The Start menu is the gateway to all the programs on your computer. Understanding the various options in the Window 7 Start menu will help you organize and find exactly what you need quickly. Here is a list of things that you can do to customize the Start menu to your requirements. Once you know the ways to organize programs on the Start menu, you are on your way to working more productively.
Ways to Organize Programs and Items On The Start Menu
1. Show or Hide Programs
1. Right-click the Start button and choose Properties.
2. In the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box, click Customize.
3. In the Customize Start Menu dialog box, select the Don’t display this item option to hide it from the Start menu.
OR
Check the relevant program checkbox to show the items on the menu.
4. In the Start menu size section, in the Number of recent programs to display spin box, select the number of items you want to view on the start menu.
2. Add More Items
1. Drag an icon of the program, document, or folder from the desktop or the taskbar to the Start menu to add it to the menu.
3. Rename Start Menu Items
Right-click an item at the top half of the Start menu (on the right) and select Rename to rename the items.
4. Reorder Items
You can re-order the items in the top-right of the menu by dragging and dropping them up or down the top section of the menu.
You can also drag an item from the lower-left section of the Start menu to the top-right of the menu. However, you cannot re-order items within the lower-left section of the menu.
5. Pin Items
You can pin an item to the Start menu by right-clicking the item and choosing Pin to Start Menu.
6. Access Recently Used Documents or Tasks
You can simply hover the mouse pointer over an item in the Start menu that has a small black triangle, to view a list of the most recently used items associated with that item. For example, if you hover the mouse pointer over the Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 icon, a list of the recently accessed presentations is displayed to the right of the Start menu.
7. Search For Applications
TheStart Menu Search text box enables you to search for applications, documents, pictures, and other files quickly and easily. The Start Menu Search is integrated with the instant search functionality, which means that the search results are displayed as you type. You can also search the internet using the text box.
8. Move Items to the Task Bar
If you feel more comfortable accessing the Start menu programs from the Task bar, you can simply drag and drop or right-click the item on the Start menu and pin them to the task bar. This will remove the item from the Start menu. Unpinning them from the task bar will return the item back to the Start menu.
These are some of the simple ways in which you can organize your Start menu and make files and programs easily accessible to you.
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