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Windows 8 Tip: Run Metro Apps in Windows on the Desktop

An inexpensive new utility adds much-needed functionality to Windows 8
Mar. 6, 2013 Paul Thurrott

Windows utility maker Stardock has released an amazing application that lets you run Windows 8 “Metro” apps in a window alongside traditional Windows applications. It’s not free, but if you use Windows 8 on a desktop PC as I do, this might be the best $5 you ever spend.

Stardock’s ModernMix is available now in beta form. There’s a 30-day trial so you can check it out, and if you do decide to buy, the price is just $5.

Here’s what you get.

Windowed Metro apps. As you know, Metro apps can only be run full-screen or in the Snap pane in the Metro environment. But ModernMix provides the interface I asked for over a year ago, the ability to run Metro apps in windows alongside traditional desktop applications.

Pin to taskbar. Now you can pin Metro apps to the taskbar too!

ModernMix menu. A small ModernMix menu in the top right corner of Metro app windows lets you toggle back to full-screen if desired … And vice versa! Just mouse over it and make your choice.

Remember settings. You can resize and position Metro app windows and ModernMix will retain those settings the next time you run the app.

As you may know, I’m not generally a fan of contorting the Windows 8 user interface to make it more like classic Windows versions. But if you are using Windows 8 on a traditional desktop computer or laptop, this makes a ton of sense. I’ve bought it. You should at least take a look.

Discuss this Article 70

neonspark
on Mar 6, 2013

what's amazing is that this is SO obvious. how can Microsoft not see this was the way forward for desktops and laptops?

NothingUnknown
on Mar 6, 2013

Did we ever see any extensive metrics detailing peoples desire for only full screen apps on a desktop and laptop? Maybe they should have asked their users whether they wanted this instead of assuming they know what users want. Especially since the Metro environment is the way forward, meaning that windowed applications to them was a thing of the past.

conor@tighes.com
on Mar 6, 2013

I completely agree.... I don't need Skype taking up my entire 27": desktop. My point has always been "WINDOWS" not Window!!
I'm curious to se what MS does with they Blue upgrade... let everything be in windows, bring back the start menu (when I am watching stocks I don't want to scroll through full screen desktop "start" window... it's the little things...

THOUGHTFUL
on Mar 6, 2013

I can vaguely remember Microsoft saying this type of Metro integration could pose a security issue. Perhaps it's easier to fake a system Metro window to fish for a password.

Name of User
on Mar 7, 2013

YES!
And they could even make a step further and provide that (or even better) functionality as a part of "Legacy Essentials Pack", or create additional SKU for 1.5 bln of existing devices.
They would then win both ways - provide an upgrade path for current users who don't have a touch screens but invested into large monitors.
And, by charging little more for that SKU or feature pack, they could still make a case for touch based less expensive solutions.
Unfortunately, it looks like Microsoft decided to make war not love:)

dave
on Mar 6, 2013

See, this is supposed to be the beauty of Windows. As users, we can do this if we want to. And it's good to see that even Paul isn't above trying to do things in the way that MS don't want us to...

CmdrKeene
on Mar 6, 2013

New in Windows -- windows!

ggolcher
on Mar 6, 2013

This is a game-changer for me, I can now comfortably start using Metro apps.

My only feature request would be the ability to pin live tiles to the desktop

Stagyar-zil-Doggo
on Mar 6, 2013

Nice - but wait. Didn't MS say this was not actually possible, because it would break the security / sandboxing / whatnot of the Metro apps?

bradwestness
on Mar 6, 2013

I wouldn't be surprised if it DOES break the sandboxing and security of the WinRT API by exposing it to the old Win32 runtime, but Stardock doesn't really have to care about that in the same way Microsoft does.

It also breaks the suspend/resume app model and negates the battery life savings that the WinRT model provides.

Choice is always a good thing, but I think Microsoft has decent reasons for not enabling this out of the box, my hope is that they don't go out of their way to squash efforts like this.

