Customizing the Start Menu


In addition to adding desktop icons, you can add programs to the Start menu and change how the Start menu looks. For instance, you may prefer the Classic Start menu (the one from previous Windows versions), or you may prefer to list more or fewer programs on the left pane. You can also select whether to list the Internet and E-mail programs, as well as which programs are used for these commands. This section covers these topics.

Pinning a Program to the Start Menu

When you install most programs, they are automatically added to the Start menu. You can then start programs by clicking Start, All Programs. Windows XP also enables you to pin a program to your Start menu. When you pin a program, it is always listed at the top left of the Start menu (with the Internet and E-mail programs).

tip

When you pin a program to your Start menu, it is placed in the left pane of the menu. You can drag the pinned program to the My Documents, My Pictures, or My Music folders, but nowhere else within the Start menu.


To pin a program to the Start menu, follow these steps:

1.

Display the program for which you want to create a shortcut. You don't have to find the actual program file. You can use the program name listed in the Start menu, either on the left side (for commonly used programs) or on the All Programs list.

2.

Right-click the program name and click the Pin to Start menu command (see Figure 14.3). The program is then added to your Start menu. Figure 14.4, for instance, shows Word listed on the top left part of the Start menu. Word will always be listed there for fast access until you delete or unpin it.

Figure 14.3. You can use the Start menu to list the program you want to pin.


Figure 14.4. You can pin commonly used programs to the Start menu so that the program is always listed.


Unpinning a Program to the Start Menu

If you don't want the program listed anymore (at least not on the top part of the Start menu), you can remove it by unpinning it. To unpin a program, follow these steps:

1.

Click Start to display the Start menu.

2.

Right-click the program you want to unpin. You then see the shortcut menu.

3.

Click Unpin from Start menu. The program is no longer listed on that part of the Start menu. (However, the program name still appears in the All Programs list.)

Note that you cannot unpin Internet or E-mail, but you can hide them by customizing the Start menu (a topic covered in "Changing the Appearance of the Start Menu," later in this section).

Rearranging Programs on the Start Menu

Another way to change the Start menu is to change the order of the programs listed. You can rearrange the order of the programs. To do so, click the item you want to move and then drag it to the new location in the Start menu.

Changing the Appearance of the Start Menu

You have more options on how the Start menu appears. For instance, if you have upgraded from a previous version of Windows, you may prefer the old style (called Classic). You may want to change the number of programs listed on the left pane. You may choose not to list the Internet or E-mail programs, or you may want to use programs for these tasks other than the defaults. (Internet Explorer is the default program for the Internet command. Outlook Express is usually the default program for the E-mail command.)

Follow these steps to make a change to the Start menu:

1.

Right-click a blank part of the taskbar and select Properties from the shortcut menu.

tip

For information on customizing the taskbar, see Chapter 13, "Customizing Windows XP."

2.

Click the Start Menu tab (see Figure 14.5).

Figure 14.5. Here you can select the Classic Start menu and access customizing features.


3.

To use the Classic Start menu, click Classic Start menu. To use the regular, default menu, click Start menu.

4.

Click OK.

Or

If you want to make additional customizing changes, click the Customize button. You'll see the Customize Start Menu dialog box. This dialog box varies depending on what menu you selected for Step 3. Figure 14.6 and the following steps explain the options for customizing the regular Start menu.

Figure 14.6. This figure shows the options for customizing the Windows XP style Start menu.


5.

From this dialog box, you can do any of the following:

Windows XP uses large icons. If you have several programs, making the Start menu long, you can choose to use small icons. Click Small Icons in the first part of the dialog box.

tip

To clear the list of programs on the Start menu, click Clear List.

Select the number of recently used programs to list on the left side of the Start menu.

To turn off the commands for starting your Internet and/or email programs, uncheck the option(s). To use a different program for either, display the drop-down list next to the program type and then select the program to use.

tip

For more advanced options, click the Advanced tab in the Customize Start Menu dialog box and then make any changes. Here, you can add a list of recently opened Documents (as in past Windows versions). You can also select which items are listed. As a beginner, it's best to stick with the defaults, but you may want to click this tab and view the options so that you know what's available.

6.

Click OK to put your changes into effect.



    Absolute Beginner's Guide to Microsoft Windows XP
    Absolute Beginners Guide to Windows XP (2nd Edition)
    ISBN: 078973432X
    EAN: 2147483647
    Year: 2005
    Pages: 176
    Authors: Shelley OHara

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