshell.sourceforge.net . Anyone desiring a classic look and feel for Windows 7 needs to check out this program before settling on a third party classic emulator.

EDIT: I see that reghakr has already listed this application as his first recommendation in a previous post. I guess the only point of my post here is to second his recommendation as this being the best "classic repro" application available today.

Thanks for the recommendation, John3347

I just uploaded a new version to Source Forge. The biggest new feature is the file size display in the status bar. Check out the main page http://classicshell.sourceforge.net for details.

Yes John, thanks for pointing that out, that person did a super job.

Remember when this thread first started, I stated thatsomeone is probably designing a classic Start Menu system. I guess I was right ob that one,

Now there are many out there, bit nothing compares to the Classic Shell, and it's free . others are charging for inferior replicas.

Win7CS (Windows Seven Classic Start menu)

Drew said:

And 1 would want this, why?

(question is purely rhetorical)

Click to expand...

Maybe I don't understand you. This my solution. Go to my website, change site language and download Win7CS.

Please, Microsoft, give me the choice. Don't tell me how I should be using my computer. That's my business.

BY FAR the classic view. New one takes up to much screen space. to many clicks to get to where you need to be.

and for those who think they like the new is because they didn't have any organizational skills for the classic view

I don't get why people don't realize that you can type what you want to open.

For example in the pic from the post above the process would be Click Start Orb>Hover Over Programs>Hover Over Home Office>Click word.

With the new menu its as simple as Winkey>type "word">hit enter

I guarantee I can do the new menu method faster than anybody can go through the menus in the classic menu.

Kylethedarkn said:

I don't get why people don't realize that you can type what you want to open.

For example in the pic from the post above the process would be Click Start Orb>Hover Over Programs>Hover Over Home Office>Click word.

With the new menu its as simple as Winkey>type "word">hit enter

I guarantee I can do the new menu method faster than anybody can go through the menus in the classic menu.

Click to expand...

Sure you can if you are a gamer and don't use your PC for work. If you have thousands of files each with unique names like I do then try to remember the name. The new GUI and the Ribbon interface are for people who use their PC as games consoles and for Facebook. To the ones who use it for work then the new GUI and Ribbon are a downgrade!

"I guarantee I can do the new menu method faster than anybody can go through the menus in the classic menu. "

And I will guarantee you that you will be like a blind squirrel looking for a nut on the beach if you, for example, have 9000 photographs and have absolutely no idea what you named the particular one that you now wish to locate. How you gonna type that? What if you are arthritic and you can manuever a trackball and make one click to open the file you just manuevered to much easier than you can get your fingers to find the correct key to spell the name that you have forgotten? "One size does not fit all." If a product is intended for many different people, it must offer many different choices. Classic start menu is one choice (in addition to something new) that Windows 7 must offer if they want to sell the maximum possible number of copies of the software.

Well as far as the start menu goes, its really only meant to open programs, not files. A simple folder on the desktop or even the library pinned to the taskbar takes care of that.

So yes opening programs is much easier with the new menu regardless of the intention.

For locating files, windows explorer is much better than either menu, see as there are many more options for locating the specific files you are looking for.

Also I don't think you can criticize a start menu because the disabilities of a user. Darwinism in that case.

Kylethedarkn said:

Well as far as the start menu goes, its really only meant to open programs, not files. A simple folder on the desktop or even the library pinned to the taskbar takes care of that.

So yes opening programs is much easier with the new menu regardless of the intention.

For locating files, windows explorer is much better than either menu, see as there are many more options for locating the specific files you are looking for.

Also I don't think you can criticize a start menu because the disabilities of a user. Darwinism in that case.

Click to expand...

The new GUI and Ribbon are like Taliban women: Hide or be shot. It takes ages just to find the menu to do something. Who wants a square wheel?

After years using the classic menu, I think the new one will be more attractive for me. It really make me easier to find some program or document.

yulistana said:

After years using the classic menu, I think the new one will be more attractive for me. It really make me easier to find some program or document.

Click to expand...

You say "Will be". Have you tried it yet?