# A more unified look-n-feel for Windows 8? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 12, 2013, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-more-unified-look-n-feel-for-windows-8/668674 "2013-09-12T16:34:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2013, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-more-unified-look-n-feel-for-windows-8/668674/1 "2013-09-12T16:34:34Z")
Right now, Windows 8 feels like two OS’s that I’m constanty switching between. The “Start Screen” interface feels like a completely different thing than the “Desktop” interface. Yet it seems like the two are supposed to constitute a single, smooth interface. I’m not feeling it. I feel like the Desktop thing is there merely as a concession to my being used to Windows 7 and prior. I don’t really need such a concession. I’m a big boy and I can handle change. And I kind of like the aesthetic of the Start Screen. But of course the Start Screen isn’t for everything. For getting into the file system, I need the Desktop. So my question is, has anyone (Microsoft or anyone else) offered a way to reskin the Desktop interface so that it feels more like the Start Screen interface, while retaining the Desktop’s functions? I know you can go the other way–reskinning the Start Screen so that it shows up in the Desktop as a “Start Menu” like prior versions of Windows. But I was hoping to modify things in the other direction. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-more-unified-look-n-feel-for-windows-8/668674/2 "2013-11-16T21:13:48Z")
I’m bumping this. I just got a new computer, (upgrade from XP!) and am finding this OS jarring. I’m not seeing the point of the having these two navigation systems. Any thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![dam0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@dam0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dam0)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-more-unified-look-n-feel-for-windows-8/668674/3 "2013-11-16T21:45:27Z")
I think this might help you > **[Stardock Start8: Returns the Windows 7 style Start menu to Windows 8](https://www.stardock.com/products/start8/)** > > Start8 returns the familiar Start menu to Microsoft's latest Windows 8 operating system. I’ve recently moved to windows 8, I work in IT and I’ve been avoiding it until 8.1 ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-more-unified-look-n-feel-for-windows-8/668674/4 "2013-11-16T22:13:33Z")
> [@dam0](#): > > I think this might help you > > [Stardock Start8: Returns the Windows 7 style Start menu to Windows 8](http://www.stardock.com/products/start8/) > > I’ve recently moved to windows 8, I work in IT and I’ve been avoiding it until 8.1 Yep, that. There are free alternatives but Start8 looks and feels a lot better… definitely worth the $5. Use that, boot straight into desktop mode, and you’ll never have to see the Metro interface. Honestly there are no good apps for it anyway unless you’re using a touchscreen, and even then the apps are barely better than their Desktop equivalents. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-more-unified-look-n-feel-for-windows-8/668674/5 "2013-11-17T01:48:37Z")
In my OP, I’m looking for a way to make everything look like Metro, not for a way to make everything look like Desktop. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-more-unified-look-n-feel-for-windows-8/668674/6 "2013-11-17T03:47:40Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > In my OP, I’m looking for a way to make everything look like Metro, not for a way to make everything look like Desktop. :smack: Reading comprehension fail, or perhaps I just never imagined anyone would actually WANT to stay in metro. Sorry about that. There are file explorer apps in the store, some of which are free. Is that what you want? ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-more-unified-look-n-feel-for-windows-8/668674/7 "2013-11-17T03:55:16Z")
I don’t really care which, I just want everything to start in the same way. And I want the @#^%&\*\*ing start screen to stop $@!%^\*&#ing interrupting my work every time I swipe the mouse to the left. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-more-unified-look-n-feel-for-windows-8/668674/8 "2013-11-17T08:42:16Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > I don’t really care which, I just want everything to start in the same way. And I want the @#^%&\*\*ing start screen to stop $@!%^\*&#ing interrupting my work every time I swipe the mouse to the left. Start8 fixes that if you want it to. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-more-unified-look-n-feel-for-windows-8/668674/9 "2013-11-17T09:11:32Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > In my OP, I’m looking for a way to make everything look like Metro, not for a way to make everything look like Desktop. This is a tall order, because the desktop exists to run extant Win32-style applications - which have their own design ethic baked in. I guess the common controls could be changed so they look a bit more Windows 8-ish, but it would be difficult to replace, say, all ‘OK’ buttons in all applications with a circular glyph with a right-pointing arrow, because by and large, OK buttons are just generic buttons that the software developer has chosen to label ‘OK’ - the Windows interface would have to \*\*\*interpret \*\*\*the actual visual look of the application at a level it does not do currently, and would be really hard to get working consistently and universally. Microsoft has sort of achieved this for Office, because they have control of the code - so they can design-in the appropriate components. I think what MS is hoping (or at least catering for) is for software suppliers to start developing their offerings as modern UI apps (thus making them available on RT devices too), but I’m not altogether convinced that’s an achievable goal for every category of application, especially serious applications used in the workplace. