[Problem] Missing program shortcuts from all users

It sounds like our installers have a bug and are not installing in the right place.  This needs to be fixed and I will make sure the right people are aware.

Regarding why they do not show in Start8, it is because Start8 1.02 is showing all programs from the programs (or programme in your case) folders.  v1.03 and up will also show things installed in non standard locations thought if Decor8 really is installing in an english StartMenu folder then it will also not show as thats outside the startmenu,

(I do not think that it is a installers problem.) Other programs have also installed their shortcuts in these folders:

C:\ProgramData\Start Menu\Programs\...

‪C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\...

The time stamp and the content of the shortcuts and program folders are identical in both folders.

e.g. for another program: ‪C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Utilities\Beyond Compare 3\

Otherwise, probably you are right because the most programs shortcuts are installed (for all users) in the folder:

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Startmenü Alle\Programs\

e.g. C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Startmenü Alle\Programs\Microsoft Office 2013

And installations for users are installed in this folder:

C:\Users\[user name]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\

e.g. C:\Users\Thomas\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\WinRAR

This would mean, that you have to change all your installers.

Any installer that installs in the english location are at fault.  There are OS apis to obtain the correct folder names and every installer should be using them including our own installers.

Does the Decor8 shortcut appear for you on the Windows 8 Modern UI start menu?

Neither Decor8 nor Fences2, Tiles or Start8 shortcuts appears on the Windows 8 Modern UI start menu.

I found them only in these folders:

C:\ProgramData\Start Menu\Programs\Stardock\

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Stardock\

Thus confirming my thoughts that the installers are putting things in the wrong place.  It may be in the past the windows start menu accounted for this mistake and the new one does not.

The new Start8 version 1.03 has the same problem.

Hello Neil,

It seems that the used start menu folder is conditional from the country.

Probably the best solution would be if Start8 looks for shortcuts in follow 3 start menu folders!

Some programs shortcuts are installed (for all users) in this folder (typical for English language installations):

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\

e.g. C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Beyond Compare 3

e.g. C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Stardock

e.g. C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Nightly (Mozilla Firefox)

e.g.  C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\OpenVPN

The most programs shortcuts are installed (for all users) in this folder (typical for German language installations):

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Startmenü Alle\Programs\

e.g. C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Startmenü Alle\Programs\Microsoft Office 2013

e.g. C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Startmenü Alle\Programs\TuneUp Utilities 2013

e.g. C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Startmenü Alle\Programs\WinZIP

e.g. C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Startmenü Alle\Programs\Nero

And installations for users are installed in this folder (typical for personal installations):

C:\Users\[user name]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\

e.g. C:\Users\Thomas\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\WinRAR

I really think that this would the best solution, because a lot of English programs use the old Windows 7 start menu path:

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\

This path also was used in the Windows 7 German version. And it is the same path for the Windows 7 context menu "Open All Users"!

Best regards,

Thomas

I've seen the change-log for Start8 v1.03. Island Dog has wrote:"All programs now looks at the \Start menu folder rather than \Start menu\Programs to ensure applications which install outside the normal folder tree are not missed." That is a good approach because some programs puts their shortcuts in the place \start menu. For example Winzip and the tool oblytile.

So the three folders where Start8 should now looks are:

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Startmenü Alle\  (-> I do not know how this path is coded. There must be path for all other country's, but I see you managed this because it works. )

C:\Users\[user name]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\

I hope you can make it work in the next update of Start8.

So do the beyond compare, openVPN or Firefox nighly shortcuts appear anywhere in the Windows 8 Start menu?

If not then the applications are indeed at fault and have put shortcuts in a location which is not valid for the start menu.

If the path was the same as the english version in previous versions of Windows I imagine someone mistakenly translated the path for Win8 without realising some installers didn't check the path correctly.

OpenVPN and Nightly shows the same behavior like Start8.  The shortcuts are in the exact same start menu folder.  Their shortcuts do not appear in the Windows 8 Start menu. It  doesn't help Start8 users to know that some english program installers use an in correct path. So Start8 should catch also the shortcuts in the old path too.

They all use the same path like in Windows 7 "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\" (Shortcuts for "All users".)

Some programs shortcuts are installed (for all users) in this folder (typical for English language installations):
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\
e.g. C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Beyond Compare 3
e.g. C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Stardock
e.g. C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Nightly (Mozilla Firefox)
e.g.  C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\OpenVPN

I hope Stardock can realize this in the next update.

If they do not appear in the Windows 8 startmenu then the applications are at fault and their installers need fixing.

Supporting a third location complicates the code considerably especially once drag & drop is added.

I can not say anything about other software developers and I do not know if there is a fault in the installer.

You wrote you can not look to a third location. Perhaps you can manage it, that Start8 follows a shortcut.

In the folder C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Startmenü Alle exist the folder "Programs" and the shortcut "Programme" this shortcut open or is linked to C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Startmenü Alle\Programme. In this folder you found all lost shortcuts. It is so strange.

I open the command box and change the directory to the folder: c:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Startmenü Alle\

the command "DIR" shows the folder "Programs" and the junction "Programme". In this junction you found Stardock, Nightly and OpenVPN.

If it is possible to follow shortcuts, it would do these two folders for all shortcuts:

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Startmenü Alle\

C:\Users\[user name]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\

I have hoped that you would fix this problem with the next update, but you did not.