Get a FREE fully-working copy of Steganos Security Suite 7 (worth £49.99) when you sign up to the Practical PC Newsletter. More on XP's Start Menu
Kai Chandler delves further into the vagaries of Windows XP's new-look start menu, for those that haven't already changed it back to the traditional look
Part 1 of this short series looked at how to organise programs in Window's XP's new Start Menu. There are quite a few other interesting things about the Start Menu and we'll cover them here. For example: the two appearances of Start Menu, the Most Frequently Used Programs list and the Pinned Items List. Plus, how to customize the Start Menu's appearance.
Two views but only one Start Menu
The standard or default view of the Start Menu comprises frequently used programs on the left side and frequently used folders on the right. If you preferred the classic Start Menu as found in older versions of Windows then don't worry - it's easy to switch between one and the other.
To switch between the default and the Classic Start Menu just right click on the Start button and select Properties. There are two tabs; one for Taskbar and the other for Start Menu. Select the tab for Start menu and you'll be able to choose between the two views.
Compared with the default menu, the Classic Start Menu lacks the Pinned Items list. Other entries such as My Documents, and My Computer are moved onto the desktop as long as you use the classic menu.
The Most Frequently Used Programs list
Windows keeps note of your most frequently used programs and maintains a list on the Start Menu. This makes it quick and easy to run say, Word or AOL without cluttering up your desktop with icons. Only programs with a .exe suffix are candidates for this list so anything else is ignored.
You can remove an icon from the Most Frequently Used Programs list by right clicking the icon and selecting Remove from this list. Don't worry - the program itself remains unchanged. Only the entry here is removed. You can also rename or copy icons.
When the list is full, a new frequently used program will knock off a less-used program. If you want to keep some favourite programs here then the answer is to pin them to the list.
The Pinned Items List
You can add a program to the Pinned Items List which lives just above the Most Frequently Used Programs List (whew, there are lots of lists!) by dragging its icon from the desktop or from Windows Explorer to the Start icon.
Icons can be renamed or removed in a similar way to the Most Frequently Used Programs list. You can also Unpin which moves the icon back down to the Most Frequently Used Programs list.
More on sorting the All Programs list
An earlier Computing Guide looked at how to use sort the entries in the All Programs list one by one by dragging the icon to its new position. If you want to sort them all by name, then just right click on the list of programs and select 'Sort by Name'. They'll be arranged in two lists - an alphabetical list of folder names followed by a list of menu items.
Customize it!
There are lots of settings that you can define by right clicking the Start button and selecting Properties, Start Menu and then the Customize icon. For example, you can:
- use small icons to give you more choices on the screen
- set the number of programs in the Most Frequently Used Programs list
There's also an Advanced tab where you can define which Start Menu icons to display. For example, you can suppress My Music or Network Connections icons.
Finally, there is an option to clear the list of Recent Documents. This may be of interest if you share your computer with others and are concerned about your privacy.
