You need a better algorithm for recently used programs

I'll second that.  I would prefer to have it just let me pin what I want to to the list than what it does now.

Well what seems to be the whole problem is that the pane in start8 is called recently used apps, whereas the pane in Windows 7 was called Most Frequently used apps.  That's where the difference comes in.

Start 8 is really neither of those. It neither shows "most recent" nor "most used". There are apps that I use almost every day that will disappear from the menu (e.g. Solitaire - what can I say, I'm addicted), and other apps that I haven't used in awhile, and when I did use them, it was never very much (e.g. HR Block tax software, which I only ran about a dozen times, and have not used for over 2 weeks, that I can recall, is suddenly at the top of the list.)

Also, programs that run because they are in my Startup group show up on the menu. Windows 7 did not do this.

If my vote matters, I prefer the "most used" over "most recent". Most used is much more "use"ful.

The recent apps list is an area we plan to tweak for future updates, possibly allowing user preferences to alter the weighting as everyone has different preferences.

Great news - thanks!

I like it the way it is.

It works just as I would expect.

Programs that I only use seldom don't move straight to the recently used list for me.

I fully agree with rkobriger post.

I liked very much Windows 7 ability to learn which applications I use more often and provide them on the start menu for quick access.

Start8 seems unable to learn which applications I use more frequently and provide them for convenient access on the Start8 menu. The list that appears when pressing the Start8 button seems sort of random. Or at least I could not figure out the logic used by Start8 to select which applications to show on the Start8 menu. The list does show some of the most recently used programs, as Chris123XP pointed out, but the list also includes programs I have not used for months!

I wish Start8 could figure out what algorithm Windows 7 was using and bring it back to Start8.

YES YES YES for most FREQUENTLY USED bubbling to the top

> Keep track of how often I use the shortcut from the start menu

> Starting a shortcut increments a score for that shortcut, score += 1

> Using the score, the start menu lists the highest to lowest from top to bottom

> If an item is removed manually, set its score = -1

> If an item is right-clicked and 'Never show in start8 launcher' is selected, set its score = -65535

Items that I launch once every month move to the middle of the list and replace items I use daily.

I have more interesting behavior of Start8! It suddenly can "reset" the recently used programs list and place there programs I have used long ago!

I agree this is an area of improvement.  I believe Windows 7 does a much better job of listing frequently used apps vs. the recently used approach by Start8.  I'm surprised MS does not expose an API that is already tracking this that Start8 can tap into.  However, what I don't want to have to do is configure it or give certain applications one weight vs. another.  It should be intelligent to figure this out on its own the way Windows 7 does.

I am seeing a mixture of programs and files in the recently used list.   I thought it was supposed to be just programs.

Confused...

Gary

Hi, is there a chance that Version 1.17 will include the algorithm of Win7 or the possibility to Switch it?

PS: Sorry for my bad English.

I've experienced similar odd behaviors with Start8 v1.41's app/program list.  The start menu program list randomly changes. The only pattern is it seems like this sometimes happens when my laptop wakes up out of hibernation in Windows 8.1.  It doesn't always happen, but when it does my program list is nothing like what it was before the laptop hibernated.  Coming out of hibernation it is an old list of apps/programs I haven't used in a while.  For example, it listed the Netflix app and I know I haven't used it in several months.  Every time I end up having to clean it up by removing the "not most recently used" items.  

I prefer to clear the MRU list every time I start a new task/job, as the last job may have been Visual Studio development work, but the current job may now be photoediting and illustration.

It does not appear to be possible to clear the MRU in Start8 at all, either through context menu, settings or registry entry.

Where is the MRU stored, and how do we reset it?

all I can see is a list of photos I moved and there are over 500 of them it is a pain to unpin every one induvidually 

davlaw55 - Why are you unpinning them, I believe you should be able to clear that list out by removing the shortcuts in the folder they reside in.

You clear the MRU in the same way you did on Windows 7.  It is the very same list.

That seems to have done it thanks