How to Add New Items / Tiles to Windows 8 Home Screen
Windows 8 Homescreen is the main attraction in the new Microsoft Operating system. Home screen consists of various Apps and their Notifications which gives you a complete and quick overview without entering in. By default there are some items pinned, though you can remove / unpin but adding isn’t easy.
Before telling you How to add new items on Windows 8 Homescreen or Pin new Application, you should know about Windows 8 Apps. These are also called Metro Apps written using Web Technologies like HTML, Javascript, CSS, etc. All those pinned by default belong to this category.
If you want to add a Tile then the application should be written in same language and not the one which you are using in predecessors (Windows 7).
[alert-note]Basic Windows 8 Tricks You Must Know and Try[/alert-note]This doesn’t mean Windows 8 doesn’t support them, you can still use the applications written using Win32 API and .NET but they won’t appear as good as those written using new technology.
How to add new Application Item on Windows 8 Home Screen
If you just want to add applications on home screen that are not already present then only this manual method will work. Pinning apps to home screen is an in-built feature provided in Windows 8. So lets see how to add apps to windows 8 home screen without any 3rd party software.
NOTE: You cannot add folders, files and special items using this method. To obtain the same, you need 3rd party software discussed later in this article.
Add Apps to Windows 8 Home Screen Manually
- To get the list of all apps in Windows 8, press Win + Q. You can also do the same thing from home screen directly. On home screen, right click on an empty space. From the option bar that pops up at bottom of screen, click on All Apps.
From Home Screen
Using Win+Q
- Now you can find all the apps that you have installed on Windows 8.
- To Add the new app on home screen right click on that app. Again an option bar will appear at the bottom.
- Click on Pin to Start. Your app will be added to Windows 8 home screen.
Pinning Any File/Folder to Windows 8 Home Screen ( 3rd Party Software )
To get more items on Windows 8 Home Screen other than just Apps, you will need these software. They are easy to use and will not take much of your time.
Pin to 8
Pin to 8, formerly known as Start Screen Pinner allows you to pin any thing on Windows 8 Home Screen as well as taskbar. It is a single window app and allows you to pin folder, library, file, special item. With Special Items you can pin handy options like Games, Display, Folder Options, Credential Manager etc. The items you pin to the Start Screen can be found at the end.
Download: Pin to 8
[alert-success] Customize Windows 8 Home Screen Animations Using Tweaker [/alert-success]Metro UI Tweaker
This application is all in one tool to tweak Metro Interface. Not just adding new apps but also it expands possibility to play with new Windows 8. Here are the complete feature list of Metro Tweaker for Windows 8:
- Disable Metro Start Menu: Disables only Metro Start Menu Screen. This function requires editing a System File. It does not remove the file.
- Disable Metro Ribbon: Disables only the Metro Ribbon UI. This function I discovered myself. It requires Taking Ownership of a System File. It does not remove this file.
- Disable Metro Start Menu and Ribbon: Disables the Metro Start Menu UI, Ribbon UI, Metro Task Manager UI and the Lock Screen.
- Enable Metro Start Menu and Ribbon: Re-enables all available Metro UI options.
- Add Power Options to the Metro Start Menu Screen: Logoff, Switch User, Lock, Sleep, Restart and Shutdown
- Add any Application/File to the Metro UI Start Menu Screen: Some Applications/Files may not be available to you to add to the Metro Start Menu Screen. This program allows you to add those Applications/Files which would otherwise be unavailable.
Download: Metro Tweaker UI
