Go straight to the desktop after closing apps in Windows 8.1

Windows 8.1 is a massive improvement over its predecessor, and allows you to pretty much ignore the Modern UI if you have no need for it, or Windows apps in general. It lets you boot straight to the desktop now, and the new Apps screen works fine as a Start menu, in my opinion (sure it’s not as good as an actual Start menu, but you soon get used to it).

But just because you rarely use the Modern UI doesn’t mean you won’t ever want to use apps, and if -- like me -- you occasionally leave the desktop and dip into an app or two, you’ll have noticed that when you’ve finished with your apps and close them Windows will return you to the Start screen.

To avoid that, right-click the Taskbar and go to Properties. Click or tap the Navigation tab. Under "Start screen" you’ll see an option that says "When I sign in or close all applications on a screen, go to the desktop instead of Start", tick this and the problem will be solved.

From the here you can also display your desktop wallpaper on the Start screen (which makes switching between desktop and Modern UI modes less grating), and select the Apps screen as your default.

There’s also an option which will "List desktop apps first in the Apps view when it’s sorted by category" which I find pretty useful.

It’s little touches like this which make Windows 8.1 more appealing for the desktop user, although the fact you have to spend a while customizing everything to make it less annoying won’t win Microsoft many friends.

via BetaNews http://feeds.betanews.com/~r/bn/~3/1hLIwG_fCX8/