Customize your Start menu
Published: September 7, 2006
The Start menu is the gateway to your programs, your computer's settings, and the Internet. Over time, however, the Start menu can get so cluttered that you have to work to find what you need. If you've ever stared at your All Programs menu for more than a second trying to find a program, it's time to organize it.
To make your Start menu more manageable, you can:
The sections that follow describe each of these techniques. Even if you have just a few minutes to spare, read the first section—it will save you time over the long run.
Pin commonly used programs to the Start menu
If you have a hard time finding applications in your All Programs menu, you can "pin" your favorite applications to the Start menu (you are actually pinning the applications' icons to the Start menu). This way, they will appear in the Start menu when you click the Start button. Then you can start the application with just two mouse clicks—without opening the All Programs menu.
To pin a program to the Start menu
1. | Click the Start button. 
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2. | Click All Programs. 
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3. | Right-click the program you want to pin to the Start menu, and then click Pin to Start menu. 
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The program appears on the upper-left side of the Start menu. To start the program, click the Start button, and then click the program.
To remove (or unpin) a program icon that you've pinned to the Start menu
1. | Click the Start button.
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2. | Right-click the program you want to remove from the Start menu, and then click Unpin from Start menu. 
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Reorganize the folders in your All Programs menu
When you install a new program, Microsoft Windows XP adds it to the bottom of your All Programs menu. That's like a library shelving books according to when they were published—you might have a hard time finding the one you're looking for. Luckily, you have total control over the organization of your All Programs menu; you just need to take a minute and arrange it.
To reorganize your All Programs menu
1. | Right-click the Start button, and then click Explore. 
Windows XP opens an Explorer window showing your Start menu. In the Programs subfolder, you can create organizational folders, such as Games, Media, and Internet. Later, you can move programs into those folders according to their categories. |
2. | Create a subfolder of the Programs folder: | • | a. Click Programs. 
| | • | b. Click the File menu, click New, and then click Folder. 
| | • | c. Type a name for the folder, and then press ENTER. 
| | • | d. Repeat steps a-c to add more organizational folders, if needed. |
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3. | Now that you have created your organizational folders, you can move programs into those folders: | • | a. Click the Programs folder. 
| | • | b. In the right pane, drag the program icon or folder you want to move into your organizational folder. 
| | • | c. Repeat steps a-b to move more programs, if needed. |
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Now, browse through your All Programs menu to test your new organization. You may see programs in your All Programs menu that did not appear in the Explorer window. These programs were installed for anyone who uses your computer, while the programs you organized in steps 1-3 were installed for just your user account.
To organize the programs that all users can access
1. | Right-click the Start button, and then click Explore All Users. 
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2. | Follow the steps outlined in the preceding section, beginning with step 2. You may notice that programs reappear in the Start menu after you have moved them. When you install a program update, the update will sometimes restore the original links. You can safely delete these links by right-clicking them in the All Programs menu and then clicking Delete. The links from your customized Programs folders will remain intact. 
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