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How to Personalize the Windows XP Start Menu
Windows XP may be old but it is still the world’s most popular operating system. From time to time, I will post some of the best XP tips for the benefit of the many readers who continue to use this operating system.
When you first got your Windows computer, it probably had a default setup for the Start menu. This default may or may not be the best for your particular uses. I have found that many people are unaware that there are a number of options for configuring the Start menu to suit their own way of doing things and that the default settings are very easy to change on a per-user basis.
A previous tip gave the procedure for customizing the Start menu in Windows 7 and now it is Windows XP’s turn. Here are the steps to a more useful Start menu:
- Right-click the Start button.
- Select “Properties” in the context menu.
- Make sure the “Start Menu” tab is selected.
- Click the “Customize” button.
Figure 1 below shows the menu that opens. As you can see from the figure, there are a number of settings shown in this dialog, including whether to display an Internet Explorer icon, the size of icons, and how many program shortcuts to display. After you make any changes, click “OK”.
But the settings that are shown in Figure 1 are just the beginning. For more options, click the “Advanced” tab to open the window shown in Figure 2. Among other things, this dialog contains a scrolling window where a variety of ways to configure, add, or remove menu items are available. After making any changes, be sure to click “OK”.
And there you have it, a new Start menu with your personal choices.
More information: A more detailed description of customizing the Windows XP Start menu can be found at this link.
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This tips section is maintained by Vic Laurie. Vic runs several websites with Windows how-to's and tutorials, including a computer education website and a site for learning about the command line.
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Comments
using the technique I originally posted. i created the 10 folders.
entertainment, graphics, internet, miscellaneous, office, security & utilities. The other folders were created by xp - accessories, start up & games.
entertainment is further broken down into video, audio & players using the same technique. I did the same for the other files selecting my categories.
I should also point out that I used this for many years without problems but I now use Mad App Launcher from the desktop for the majority of my most used progs. I certainly wouldn't recommend collecting 300+ progs!!
https://sites.google.com/site/madapplauncher/
Portable Start Menu is another good choice for launching programs by category you set. Unlimited programs per category, support drag-and-drop to set up a shortcut, good for both local PCs and USB sticks.
Would you please provide a more graphic example of your suggestion?
While I feel your suggestion could and should be both a wonderful idea and self explanatory I find that it isn't that easy to understand how you managed to combine 300 programs into 10 categories.
Specific, even made up files, would be helpful.
Regards
Nice article and if you really want to pimp your start menu then do the following
Right click on start and select explore.
Move end through to start menu and click programs
In the right pane, right click your mouse and select 'new' then 'file' name it as you wish. Example 'graphics' you can then drag all your graphics programs in to this file. You can also create further sub files in graphics if you wish.
By using this method you can group your programs neatly into collections of type of your choice.
I have about 300 programs grouped into 10 files like this.
If you add a new program you can just drag and drop from the start menu into the correct folder.
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