Windows 10: Start menu tiles layout savefile?

Discus and support Start menu tiles layout savefile? in Windows 10 Customization to solve the problem; after updag win7 to win10 i immediately customized my start menu tiles and it looked really awesome while still being organised. After encountering... Discussion in 'Windows 10 Customization' started by tin, Sep 12, 2015.

  1. TIN
    tin Win User

    Start menu tiles layout savefile?


    after updag win7 to win10 i immediately customized my start menu tiles and it looked really awesome while still being organised. After encountering numerous problems with poorly migrated programs i did a fresh install ( like a month ago) and havent been able to find that same perfect arrangement.

    where is the layout for the tiles in the start menu stored?

    i still have the .vhd from the backup so i can find a file if necessary, but i dont know where the info is stored. Does anyone have an idea?

    :)
     

  2. How to reset the tile layout in the start menu

    Hi guys, lately I have been trying to organizing my start menu tile layout by starting fresh. But I do not like the layout at all and am wishing to go back to the default tile layout, but I'm having problems doing so. I have browsed over 10 websites,
    but none of the seem to be working for me. If you guys have a solution, that would be great, thanks!
     
    JohnLewis092, Sep 12, 2015
    #2
  3. Ken Varn Win User
    App tiles disappeared from windows 10 start menu

    I have come up with my own potential work-around for this problem. Unfortunately this doesn't help if your tiles have already been wiped-out, but it can be used as a preventative measure to repair start-tile layout before it is wiped-out. Note that you
    must have PowerShell available and enabled to run scripts.

    Make a backup of your good start-menu layout as follows:

    • Open an elevated PowerShell Command Prompt (run as administrator).
    • Type the following: Export-StartLayout -Path "StartMenuBackup.xml"
    • A backup of your start menu items will be saved to the file StartMenuBackup.xml. Keep this file.

    In the event that your start-menu tiles are wiped-out after an update, you can restore them by using Group Policy Editor as follows:

    • Run GPEDIT.MSC
    • Navigate to User Configuration/Administrative Templates/Start Menu and Taskbar
    • Open the Start Layout setting by double-clicking on it.
    • Select the "Enabled" radio button.
    • Type the path and name of the backup file you created above into the Start Layout File field.
    • Click on Apply
    • At this point, your tiles should get restored back to the state they were in when the backup was done. However, the tiles can't be edited further unless you select the "Not Configured" radio button and hit Apply again.
     
    Ken Varn, Sep 12, 2015
    #3
  4. Start menu tiles layout savefile?

    Hello tin Welcome to the Ten Forums!

    I hate to say this but.... There isn't actually any configuration file to find. You have the option to pin or unpin items to the Start tile area as you would on the main task bar. When going to make a few changes perhaps a slight pictorial at how to do things can help here!


    Start menu tiles layout savefile? [​IMG]


    As always it looks a little clumsy with all the tiles that come pre-pinned and you would rather rearrange and possibly even resize things along with putting them into separate categories?! Have a look at how that would look instead of the first mess seen there.


    Start menu tiles layout savefile? [​IMG]


    A slight change of appearance wouldn't you say? And how is that done? First the Start tile area can be clicked and dragged to an extent in order to see that resized by clicking on and holding an edge either horizontal or vertical. First you may want to resize things like the tiles themselves if you are not looking to take up the entire screen.


    Start menu tiles layout savefile? [​IMG]


    Some like Edge will see the options for Large and Wide and when using Small things can be packed in rather tightly.


    Start menu tiles layout savefile? [​IMG]


    You will also notice that the entire area has been reshaped as mentioned before by clicking and grabbing the edge as seen in the lower right corner for vertical there. So we went from this....


    Start menu tiles layout savefile? [​IMG]


    to this in a matter of minutes!


    Start menu tiles layout savefile? [​IMG]


    And for something different from the default Windows automatically adjusts all we can change a few other things as well. How about the background? Transparent or Solid color or theme you choose or create?


    Start menu tiles layout savefile? [​IMG]


    For something like that or for the option of manually choosing a color for both taskbar and Start menu you have to turn something off in the Start>Settings>Personalization dept.


    Start menu tiles layout savefile? [​IMG]


    All this is done manually each time you run across the default tiles if you should happen to see any upgrade to repair install or reset action to bring 10 back to Square #1. Desktop themes and such are not stored in the same fashion seen in previous versions.
     
    Night Hawk, Sep 12, 2015
    #4
  5. TIN
    tin Win User
    Look, thanks for wrig a tutorial, but i already knew how the start menu tiles work and everything, I've been using them on my htpc for half a year. But what i wanted to know is where the information of how they are arranged iat stored. And don't tell me it isn't, it has to be in one way or another, since it would be reset everytime i turn off the computer. In order for the system to remember it, there has to be physical documentation somewhere on the C: drive.


