Win10Tile - native, custom Windows 10 tiles with jump list and context menu

[Flinston_Ger]

Update 19.08.16: New design and a lot of refactoring. You can search now! Tiles are now saved with a filename-specific name. This means that tiles for applications in a common folder can be created! Added solution to MS Office applications (see below).
Update 18.11.15: Separate images for small tiles supported (just don't select one if you want to use the same.) Deleting a custom tile is now possible (just click delete )
Update 16.11.15: Startmenu items are not listed recursively, i.e., also startmenu subfolders are supported.

Dear all,

since Th2, Windows 10 allows for custom tiles via a visualmanifest.xml again. I created a small application that allows you to create custom tiles for any item in your startmenu. As this is completely native, jump lists and context menus are fully working and no other services are needed.

The app is extremely simple. It lists all your (root) shortcuts of your startmenu. Simply select one item (application target is then the location where the shortcut points to) and select an image. Hit save and you are done. Pin the shortcut as usual to your startscreen. The image is copied to the application directory.

If you intend to create tiles for apps like calculator, please consider the excellent tutorial given here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=64055883&postcount=53

The app requires administrator privelegs to modify the creation time of the shortcut (otherwise the tile won't be refreshed).

Download: http://www.motzek.org/MyTile-20160819.rar (Disclaimer: You are on your own. I take no responsibility for whatsoever. App requests highest available rights.)

Source: http://www.motzek.org/MyTile-Source-2060819.rar I am releasing this source under CC BY-NC-SA: "This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially, as long as they credit you and license their new creations under the identical terms." I.e. modify it, publish it with source for free and give me credit. Program is written in c# (2013). The rar includes the complete Visual Studio solution.

App screenshot:

Possible result:

Icons mostly by http://dakirby309.deviantart.com/art/Metro-UI-Icon-Set-725-Icons-280724102

Solution to MS Office applications:
It is not possible to create custom tiles for MS Office applications such as MS Word, Excel, etc. using this application. Somehow a custom tileimage in the corresponding visualelementsmanifest is ignored. However, it is easy to change the tile-images!
1) Navigate to C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office15\LogoImages (For Office16, @razmth reports to look at C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\Office16\LogoImages)
2) Replace the respective tileimages. You only need to replace the -100.png images for a medium tile! For example, simply change the WinWordLogo.scale-100.png with a custom MS Word medium tile.
3) Startmenu entry must be refreshed. Select the <NameOfMSOfficeApplication>.lnk in MyTile (it will point to something xlicons.exe). Click on refresh.
Note: The original visualelementsmanifest.xml must remain. If you change them via this app, the above workaround does not work anymore. Get them from some other office installation and copy them over. You can manually edit them (via, e.g., Notepadd++) to change the color or hide the name. Afterwards refresh (see 3).

Warn:
An existing visualelementsanifest.xml in the target application root will be overwritten. An existing *filename*-mytile.png in the target application root will be overwritten.

 

[Iron Doktor]

Nice find! I noticed that Chrome also had a larger icon in recent builds, and a different colour for the background, and sure it enough, it has a visual manifest file. So does each of the Office 2016 apps.

 

[KreNtal]

This app is awesome, it works really well. I wouldn't mind if this feature could be merged into BetterStartMenu or TileCreator

 

[rodalpho]

There is no need for a companion universal app with the new TH2 release, that's the whole point. This is the "right" way to do it, and there's no reason for tilecreator or betterstartmenu to exist.

Well, they have much better UIs, as this is the very first proof of concept. But all we're talking about here is creating a textfile and copying a PNG image to the executable's directory, so I expect UIs will come soon enough. Very cool!

 

[Iron Doktor]

I started one today, with image & colour pickers, because if I am going to convert all my tiles, I don't want to do it by hand.

There is documentation in the MSDN library about this tile format, which was introduced in 8.1.

 

[KreNtal]

There is no need for a companion universal app with the new TH2 release, that's the whole point. This is the "right" way to do it, and there's no reason for tilecreator or betterstartmenu to exist.

Well, they have much better UIs, as this is the very first proof of concept. But all we're talking about here is creating a textfile and copying a PNG image to the executable's directory, so I expect UIs will come soon enough. Very cool!

