Add Shutdown, Restart and Log Off Tiles in Windows 8 Start Screen

Regardless of whether you are an Apple lover, Google guru or an old faithful Microsoft worshipper, the current technological climate represents an excellent time to be involved in, as a user of hardware and software. The majority of the major players in the tech business seem to have some exciting new pieces of kit about to hit the public eye, with Apple set to imminently launch the new iPad and possibly Apple TV, Google looking likely to seed their new Android Jelly Bean in the coming months and Microsoft finally releasing the Consumer Preview of their new Windows 8 operating system.

How to Shutdown, Restart or Log Off in Windows 8

As Amit Agarwal said on labnol.org:

The regular approach I this. As there are no “shutdown” buttons in Windows 8, you can switch to the desktop view and press Alt+F4 to bring the Shut Down menu or the other option is that you press the shortcut key Win+C, go to Settings –> Power –> Shut down.

That’s too many steps especially when you are in a dual-boot environment and need to switch from one OS to another.

Wouldn’t it more convenient if you could create simple tiles – like any other metro app – and place them on the Windows 8 desktop so that you can Shut down, Log off or Restart your Windows 8 computer with a simple click (or tap).

Enter CreateButtons.vbs – this is a simple utility (or rather a script) that will automatically add Shut Down and other related buttons to your Windows 8 screen. There’s no installation required – just download the file to your desktop and double-click to create the various buttons.

Also, here’s the full source code of the VB script in case you are curious to know what it does behind the scenes. It may not be the most efficient piece of code but it will do the trick.