How to Tidy up your Windows 10 Start Menu

I don’t know about you, but my Windows 10 Start Menu is a mess. I’ve never really customized it, and I rarely use it.

Fortunately, Windows 10’s Start menu is very customizable – even if it’s not as user-friendly as the one we saw in Windows 7.

Today, we’re going to show you how to improve your Windows 10 Start menu and make it more usable.

Cleaning Up the All Apps Menu

By default, the All Apps menu lists all of your software, games, and applications – including the readme files and any additional data. You might think there’s no way to unclutter the menu by reducing the number of folders or deleting shortcuts. However, that’s not the case.

First, you’ll want to move all your Start menu folders into a common folder. By default, they’re held in two folders. Moving them into one folder helps us organize them more easily.

Start by opening File Explorer. Then, click on the View menu and enable “Hidden items”. Then, navigate to your C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\StartMenu folder.

Open a second File Explorer window, then navigate to the folder C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\StartMenu

Go back to the first window, right-click on the programs folder, and click Cut. Then, move to the other folder and right-click, then select paste. Click Continue if you see an alert requesting admin permission, and click through a warning to “Do this for all current items.”

Once you’ve done that, you can work directly from the Start Menu folder (the second folder you opened) to organize your Start menu.

This is where you can get creative. You can organize all your browsers into one single “Browser” folder, for example, instead of having separate locations for Firefox, Chrome, and Opera. To do that, just create a new folder called Web Browsers (right click and select new folder), then store all the shortcuts for those browsers inside.

Check to see if it worked. Open your Start menu, then look for your browsers folder.

Other recommended improvements include creating a gaming folder or an entertainment folder.

Create new folders, delete old folders, and check the Start Menu when you’re done.

A Word of Warning: You can’t create or move subfolders into parent folders in the All Apps list, nor can you move Windows apps into different folders. Windows apps are stubborn and won’t want to move. however, you can always move your individual shortcuts into other folders.

Change your Start Menu Title

Open your Start Menu. In the top right corner, you should see a section called “Life at a Glance”. Click the two horizontal lines beside that menu item, then rename the Start menu whatever you like. This title is completely changeable.

Altering Start Menu Tiles

Changing the other parts of your Start menu – like your tiles – is easy. Just open the Start Menu, then right-click on the tile you want to change.

You can resize each tile, remove it from the menu, or select other options. If you never download Microsoft apps, for example, then you may want to remove the app store from your Start menu.

By following the tips listed above, you can get a fully optimized and sleek Start menu in no time!

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tips,windows 10