I know it. But I would like to have features like: Big tiles, the ability to create tile outside the root of the start menu ('cause it's annoying and disordered to have so much apps spread on the start menu) and so on.

 

[Iron Doktor]

I know it. But I would like to have features like: Big tiles, the ability to create tile outside the root of the start menu ('cause it's annoying and disordered to have so much apps spread on the start menu) and so on.

Big tiles are not supported for desktop apps, this is mentioned in the MSDN docs for start menu handling.

 

[KreNtal]

Big tiles are not supported for desktop apps, this is mentioned in the MSDN docs for start menu handling.

Didn't know that. Can you point me to the documentation?

 

[Iron Doktor]

Here is the link for the visual manifest;

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/dn393983.aspx?f=255&MSPPError=-2147217396

About halfway through;

Tile design best practices specify that if your tile is not a live tile, it should not claim the extra screen space required for wide (310x150) and large (310x310) tiles. Because a desktop app's tile is always static and never live, those additional tile sizes are not supported in this schema.

 

[CodilX]

Thank you!! I didn't use the alternatives that had proxy applications, but now I can finally customize my start menu.

HOWEVER. I'm having troubles with changing tiles for applications under C:\Program Files and C:\Program Files (x86), either the tile doesn't change, or the background turns black :/ I'm running your application as administrator, I've tried manually copying the tile.png to the appropriate directories - same result ..

 

[fulvioval]

Thank you!!! Nice app that I was looking for a long time. There is any way to read folders inside "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs" folder? I'm asking this 'cause some apps like office are in folders and I don't want duplicate shortcuts...

Thanks again!

 

[Flinston_Ger]

I know it. But I would like to have features like: Big tiles, the ability to create tile outside the root of the start menu ('cause it's annoying and disordered to have so much apps spread on the start menu) and so on.

Thank you!!! Nice app that I was looking for a long time. There is any way to read folders inside "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs" folder? I'm asking this 'cause some apps like office are in folders and I don't want duplicate shortcuts...

Thanks again!

I uploaded a new version, which now lists all *.lnk it can find in the startmenu, i.e., also in subfolders.

 

[KreNtal]

I uploaded a new version, which now lists all *.lnk it can find in the startmenu, i.e., also in subfolders.

This is actually the best tile creator for Windows 10 right now. Thank you

 

[Flinston_Ger]

Thank you!! I didn't use the alternatives that had proxy applications, but now I can finally customize my start menu.

HOWEVER. I'm having troubles with changing tiles for applications under C:\Program Files and C:\Program Files (x86), either the tile doesn't change, or the background turns black :/ I'm running your application as administrator, I've tried manually copying the tile.png to the appropriate directories - same result ..

I encountered that "small icon on black background", too (Chrome and Firefox had this problem). I solved it by simply creating a new shortcut to the exe and copying it to the startmenu (deleting the old startmenu entry).

 

[minmobil]

I uploaded a new version, which now lists all *.lnk it can find in the startmenu, i.e., also in subfolders.

Great job! Thanks.

 

[fulvioval]

I uploaded a new version, which now lists all *.lnk it can find in the startmenu, i.e., also in subfolders.

Thanks a lot!! I'll try this new one.

 

[schelleursli]

This does not seem to work for me, it's creating tile.png and firefox.visualelementsmanifest.xml (trying with Firefox) and the result when I add Firefox to my startmenu is the standard Firefox icon not the one I've tried to assign to it.

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?res...authkey=!AA20_zGiQOJCSA8&v=3&ithint=photo,PNG

Any idea what the cause may be?

 

[Flinston_Ger]

This does not seem to work for me, it's creating tile.png and firefox.visualelementsmanifest.xml (trying with Firefox) and the result when I add Firefox to my startmenu is the standard Firefox icon not the one I've tried to assign to it.

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?res...authkey=!AA20_zGiQOJCSA8&v=3&ithint=photo,PNG

Any idea what the cause may be?

create a new shortcut to firefox.exe and place it in the startmenu. then pin again. this should solve your issue.

 

[schelleursli]

Indeed, that worked, thanks!

 

[fulvioval]

There is any way to restore default?