Let power users hack the system to work how they want it, with the understanding that you're deep into unsupported territory in doing so.

henador
on Mar 7, 2013

By "exposing it to the old Win32 runtime"? Microsoft's Metro *is* a app hosting environment on top of the "old" Win32 runtime, that's all. Try running a WinRT .exe from Windows Explorer -- you get a "host not found" error. The "host" is the Metro shell.
I get feeling that some people think that things like WinRT's File manipulation routines go direct to the disk or driver. They don't. They use CreateFile and the other Win32 APIs.

bradwestness
on Mar 7, 2013

Yes, WinRT is built on top of COM, which is built on top of Win32, but that doesn't change my point: they are likely exposing vulnerabilities that don't exist in a stock Windows 8 install by breaking the sandboxing of WinRT apps. However, that's not as big of a deal for Stardock as it would be for Microsoft.

ptallett
on Mar 7, 2013

Actually if you look at the APIs to launch Modern apps, there's a hWnd parameter to reuse an existing window. I don't think it ought to be necessary to break the sandbox or power management to get this to work.

bradwestness
on Mar 7, 2013

You're losing WinRT's battery life savings by the very nature of running more things concurrently, and not suspending them when you switch away.

SvenJ
on Mar 6, 2013

Cool. I've used a number of Stardocks apps over the years, including some for Win8, that make the transition a bit friendlier (cough, Start8, cough) on a more desktop centered environment.

qhendricks
on Mar 6, 2013

I'm gonna wait on paying for this functionality and see if it actually just comes with Blue. I'd hate to buy this just to run apps in the desktop only for it to come standard after the Blue update.

ScubaDog2008
on Mar 6, 2013

Umm...no. I'm so completely against this. Why can't people just get their heads out of the up-and-locked position regarding the desktop? It's time to put down the buggy whip, folks. I don't have a SINGLE thing on my desktop now. Even all my legacy apps are on the Start screen. If something runs on the desktop, it runs on the desktop. I get incredibly frustrated at the resistance to change.

kayzee
on Mar 7, 2013

Change doesn't necessarily mean something's better...

Siv
on Mar 7, 2013

Some of us have to real productive work and the constant flicking of screen modes drives me mad and the waste of screen real estate on my dual 24" monitors with Metro apps is criminal.

Yes if I am using a tablet I do want Metro apps and I am happy to be limited to two apps per screen and don't mind the new start screen because it does actually work when I am poking about with my finger.

But when I am using a keyboard and mouse and want the chrome to do detailed work I don't want to see anything to do with Metro.

The HUGE mistake Microsoft have made is trying to force desktop/keyboard/mouse users to work in an environment that is really designed for using your finger.

Apple know that you can't force the two completely different paradigms on users in these two completely different environments so why don't Microsoft get it. I absolutely hate Apple by the way, but they have got it right in this respect keeping IOS for tablets and OSX for desktop/laptops.

Without Start8, I would have reverted back to Windows 7 and waited to see if MS fix this madness in Windows 9, but Stardock are making a Windows 8 possible for productivity users. Long may they reign!

ScubaDog2008
on Mar 7, 2013

I DO accomplish "real productive work". And I also have dual 24? monitors. On my right monitor any legacy apps sit. My left holds, obviously, the Metro apps. I have yet to meet, however, anyone who actually is maintaining more than two or three active programs at one time. We do NOT multitask. We SWITCH task. Multitasking is worse than a lie. If I were to point out the biggest weakness is that developers AND Microsoft have yet to fully exploit the real potential of Live Tiles. The very excuse people give for insisting on having 8 windows open on their screen (which is just stupid, in my opinion) is because they claim they are actually working with them. The truth is that they are actually just observing them for a trigger that drives their need to interact with them. Live Tiles need to mature to the point that they perform that very function consistently. If I have Live Tiles feeding me the right info there's no need to ever actually run the app unless I see something flagging my attention. This leaves me to focus on the one or two programs the normal human is actually capable of actively interacting with. As a network administrator, THIS is where I see the value.

As for the keyboard/mouse issue, I've found that I have zero issues controlling Windows 8 without a touch screen. Would I prefer a touch screen? You bet. But I don't feel inhibited in the least. In fact, other than actually needing to type something, I can EASILY operate Windows 8, both sides, with just a mouse.

Name of User
on Mar 7, 2013

"We do NOT multitask. We SWITCH task."

Sure, but cost of switching to task is different between just looking to app showing headers of new emails and reaching a mouse to click on start screen tile to check what is going on.

Supposedly tiles should provide us this "at a glance" functionality but do they really? With window I can choose what to show, where to show and how to show.