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-more-unified-look-n-feel-for-windows-8/668674/10 "2013-11-17T09:14:52Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > I don’t really care which, I just want everything to start in the same way. And I want the @#^%&\*\*ing start screen to stop $@!%^\*&#ing interrupting my work every time I swipe the mouse to the left. Are you talking about the charms bar appearing when you move the mouse? Could be that you have edge swiping turned on (if you’re using a laptop trackpad) or mouse gestures set up or something. Either of those should be easy to adjust. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-more-unified-look-n-feel-for-windows-8/668674/11 "2013-11-17T11:00:31Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > Right now, Windows 8 feels like two OS’s that I’m constanty switching between. The “Start Screen” interface feels like a completely different thing than the “Desktop” interface. Yet it seems like the two are supposed to constitute a single, smooth interface. I’m not feeling it. I feel like the Desktop thing is there merely as a concession to my being used to Windows 7 and prior. > > I don’t really need such a concession. I’m a big boy and I can handle change. And I kind of like the aesthetic of the Start Screen. But of course the Start Screen isn’t for everything. For getting into the file system, I need the Desktop. > > So my question is, has anyone (Microsoft or anyone else) offered a way to reskin the Desktop interface so that it feels more like the Start Screen interface, while retaining the Desktop’s functions? > > I know you can go the other way–reskinning the Start Screen so that it shows up in the Desktop as a “Start Menu” like prior versions of Windows. But I was hoping to modify things in the other direction. Warnings first of all. I’ve not used this, I’m not endorsing it, and this level of reskinning Windows involves messing with various system components, and may break stuff. If you try anything like this, back stuff up and create a system restore point before doing it. [Here’s a page](http://skinpacks.com/download/windows-8/metro-skin-pack/) for a reskin that looks like it _might_ be what you want. Specifically, it looks to have customised the File Explorer to look like a Metro interface. On a more general point, what you’re asking for doesn’t seem to be something that many people want, especially the sort of people that would be willing and able to make it happen. There is, for example, no way I’m aware of to run desktop programs as an app in the Metro environment. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-more-unified-look-n-feel-for-windows-8/668674/12 "2013-11-17T11:03:34Z")
Oh, and for those wanting to go the other way and ignore the Start screen entirely, I find [Classic Shell](http://www.classicshell.net/)works fine, and is free. I’ve not tried Start8, mainly because I’m happy with the free option. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-more-unified-look-n-feel-for-windows-8/668674/13 "2013-11-17T22:36:31Z")
I have adapted to every MS OS from PC-DOS (unnumbered but 1.0 in retrospect) to Win 7, but I will NOT adapt to Win 8. I may never buy another computer. MS hates us old farts. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-more-unified-look-n-feel-for-windows-8/668674/14 "2013-11-17T22:41:00Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > I have adapted to every MS OS from PC-DOS (unnumbered but 1.0 in retrospect) to Win 7, but I will NOT adapt to Win 8. I may never buy another computer. MS hates us old farts. Oh, they’ll get you, my pretty. . . I ordered a Laptop with Win 7, and they sent me one with Win 8. In order to exchange it I would have had to be offline for 8-10 days. No can do. :mad::mad::mad: ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-more-unified-look-n-feel-for-windows-8/668674/15 "2013-11-17T22:49:09Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > I have adapted to every MS OS from PC-DOS (unnumbered but 1.0 in retrospect) to Win 7, but I will NOT adapt to Win 8. I may never buy another computer. MS hates us old farts. If you end up getting it, it’s entirely possible to use it without ever seeing the modern UI stuff, except on your first boot up. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-more-unified-look-n-feel-for-windows-8/668674/16 "2013-11-17T22:58:03Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > In my OP, I’m looking for a way to make everything look like Metro, not for a way to make everything look like Desktop. Then you might be happier using a tablet than an actual computer. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-more-unified-look-n-feel-for-windows-8/668674/17 "2013-11-17T23:01:21Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > MS hates us old farts. Damned straight. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-more-unified-look-n-feel-for-windows-8/668674/18 "2013-11-18T08:18:48Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > If you end up getting it, it’s entirely possible to use it without ever seeing the modern UI stuff, except on your first boot up. With the exception of some dual monitor troubles I think some users are experiencing, I believe this is the case. It’s quite easy to get Windows 8 to look, feel and mostly behave like Windows 7. The other way around- that is, getting legacy applications to behave like Modern UI apps is (IMO) pretty nearly impossible. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-more-unified-look-n-feel-for-windows-8/668674/19 "2013-11-18T09:24:53Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > The other way around- that is, getting legacy applications to behave like Modern UI apps is (IMO) pretty nearly impossible. Yes, but if your uses are limited you could presumably find Metro apps to do all your common tasks and then never have to touch the desktop. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-more-unified-look-n-feel-for-windows-8/668674/20 "2013-11-18T09:35:26Z")
Possibly, yes.