Windows 11

[Suff]

Yep, the default UI stinks.

And that bloody taskbar! I don't need big or medium icons FFS! Tweaking the reg value to 0 brings the small icons back but the clock still shows the date under the time and it is only half visible - the top half. I have not yet found a way to remove it. I know what the date is.... the laptop tells me when I sign in FCOL!

I found a way to get my toolbars back. Valinet ExplorerPatcher in github. It talks about icon sizes too.

[Workingman]

I downloaded it on the same day shortly after posting the post you quoted but like most techies I did not read the info on the download page, just dove in..... I did not like the fact that when I opened something from the taskbar the icon expanded to the title. So the Opera icon became: The icon + "Opera - BBC News" or whatever...Open a few things and the taskbar became overloaded. I gained and lost at the same time so uninstalled it.

Just been back for a read and found how to undo that, plus a lot of other stuff. Thanks for the heads up, I am happy now.

[Suff]

We can keep sharing on this. I'm going to keep working with it till I'm happy it will do what I want comfortably.

Word of warning DO NOT INSTALL IT ON W10, which I did inadvertently, borked the whole interface, got a bad hint as to how to get it out again instead of RTFM and spent ages trying to get the whole thing working again. Finally bit the bullet and asked it to refresh the PC and accept the cost of reinstalling the apps (no restore points, have to fix that), but the refresh failed...... But fixed the problem caused by the bad backout. Which allowed me to correctly re-run the app with /uninstall and get everything back to where it was before I so rudely borked it.

Worth avoiding.

[Workingman]

OK.

I actually do want to get used to Win 11 but to do it my way. So far I have mainly tried using Win 11 options and using the system as I am not keen on third party stuff, but it is very limited.

Biting the bullet I have tried the following but I suggest downloading this: https://geekuninstaller.com before starting. It is an uninstaller that removes left over registry entries.

WARNING! Make system restore points!!!

Winaero Tweaker. Some of the things do not work and undoing them is a nightmare. Make sure to set a system restore point before doing anything.

Ultimate Tweaker. Same as above, same warning.

Power Toys for Windows. I might as well have stuck with the system as it is very limited. Same warning.

7+ Taskbar Tweaker. No, just no! Same warning.

The above all started as projects to move users of Win7 to Win10 (and now Win11) so there is a lot of older stuff in them that is restricted or does not work in Win11.

Now to ExplorerPatcher. This looks to have been built to work with Win10 and Win11. It is quite comprehensive and changes are simple toggles and changes are immediate. It has a simple Restore Default Setting switch and it works. However, a read of the Features Summary section on the download page is essential. I still made a system restore point. A right click on the taskbar and visiting Properties gets you into settings. Here are a few screenshots:












ExplorerPatcher is working best for me.

[Suff]

Thanks for that, this is SOOOO much better.

[Workingman]

Oooh desktop icons!

Cute.

Very 'retro'.

[Suff]

I have always used a very limited set of desktop icons.

Just like my "structured menu" on the toolbar, it is far more effective and faster to use than the total crap of the Windows (no)Start menu.

I really hate having to use a 3rd party product to overtake the restrictions of the taskbar. I guess I could probably snapshot the registry and find out just what it does, but that's way too much like work. I understand it also plays with DLL files. Not the way to go but as MS is determined they know what is right, they leave us little choice.

Were that there was a real alternative. This is exactly the way that OS/2 and Windows played out. OS half as some colleagues I know call it was the restrictive one. Windows was the wild west and we loved it.

However, that being said, now I have my control over their crap, I can start to build on it. If it works out for me I'll upgrade some of my machines.

[Workingman]

OS/2, oh you rebel. I bet you tried Xenix as well.

My desktop has always been a blank bold colour - teal - just to piss MS off.

Never used the desktop icons. Saw colleagues with hundreds of excel and word file etc, shortcuts etc, all over the place on there and wondered why.

I had excel, word, presentation apps on the taskbar/Start menu. Open the app and all my recent files, the ones I really wanted, were in the recent file list. Job done. Why go from what I was doing to go to the Desktop to open a file when all I had to do was open the app from the taskbar - it's what it is there for?

Each to their own.... They will get us, one day. We will conform.

[Suff]

Ah, if you look closer, the desktop icons are the system icons which act as shortcuts plus one folder which I use for my menu on the Taskbar.

I don't use the Taskbar for icon shortcuts because I run out of Taskbar space so I have recreated my XP experience to get back to normal.

I've never used jump lists and whilst I do use document history from the apps, this is also limited.

Microsoft wants to become the same as a company Admin and decide how I use Windows.

Stuff em.

[Workingman]

Stuff em.

Snap!

But it does amaze me how so many "intelligent" people buy in to proscribed system and cannot think of other ways for themselves.

"Alexa, how do I wipe my bottom?"