I was wondering if anyone knows if there is, or will be, a way to control which Metro apps are included in your base image to deploy to workstations?  I made a (very) rough image of Windows 8 CP and noticed when I logged in with a new user account,
apps like XBox, Pinball, Solitaire, SkyDrive, Messaging, etc. were automatically installed.  I had removed these apps when creating the image while logged in with the admin account I created so obviously Metro apps are 'user specific' which is a
bit of a problem.  I don't see a way to remove them via 'Programs and Features' so I'm looking for a way to control which Metro apps get intitially installed when a new user logs in since most apps like these aren't going to be allowed to be used in our enterprise.

Also, will there be a way to add Tiles to the Metro interface so they show up when a new user account logs in?  We would want to add some Tiles for basic items, such as Data Source admin, and other various items.  We would want these Tiles to automatically
show up, and be organized into groups, in the Metro screen when a new user account logs in.  As it is, it seems a new user gets a pre-ordained list of Metro apps and we'd like to control what Metro apps are included, add new Tiles so they show up for everyone, and organize them into groups that has some sort of logical organization to them.

Hello Arthur.  Thank you for the reply and the link.  I have saved this link for future reference in the event we want to sideload in house developed Metro apps.

Unfortunately this link does not address the situation of my questions.  We are looking to "permanently" remove certain Metro apps for "All Users".  i.e. - No matter which user account logs into the pc, we don't want Pinball or XBox or SkyDrive
showing up for them.  In Windows 7 this is easily accomplished as we can simply uninstall the program or Windows feature via 'Programs and Features', but in Windows 8, none of the preinstalled Metro Apps and features show up anywhere that we can completely remove all traces of them.

We also are looking for how to customize the Metro Start screen with additional shortcuts/tiles and have the Metro Start screen tiles organized into groups in a logical manner.  If the plan were to deploy Windows 8 to thousands of computers in our enterprise,
we absolutely must have a consistent, and controllable, Metro Start screen showing up.  With Windows 7 and a (real) Start Menu, this is easy.  But with Metro, it seems like the tiles are just randomly thrown on the desktop with no common sense for
how they are laid out our grouped.  (We are really quite frustrated with the Metro interface at this point and this is one of the primary reasons we are considering skipping Windows 8.  It seems that Microsoft almost doesn't want us to have any control over over the interface or options to make it more usable for our users.)

Hello dansimp,

thanks for the great info - but I can`t find the AppsFolderLayout.bin in my win8 rp Version - where can I find the Windows 8 Enterprise?

thanks for an tip and greatings from Italy

Has anyone been able to manage the start screen for users post-implementation of the image and users logging in.  I have a post with a similar goal for managing the start screen post rollout to manage the users start screen expeerience across a medium to large size organization of mostly functional users (1000+ Tablets and 10,000+ users).

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w8itproinstall/thread/315825fc-3efa-432d-8355-597416375e7b 

With high turn over and standardized training materials it is critical to ensure that the users Start Screen experience is consistent and managed to make sure it is always the same and can be changed programatically across the chain at any given time to pin new items and remove old pinned items as needed.

Thanks..Jon

Jon Kaloz

I have to say with the drastic interface change from Windows 7 to Windows 8, I'm more than a little disappointed (and frustrated) with Microsoft not making it EASY to customize the Metro Screen, pre-load or remove Metro Apps, create Metro Groups, etc., for the Default User profile.  Is it their intent that only home users migrate to Windows 8?

It seems like Windows 8 is just so inflexible and 'cold'.  You can't even customize the Metro background, let alone the logon or lock screen backgrounds.  But the task of customizing the most important part of Windows 8, which is the interface
that all users must use, is an effort in frustration.  Why is something so important not made EASIER to deal with in each new version of Windows?  The 'CopyProfile' only appeared to copy minimal items to me to the default user profile.  And now it appears you're left with "manually" trying to move stuff around and hope it's in the right place and works, plus if you don't use the Enterprise version some customizing abilities may not exist?