    Come on guys, did noone find any sort of xml file or anything? D:
     
  6. Since everything is controlled through the System Registry the best action would be making a backup for that in order to preserve the present configurations of things. But after each clean install you would need to take the same steps at manually getting things set the way you want them. Stuff has to be unpinned and pinned manually as you go along! That's unavoidable.
     
    Night Hawk, Sep 12, 2015
    #6
  7. TIN
    tin Win User
    do you happen to know where i can find this in the registry?
     
  8. Start menu tiles layout savefile?

    Not exactly! In fact I have never even heard of any particular file you can back to preserve anything with any Start menu. That's always been a program installer's option or something you dragged into the Startup folder on previous versions. I didn't get much to spend with 10 prior to only seeing a fast VM early on for Tech Preview build and ended up right in the middle of the 10240 RTM back in July still trying to learn the ropes of the latest version here.

    I know upon the first system restart the arrangement and sizes for each tile is preserved by something in Windows as you would see with other settings and custom configs. If someone else has an answer for this they can jump in here with it since it would be interesting to see how that works.

    Creating System Restore points manually as you typically see done when trying out some new program would be one option to reset things back to the present if a problem should come up later. You can download one of the Shortcuts for this. System Restore Point shortcut - Create in Windows 10 - Windows 10 Forums

    That will save a step of following the general manual option used for seeing restore points created in the other guide seen at System Restore Point - Create in Windows 10 - Windows 10 Forums[1]=Backup%20Restore

    Individual items however may still end up being changed or lost during a mishap of some type. The restore points simply bring the system registry itself back to the present state it is in now or when the point is created. The first guide points to three separate shortcuts available when looking those over.
     
    Night Hawk, Sep 12, 2015
    #8
  9. TPreston Win User
    its not a single file now in 10 they changed it to a database located here

    C:\Users\you\AppData\Local\TileDataLayer\Database

    copying it from another pc has saved me a reimage and works without any issue
     
    TPreston, Sep 12, 2015
    #9
  10. Sounds like the best option is to back up the entire user account including all sub folders as far as having a disaster plan. I wasn't running either 8 or 8.1 prior to seeing 10 and 7 lacked any tiles! And without the programs on if a clean install or Reset has to be seen to you still wouldn't be able to restore that until each and every one that had a tile was back on again. Better off restoring a full system image! That will keep everything intact.
     
    Night Hawk, Sep 13, 2015
    #10
  11. TIN
    tin Win User
    YES, thank you, that is ehat i was looking for!! I KNEW there had to be somethink like that, I just KNEW IT. *Biggrin

    But i gotta thank you too nighthawk, you put a lot of time and thought into your posts and i appreciate that.
     
  12. TIN
    tin Win User
    Well i do have rhe vhd file with all the system files so theres that. And id install all programs anyway, the tiles that are assigned to a removed program are broken anyways and are easy to remove
     
  13. Start menu tiles layout savefile?

    I have another method for seeing the entire Start menu backed up. But it uses the command prompt approach for this. You will note that the original date was October 2014 and was updated during June prior to 10's release. You would want to use the Command prompt (admin) for this one. How to backup or reset the start menu in Windows 10 - gHacks Tech News

    One of the problems trying to back up the tile area of course would be fluxuation over time! As you go along you will likely being trying out new programs as well as possibly dumping a few older ones or finding newer versions where the tiles will end up being changed. Seeing a full system image backup on the other hand will preserve the existing program installs along with the existing tiles which in theory should actually work out even better.

    There won't be any broken links since everything remains intact from the time the image is created in the image itself you can fall back on. That option provides a full snapshot of the system in the state it is in which is updated simply by seeing a newer image back up made.
     
    Night Hawk, Sep 13, 2015
    #13
  14. Brink
    Brink New Member
    I'm afraid that method is no longer valid in Windows 10. *Sad
     
    Brink, Sep 13, 2015
    #14
  15. Unfortunately one look at the original date and even when updated is where I ended up at when not finding any specific method for saving and restoring the way the tiles are arranged. With any program change by adding one on or removing, updating one with a new shortcut like Waterfox now seeing a totally new icon for that particular browser the save become obsolete as well.

    I would think that even a partial not complete system image but partial system backup would preserve the apps as well as the present layout to some extent since the TileDataLayer folder is found under the user account. But the need to reinstall one or more of the exact same programs on any clean install of 10 to come later still can put you back to Square One for something like this.

    The one working solution to solve all simply comes back to seeing a complete system image type backup where everything is preserved as it is. Another guide found for this only explains the two method for seeing the defaults restored. Somehow that was linked back to .. ? Ten Forums! *Biggrin
     
    Night Hawk, Sep 14, 2015
    #15
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Start menu tiles layout savefile?

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