OblyTile, the fantastic free software that allows you create custom tiles on the Start screen of Windows 8/8.1 doesn’t support the latest Windows 10 operating system yet. The tool was really helpful for users to customize the Start screen by creating their own tiles to quickly access files, programs, and URLs.
Some programs available on the Store app although have been updated for Windows 10, they don’t allow you create custom tiles for desktop programs.
Fortunately, a Windows enthusiast has just released a free app to create custom tiles on Windows 10’s Start menu with ease.
TileCreator
TileCreator is the OblyTile for Windows 10. With TileCreator app you can pin images, files, folders, and traditional desktop programs to the Start menu of Windows 10. Like OblyTile, it gives you the liberty to choose tile background color and text color.
Although TileCreator can be installed from the Store using the link provided at the end of this article, there is a catch. The TileCreator app that you installed from the Store will not support creating tiles for desktop applications out of the box.
Because Windows 10 doesn’t allow desktop applications to pin tiles to the Start menu (this is the reason why OblyTile doesn’t work in Windows 10) and Store apps don’t have the capability to run programs from the local computer, the developer has released another utility called Tile Creator Proxy that you need to install alongside the Tile Creator app.
How to install and use TileCreator on Windows 10
If you are confused and not sure and not sure how to get it working, please follow the given below instructions.
Step 1: Navigate to Windows Store page to install the free TileCreator app.
Step 2: Once the app installed, you need to download another small utility called Tile Creator Proxy. Click here to download Tile Creator Proxy executable.
Step 3: Next, run the downloaded Tile Creator Proxy with administrator rights. To do so, right-click on TileCreatorProxy.exe file and then click Run as administrator.
Step 4: Next, open up drive where Windows 10 is installed. You will see a folder named TileCreator.
Step 5: Double-click on TileCreator folder and open the file named ApprovedApps with Notepad application.
Step 6: Here, you need to type in the name (key) and full path to the program that you want to pin to the Start menu. After adding program names and their paths, save the file.
Step 7: Finally, launch Tile Creator app, enter a name, select a picture, tile color, and text color.
Step 8: In the Approved Apps Key field, type in the name of the app that you have already added to the ApprovedApps file in Step5.
Click Pin Tile button to see the newly added tile on the Start. If you can’t see the newly added tile, please sign out and then sign in again.
And if you’re getting Please enter in an Approved App Key (Letters Only) error when you click Pin Tile button, it’s likely because you are trying to pin a tile without adding it to the ApprovedApps file or have used a special character in its name.
Note that TileCreator is only for Windows 10 and doesn’t support Windows 8 or 8.1. If you’re on 8/8.1, please use the OblyTile software.