Resolved Moving (Or Not) To Windows 7

I have installed windows 7 and so far I absolutely hate it. For one thing there is no decent explorer.

But whether I keep W7 or stay with XP or go to Linux will depend on whether I can get my start menu shortcuts working. In my XP I can invoke just about any program, open just about any window, with or without a folders pane, and open just about any file with a few keystrokes. For example, letting "!" represent the start key, I can start FireFox by "!zf" because I have created a folder named "Z" on the start menu that contains a link to FireFox.exe. "!bj" opens my Word document "Jazz.doc ". "!qm" opens the system configuration utility.

So far I have not been able to get this working in W7. XP has an option to "use personalised menus" that makes this possible but so far I cannot find it in W7.

Can anyone tell me how to do this in W7 or recommend a reference?

I am not planning to stay with W7 beyond the time when W10 is stable, but if I cannot "use personalised menus" in W7 I'm pretty sure it will not be possible in W10 either.

Thanks and best wishes,
Robert

 

Arie his System Details show that he runs XP SP3 32bit, W7 Pro and W10 64bit on various HDD's.
Should have tried W8/8.1 before W10 Preview. Neil.

 

Maybe I have been unclear. I don't have the W10 Preview. I will get it if, after getting used to W7, I decide I like it enough to go to the next step. I will not try W8.

 

Why don't you Right click on Mozilla Firefox in your Programs and pin to Taskbar? All you have to do to open FF is left click on the Icon in the Taskbar.

Any programs I want to access quickly/easily eg. MS Word - I pin to Taskbar. Neil.

 

Then I have to find the mouse, move the cursor to the taskbar and left click in the right place.
Now, in winxp, I can simply type "!zf ", where "!" represents the start button. Much easier.

 

You make 6 key plus Shift movements and I make 2 ?????
You've come from DOS methinks. Each to his own. Neil.

 

I admit that pnning a program can be useful [thanks for the tip], but with 3 keystrokes (no shift, alt, or control):

"start ", "z ", "f "

I open a new instance of FireFox. In W7 I have to right click on something, click on "open in new window ", and finally hit "home ". And this is true generally.

 

I'm sorry but I can't understand your shortcut. Start > z > f ???
If you use the Start button, you open the menu - where do you go from there?
I did not come from a DOS background and find the mouse an easy tool to use on a PC.
I use a "touch screen" on my smart phones and therefore have no need for key type shortcuts. Neil.

 

'z' is the name of a folder I have created on my start menu. It contains links to a nember of programs, specifically:

C:\Documents and Settings\ral\Start Menu\Z
BKUP.BAT.lnk
Calculator Plus.lnk
DOS.LNK
EaseUS Partition Master 9.2.1.lnk
firefox.lnk
Norton Security Suite.LNK
PDIALER.LNK
Revo Uninstaller.lnk
S-Canon Solution Menu EX.lnk
thunderbird.lnk

There are other files, programs and folders I have put on my start menu:

C:\Documents and Settings\ral\Start Menu
A
B
E
Image
L
M
N
Programs
QuikAdmn
Word
Z
D-Screencast-O-Matic.lnk
desktop.ini

So 'start' opens the start menu, 'z' opens the submenu for folder 'z', and 'f' runs the shortcut.

I've spent a lot of time developing and implementing this scheme, and I will not easily give it up.

 

That bad, eh?

...and I haven't even tried 10 yet.

 

Thanks for the in depth explanation for an 'oldie' like me. I wouldn't have the foggiest how to go about altering the Start Menu as such.
The Start Menu remembers the programs more often used and keeps them on the Menu.
So I would imagine it would require a Registry 'tweak' to stop that intuitive part first and then to keep your Folder/shortcuts more permanently.
Call for a programmer? someone who knows the Registry real good. Found this with a Google:http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-files/how-can-i-add-shortcuts-to-the-windows-7-start/1aa5c179-79f2-4ab7-98d0-34ef49c7ddd1 Hope it helps.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/11437-63-placing-shortcut-start-menu With thanks to Tomshardware Forum.
James, I'm a fan for W8.1 and find W10 no problem getting around. You can use Windows Apps (used to be called Metro or Tiles) or W7 type Start Menu to use it. Hence Arie's warning to ralatwbbs as at some stage for Security alone, there will be a need to progress into the newer OS.

I still have 2 comps running XP SP3 but they are dated and slooow compared to the newer OS's and will be unsafe to browse the www very soon.
I have 'smartphones' which are touch screen and again they are quicker to use than the old keypad cells.
We have to try and keep up to date with the new Technology and adapt to use it or get left behind. Neil.

 

One thing I dislike about Windows 8 is the *flat* look. I much prefer the embellished looks of XP and Windows 7.

 

That requires a 3-key combination,which requires me to use both hands, and anyway is more difficult than the sequence "start,z,f ".

 

I'm just updating from XP (which I got 11 years ago) to 8.1 on a new lap-top. I'm 4 weeks into it and all I've managed so far is to get Google Chrome and IE working (and IE not fully set up yet). The whole file structure is so different - I haven't even been able to find the equivalents of "My Computer" and My Documents ", let alone be able to transfer the data and I have no idea how you get to see what's actually in the computer.

Definitely a long learning experience. I'm still using m old XP machine for most things. I wish I'd bought an iPad!!

 

Frank, just Right click on the Start Icon which will bring up a Menu - it's all there. Neil.

 

For what it's worth, by using Arie's method, I can open Outlook 2007 with the F8 key. Most other keyboard shortcuts do require Ctrl + Alt though.

The thing I missed the most was not being able to shutdown, restart, sleep, or hibernate Windows 7 via the old XP Start key combination. I created desktop shortcuts for some of those functions.