Softpedia >Windows >Windows Blog
Softpedia Homepage   

How to Launch Metro Apps from the Desktop in Windows 8.1

Here’s a very short trick to quickly start Modern tools without accessing the Start screen

Dec 30, 2013 17:26 GMT  ·  By
Launching Metro apps from the desktop comes down to just a single command
   Launching Metro apps from the desktop comes down to just a single command

The Modern UI remains a pretty controversial Windows 8 and 8.1 feature, so in case you are looking for quick ways to launch Metro apps without seeing the tile-based Start screen, here is a very short trick to do it in a second.

Just like Anthony Bartolo, a Microsoft technology evangelist, wrote on the TechNet blogs, it’s enough to type a single line in a Command Prompt window to access the folder comprising all Metro apps.

To launch Command Prompt, go over to the Start screen and type “cmd” or type the same thing in the search charm and hit Enter.

In the opened Command Prompt window, enter the following command to launch the folder that stores the Metro apps:

code
explorer shell:AppsFolder
As you can see, it’s all very easy and, with just a few more tweaks, you could even create a script and place it on the desktop to quickly access Metro apps. Keep in mind however that this screen does not allow you to remove apps or create direct shortcuts on the desktop.