2013-12-30, 14:52
I am probably one of the very few people in the entire world who wants to do this - my searches so far have been full of people wanting to do the exact opposite...
I run Windows 8.1 on my HTPC. It works very well, boots quickly, allows me to run XBMC + Steam, and the Metro interface WORKS with my infra-red remote from my couch.
Everyone in the world seems to hate the Metro interface, and all forum posts and "how-to" guides seem to be on how to avoid the Metro interface, but I want the exact opposite - I want the Metro screen to be visible whenever any Desktop applications (Steam, XBMC, Chrome etc) are closed.
I have used OblyTile to add some shortcuts to the Metro screen, which has an option to return to Metro, but this doesn't always work - for example if Steam updates, or I put the computer into Standby whilst XBMC is running, closing these applications returns me to the desktop - all I can do from here is hit the "green button" on my remote to run XBMC - but what if I want to run Steam directly - I can't do that from the remote from the desktop.
So... does anyone know of a way (I'm happy with an AutoHotKey script, as I've got it installed already) to do this - when no Desktop applications are running (essentially that means no entries on the Taskbar) - show the Metro screen.
Any help/assistance will be greatly appreciated, I'm fed up with having to reach for the keyboard or mouse, when the Metro interface works with my remote, and is the perfect screen I need for my uses! I don't want to disable the Metro screen, I want to actually use it! I want it to be like a phone, where you close the application and it returns to the launcher!
I run Windows 8.1 on my HTPC. It works very well, boots quickly, allows me to run XBMC + Steam, and the Metro interface WORKS with my infra-red remote from my couch.
Everyone in the world seems to hate the Metro interface, and all forum posts and "how-to" guides seem to be on how to avoid the Metro interface, but I want the exact opposite - I want the Metro screen to be visible whenever any Desktop applications (Steam, XBMC, Chrome etc) are closed.
I have used OblyTile to add some shortcuts to the Metro screen, which has an option to return to Metro, but this doesn't always work - for example if Steam updates, or I put the computer into Standby whilst XBMC is running, closing these applications returns me to the desktop - all I can do from here is hit the "green button" on my remote to run XBMC - but what if I want to run Steam directly - I can't do that from the remote from the desktop.
So... does anyone know of a way (I'm happy with an AutoHotKey script, as I've got it installed already) to do this - when no Desktop applications are running (essentially that means no entries on the Taskbar) - show the Metro screen.
Any help/assistance will be greatly appreciated, I'm fed up with having to reach for the keyboard or mouse, when the Metro interface works with my remote, and is the perfect screen I need for my uses! I don't want to disable the Metro screen, I want to actually use it! I want it to be like a phone, where you close the application and it returns to the launcher!