Aaron.Parker

27 Oct 2012 1:16 AM

I'm yet to see AppsFolderLayout.bin; instead appsFolder.itemdata-ms seems to be the file to copy. Additionally this needs to be set to read-only for the custom Start Screen settings to persist (the RO attribute then needs to be removed after the user logs on).

Ben Hunter

27 Oct 2012 4:20 AM

Hi Aaron,

The AppFolderLayout.bin file is only available after the Sysprep process, once you logon as administrator this file will no longer be available. This is why I run the script immediately after the image has been applied to the device. I didn't originally include the file with this post but you can now find it here - blogs.technet.com/.../2046.CFG_2D00_Win8_2D00_CopyAppFolderLayout.zip

Thanks,

Ben

FearofWeapons

7 Nov 2012 8:43 AM

So.. could you crack the WIM file and copy the AppsFolderLayout.bin from one image to another?

This would potentially enable you to have a library of layouts in an org - one for CxOs, one for the techs, etc.

If so what are the restrictions on this? i.e. Language, SKU, etc.?

Ben Hunter

9 Nov 2012 6:49 AM

Hi FearofWeapons,

You are correct, you can reuse different layouts and the apps will appear on the Start Screen as long as they are on the image.

I am not sure if this method will work across SKU's or languages.

Thanks,

Ben

Dan Clark

12 Nov 2012 8:30 PM

In your first <a href="blogs.technet.com/.../a>, you have collapsed groups in the Task Sequence. The buttons for Add, Remove, Move Up and Move down also look different than the standard interface in CM 2012. Being able to collapse groups in longer task sequences is something I've been wanting to do for a while now. Can you explain how to enable collapsing groups in the Task Sequence Editor?

-Dan

Ben Hunter

12 Nov 2012 10:53 PM

Hi Dan,

The screenshot is from an MDT task sequence. Collapsing groups is something that you can do in MDT, however as you know this does not work in ConfigMgr.

Thanks,

Ben

Louie C.

19 Nov 2012 8:53 PM

I've succeeded in copying the Start screen layout, but what if I *do not* want it to install the default Metro apps? (Photos, Mail, Calendar, People, etc.)

Ben Hunter

19 Nov 2012 8:57 PM

Hi Louie,

You can remove he apps using a script, we have a blog post on doing that here - blogs.technet.com/.../removing-built-in-applications-from-windows-8.aspx.

Thanks,

Ben

Louie C.

19 Nov 2012 9:30 PM

Ben,

Thanks, this is great, but will I have to have the machine run that script every time a new user logs in to prevent it from installing those apps, or is there a way to prevent the initial "Installing apps..." stage of the initial login from running at all?

Thanks,

Louie

Ben Hunter

19 Nov 2012 11:01 PM

Hi Louie,

The script "de-provisions" the app from the computer and uninstalls it from the administrator profile so that you only need to run it once.

Thanks,

Ben

Dewitte Bo

22 Mar 2013 12:59 PM

Thanks for the how-to but when i use

the copyprofile method the start screen goes back to default.

the strange thing is that when i want to pin programs afterwards (those i wanted to be pinned

in the first place) Windows says they are already pinned. do you have any idea where it went wrong ?

Thanks

Bo

Ben Hunter

22 Mar 2013 5:23 PM

Hi Bo,

Is this a non-domain joined Windows 8 Pro machine? If so then this is expected.

Thanks,

Ben

ITGuy

24 Mar 2013 7:02 PM

Hi,

I know we can achieve the customization of start screen tiles for apps which are already installed in the Image, but what i am looking is for the apps which are deployed after the Image is applied. For Ex: Office is installed in the deployment TS after the Image is applied, can in any way customize the tiles for these office apps after the deployment or am i asking for too much.

Ben Hunter

25 Mar 2013 3:00 AM

Hi ITGuy,

Unfortunately there is no way to customize the Start Screen post image deployment.

Here is an article that explains some of this behavior - support.microsoft.com/.../en-us

Thanks,

Ben

Sam Kth

16 Apr 2013 8:11 AM

Thanks for the great KB. How do I quickly fix the admin user name and initial showing up in each and every user's office app personalize section? I installed the office under administrator login and capture the image. Users don't get prompt when open the office apps for the first time.