That's the whole idea to have windows in the first place, after DOS times! That and ability to have same application show different contents.

pmbAustin
on Mar 7, 2013

I don't understand this complaint: "But when I'm using keyboard and mouse... I don't want to see anything to do with Metro".

So... uh... don't?

Seriously, I don't *get* this complaint. If you're on the desktop, just do the desktop stuff. Pin your most used apps to the task bar. Set program defaults to launch desktop apps instead of metro versions. The only time you'll see the start-screen is on boot-up (not a big deal), and when you want something you don't use often (again, not a big deal), or when you want to do a search of the system for something.

I don't understand how any of that is complaint-worthy. It works great. Use it like a "better Windows 7". I do this all the time.

These complaints remind me of that old comic joke: "Doctor! It hurts when I do this!" showing a man bending his hand completely backwards. The doctor replies "So... don't do that."

Siv
on Mar 8, 2013

The reason it's a complaint is that a lot of stuff like the following switch to Metro:

Starting VPNs
Changing Settings
Plugging in my HTC8X starts a Metro App!?
When I plug in devices that have storage like cameras and USB devices Windows tries to associate the action with Metro apps.

If I am a desktop user I NEVER want any of that Duplo rubbish I want desktop apps period.

As I say, on a tablet, completely the opposite, I do not want to see any Desktop apps. My point is we should get the choice when you install to select the desktop paradigm or the Metro paradigm, better still keep different versions of Windows for desktop or tablet.

There is just too much pain in trying to do both. And NO I do not want to ever lose the desktop environment no matter how much doing that seems to make sense to the drones at Microsoft.

alvatrus
on Mar 6, 2013

If you just showed me the screenshot, I would have thought this article was 22 days early.
Can't fathom why Microsoft can't/won't do this. Perhaps they need to see Windows 8 sales collapse before the penny drops.

Sterling
on Mar 6, 2013

I'm liking the Windows 8 apps Stardocks is releasing. My next computer will most quickly be a tablet so I don't know if I'd buy ModernMix, but it does look like a coo program that bring a missing feature to Microsoft's latest OS.

I also like Decor8 which lets users add custom backgrounds to the Start screen. Paul you asked for this feature also a year ago: http://winsupersite.com/blog/supersite-blog-39/windows8/windows-8-start-...

Out of Start8, Decor8, and ModernMix, I'd buy Decor8. I also own WindowBlinds but haven't used it since switching to Windows 7.

sekyal
on Mar 11, 2013

Yes Decor8 is another great add-on. I wasn't too sure about ModernMix but I'm really enjoying it as I've using Windows 8 for nearly a year now and have found myself moving more and more towards the desktop. ModernMIx though helps keep Metro apps not only easily accessible but see what is running more quickly. Well worth the price, though a shame it wasn't part of the OS to begin with.
side note: I also used Windowsblinds heavily more many years yet stopped once Windows 7 came out. It became less necessary (guess the novelty wore off)

Jonathan Potter
on Mar 6, 2013

This is irrelevant until there are any metro apps worth running. I'm yet to see one that isn't a hugely crippled version of something that's already available for the desktop.

ingenuity1
on Mar 7, 2013

Winner.

rsmith4321
on Mar 6, 2013

Why would you want to use a Metro app in a window, when you can use a Windows app in a window. I've been using Start 8 and haven't touched metro since I was using the beta versions. I just wish the whole metro thing would go away for desktop computers.

freeandeasy
on Mar 7, 2013

"Why would you want to use a Metro app in a window, when you can use a Windows app in a window."

While I currently have no plan on using Metro apps on my Win8 machine, I can see a couple benefits:

1) Apps which have no desktop counterpart (I'm assuming that there are quite a few game apps that are made like this - maybe I'm wrong).

2) Apps which come from the Windows store have the seal-of-approval from MS as being non-hostile, I think. If you are especially malware-conscious, running a windowed metro app may give you a nice combination of safety and flexibility.

Again, I don't plan on doing this now, but if there were a metro app I just had to have, I'd consider it.

Hazard
on Mar 6, 2013

That's what should have been in Win8 for the first place. I wish Win8 would offer an option. Touch-centric UI like it is now, or a Desktop-centric UI where the start screen resides on the desktop background (alongside the taskbar) and with metro apps running in a window. Forcing users into an environment that they don't want to use is just bad.

