Use PowerShell to change number of App Tile Rows on Windows 8 Start Screen

If you are using Windows 8.1/8, you must have observed, the number of rows for the tiles on the Start Screen is fully dependent on the screen resolution or window size that fits on your Windows Screen by default. But sometimes may want to display a specific number of rows of tiles on the Start Screen that is not dependent on the screen size. And there's no direct option to change this number of tile rows.

In one of our earlier post, we have seen how to change this using Registry Editor. In this post, we will see how to change the number of app tiles rows on Windows 8 Start Screen using PowerShell Script and VBScript. You don't have to know the coding - these ready-made scripts are provided on the TechNet Script Center Gallery. You just have to run the script. We will see both the methods, one now and the other method in our next post. By default, my PC has 5 rows of app tiles. What I'll do is, change it to 3 using Power Shell Script and change back to 5 using VBS in the next post.

Change Number of App Tile Rows in Windows 8.1

So first of all go to TechNet Script Center Gallery to download the PowerShell zip file from Microsoft. Now that you have downloaded the script file extract its contents.

Now as said we will make use of PowerShell Script. Just unzip or extract all the contents of ChangeNumberOfAppsTileRows (PowerShell).zip. The contents will be extracted to a folder . The folder will have the Script Module ChangeNumberOfAppsTileRows.psm1. We have to run this in PowerShell Console.

Now start Windows PowerShell as administrator. (If you haven't got PowerShell pinned to the taskbar, just follow this. On the start screen just type PowerShell and it'll list the app Windows PowerShell. Just right click on it and from app bar below, click on Pin to taskbar, now you have the Windows Power Shell icon on task bar)

Now we have PowerShell console opened. To run the script in the Windows PowerShell Console, type the command:

This command will change the number of tile rows on the Start screen.

When the script finishes running, it'll show the message in the console as done Successfully . And then you'll be promoted in the console to log off action. Type Y and it'll signout. And when you sign-in back the number of tile rows will be changed to 3.

Simple, right? So that's how you use the PowerShell Script to change the number of App Tile rows on Start screen.

In our next post we will see how to use VBScript to change Windows 8 Start Screen Number Of App Row Tiles.

Thanks, Vasudev Gurumurthy, MVP.