Now that I have a Windows 8.1 touchscreen computer, I have been wondering how to customize the start screen with my own files and folders.
This is the classic Windows 8.1 Start Screen. The first thing I wanted to learn how to do was add my own tiles. The folks as AskVG.com give a quite precise method that worked for me.
ADD TILES TO START SCREEN
What about the background pictures? Microsoft actually has a concise tutorial on that at this link. It is a two-step process: First putting your picture in the correct folder, then pointing either your Start Screen, desktop, or lock page to said picture. When I try it, I will write it out in more detail here.
CHANGE BACKGROUND PICTURES
AskVG also has very simple instructions on how to change the appearance of each tile on the Start Screen, including changing the icon itself. Unfortunately, I need an app that will convert .jpg and .gif files to .ico files. Fortunately, there are on-line .ico converters available, such as Online-Convert.
According to Yasser, it is even easier than that. One merely has to change the extension from .jpg to .ico in order to use it as an icon. That turned out to be a bogus claim, as the resulting file comes back as "no icons detected."
Microsoft Paint can also be used to make icon files. One simply resizes the picture and the background to 32 pixels, saves as a 24 bit map, and changes the extension to .ico. This is fine if one is changing a desktop icon, but it is not adequate for making a larger tile. I am going to have to test to see if I can use Paint to make a 270x270 icon.
While still exploring, I came across this site, which builds tiles for websites. One simply enters some information and uploads a photo, and the site generates HTML code to include with a website. From this site, I discovered the dimensions of Windows 8.1's tile sizes. They are 128x128, 270x270, 270x558, and 558x558. Using this information, I created a 270x270 pictures, uploaded it to an icon conversion site, attached it to a shortcut, and pinned the shortcut to my Start Screen. Although it is there, the result is somewhat disappointing. The icon appears as a very small square inside the larger 270x270 tile.
I just discovered there are many tile generating apps available from the Windows Store. However, one is restricted from downloading these apps unless the computer is running Windows 8.1, so I will have to wait until I take my computer to school for Wi-Fi access to download these tile-generating apps.
The pictures on the page appear smaller than they are. To see them larger, simply double click on the picture. Also, I always welcome your constructive criticism. Click on the Comment link below next to the icon of a pencil; it may say "No" or have a number in front of it.
References:
"Create a Windows 8.1 tile for your site." Build My Pinned Site. Microsoft, n.d. Web. 3 Aug. 2014.
"How to Change Icons and Text Labels (Names) of Start Screen Tiles in Windows 8 and 8.1?" AskVG. AskVG.com, n.d. Web. 3 Aug. 2014.
"How to Pin Any File, Folder or Program Shortcut to Windows 8 Start Screen?" AskVG. AskVG.com, n.d. Web. 3 Aug. 2014.
Jason, Thomas. "How to change pictures into icons for folders." YouTube. YouTube, LLC, 27 Dec. 2012. Web. 3 Aug. 2014.
"See pictures on the desktop, Start, and the lock screen." Windows. Microsoft, n.d. Web. 3 Aug. 2014.
Yasser, Ahmed. "How to convert image file ( .JPEG) to icon file ( .ico) [Without using programs]." YouTube. YouTube, LLC, 14 Dec. 2012. Web. 3 Aug. 2014.
ADD TILES TO START SCREEN
- Right-click on the file or folder which you want to pin to Start Screen and select "Create shortcut" option to create a shortcut of the file.
- In the RUN dialog box, type %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\
This opens the "Start Menu" folder. - Cut the file shortcut which you created in step 1 and paste it in "Start Menu" folder which you opened in step 2.
- Go to Start Screen and press "Ctrl+Tab" keys together to show "All Apps" page.
Here you'll see the file shortcut which you created earlier. - Right-click on the file shortcut and click on "Pin to Start" option.
What about the background pictures? Microsoft actually has a concise tutorial on that at this link. It is a two-step process: First putting your picture in the correct folder, then pointing either your Start Screen, desktop, or lock page to said picture. When I try it, I will write it out in more detail here.
CHANGE BACKGROUND PICTURES
- not attempted yet
AskVG also has very simple instructions on how to change the appearance of each tile on the Start Screen, including changing the icon itself. Unfortunately, I need an app that will convert .jpg and .gif files to .ico files. Fortunately, there are on-line .ico converters available, such as Online-Convert.
According to Yasser, it is even easier than that. One merely has to change the extension from .jpg to .ico in order to use it as an icon. That turned out to be a bogus claim, as the resulting file comes back as "no icons detected."
Microsoft Paint can also be used to make icon files. One simply resizes the picture and the background to 32 pixels, saves as a 24 bit map, and changes the extension to .ico. This is fine if one is changing a desktop icon, but it is not adequate for making a larger tile. I am going to have to test to see if I can use Paint to make a 270x270 icon.
While still exploring, I came across this site, which builds tiles for websites. One simply enters some information and uploads a photo, and the site generates HTML code to include with a website. From this site, I discovered the dimensions of Windows 8.1's tile sizes. They are 128x128, 270x270, 270x558, and 558x558. Using this information, I created a 270x270 pictures, uploaded it to an icon conversion site, attached it to a shortcut, and pinned the shortcut to my Start Screen. Although it is there, the result is somewhat disappointing. The icon appears as a very small square inside the larger 270x270 tile.
I just discovered there are many tile generating apps available from the Windows Store. However, one is restricted from downloading these apps unless the computer is running Windows 8.1, so I will have to wait until I take my computer to school for Wi-Fi access to download these tile-generating apps.
The pictures on the page appear smaller than they are. To see them larger, simply double click on the picture. Also, I always welcome your constructive criticism. Click on the Comment link below next to the icon of a pencil; it may say "No" or have a number in front of it.
References:
"Create a Windows 8.1 tile for your site." Build My Pinned Site. Microsoft, n.d. Web. 3 Aug. 2014.
"How to Change Icons and Text Labels (Names) of Start Screen Tiles in Windows 8 and 8.1?" AskVG. AskVG.com, n.d. Web. 3 Aug. 2014.
"How to Pin Any File, Folder or Program Shortcut to Windows 8 Start Screen?" AskVG. AskVG.com, n.d. Web. 3 Aug. 2014.
Jason, Thomas. "How to change pictures into icons for folders." YouTube. YouTube, LLC, 27 Dec. 2012. Web. 3 Aug. 2014.
"See pictures on the desktop, Start, and the lock screen." Windows. Microsoft, n.d. Web. 3 Aug. 2014.
Yasser, Ahmed. "How to convert image file ( .JPEG) to icon file ( .ico) [Without using programs]." YouTube. YouTube, LLC, 14 Dec. 2012. Web. 3 Aug. 2014.
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