Rxdiaz
on Mar 6, 2013

Lol, I've said it a hundred times already.

Everyone knows what's wrong with Windows 8. Microsoft just refuses to fix it.

So Stardock is now selling 2 $5.00 programs that together basically fix Windows 8, but MS refuses to budge on this.

I hope that Microsoft either comes to their senses or Windows 8 fails so hard MS is knocked for a loop. This Windows 8 nonsense is a disgrace.

ScubaDog2008
on Mar 8, 2013

And I maintain it's more about what's wrong with users. I just find it impossible to find credibility in people who call themselves power users when they are apparently incapable of adapting a new way of computing. There's just nothing you people can say that will convince me otherwise. I'm not excusing the weakness of native Metro apps--not at all. But we have to be the ones DRIVING the improvements instead of just metaphorically chopping off a leg of the OS because some of us are to stubborn, stupid or lazy to change.

SachaB
on Mar 6, 2013

SWEET!!!

FlyerMike
on Mar 6, 2013

This is how Windows 8 should have always been for desktop/non-touch users. Thanks Stardock!

Wicc999
on Mar 6, 2013

So I guess I'm the only one who doesn't like this. The way to fix it is by adding more functionality to the new interface, not by giving back the power to the dying desktop.

WRowland
on Mar 6, 2013

How does the context sensitive charms bar work for a metro app that's running in a window?

dhahn
on Mar 6, 2013

Does this work on the Windows 8 RT desktop?

pthurrott
on Mar 6, 2013

No, it's Windows 8 only.

pthurrott
on Mar 6, 2013

Perfectly.

wetworker
on Mar 6, 2013

I love it. This is what MS should have done with windows 8 from the get go. I have a 24 inch monitor running at 1920x1200. It's a complete waste of space to have just two apps running in metro.

I love metro as it is on my Surface but the desktop needs a lot more work. Props to Stardock for this.

Screenshot:
http://www.kmt-studio.com/sh/metromix.png

developer
on Mar 6, 2013

I think using stuff like this, is an effort to hack the Windows 8 UI design. What will you do, when Windows 9 with no desktop arrives?

If you do not like Windows 8 UI, use something else, Linux or Windows.

rbwatson0
on Mar 6, 2013

Ummm, Duh!

Ron H
on Mar 6, 2013

I wonder how this affects battery live? If I move away from a windowed modern app to another window, does it get shutdown the way it normally would if it was full screen?

This is very interesting. I'll have to download it and play..

fadingaura
on Mar 6, 2013

Good post. I purchased Start8 and love it. It's amazing what a simple piece of software can do.. and I don't understand why Microsoft doesn't get it.

So far, I use Start8 and Fences from Stardock. I will totally chuck up $5 for this app. Since I started using Windows 8 I've wanted Metro apps in a Window. Why would I want a calculator to take up the full screen and then be constricted to only having it be able to pinned to 1/3 or 2/3 of the screen. It's absurd. Good for them... and honestly, good price point. If it were $20, I wouldn't buy it. For $5, I'm in.

pmbAustin
on Mar 7, 2013

... why the heck wouldn't you just use the Desktop calculator? I haven't seen a metro calculator better than that.

In fact, I haven't seen a metro app yet that's better than a desktop counterpart.

So what's the purpose of this again?

alokk
on Mar 6, 2013

Hi Paul..
very interesting..
can you tell me how the charms and app bar works with the metro apps on desktop?

Thanks..

bennett_cg
on Mar 6, 2013

The low price tag makes it very appealing, but the total lack of compelling WinRT Apps kind if negates my need for it. Music is such a crippled mess that I reverted to the Zune 4.8 client. Reader is nice, but is easily replaced on a traditional desktop. Beyond those, nearly everything else can run just fine from the desktop.

I completely agree that should be a native feature, but so should grown-up apps be.

AlexKven
on Mar 6, 2013

Wow, this is super cool. I think I will buy this. This puts a whole new spin on the desktop. This does break some apps, though, as apps were not developed with this in mind. But this is great for visual studio developers of Metro apps (like me), because they can be debugged like desktop apps.

AlexKven
on Mar 7, 2013

Great idea - This would be a perfect way to get around the screen resolution minimum for metro style apps. Maybe I should have upgraded my netbook.

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