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Information You Can Use |
Neil Stahfest, Vice President, Tacoma Area PC User Group, Washington Nov 2011 issue, the Data Line NCStahfest (at) msn.com www.tapcug.org |
How closely have you looked at the Windows Start Menu? As you know the Start Menu is the primary method Windows uses for starting programs, finding files and running utilities. Most people, however, aren’t aware of how much you can change its appearance and functions to customize it match your needs and whims.
To change the Start Menu, begin by right-clicking on the Windows Start button
and then left click on Properties. When the “Taskbar and Start Menu Properties”
window opens see Figure 1), click on the “Start Menu” tab. As usual, Microsoft
provides help near the bottom of the screen. Just click on “How do I change the
way the Start menu looks?” Note the button next to “Power button action.” Unlike
previous versions of Windows, when you select the “Shut Down” button, Windows
will let you actually turn off your computer without the need to click on
additional buttons. By clicking on this menu option you can change the default
Power Button action to Restart, Hibernate, Sleep, Switch User, Logoff or Lock.
Continuing down the menu window, under the “Privacy” heading, you can also
change options for displaying recently opened programs on the Start menu and the
Taskbar.
Below “Power button action” we see a heading labeled “Privacy.” Here we have an option to store and display recently opened programs on the Start menu as well as an option to store and display recently opened “items.” In this case, items refers to picture and various types of document files that you opened by programs listed in the Start menu.
Near the top of the Start menu is a “Customize” button. If you click on it,
you will see the “Customize Start Menu” (Figure 2). This menu contains a lot of
information. You’ll see options relating to the Control Panel, Printers,
Downloads, Menus and many others.
Pull down the scroll bar on the right side of the menu until you see “Use large icons” (marked in yellow). Try checking and unchecking the box next to it to see how it changes the appearance of your Start Menu.
Notice that you can also change the number of recent run programs (circled in blue) that are listed in the left pane of the Start Menu. Depending upon the size of your computer’s display, you can list up to 30 programs.
As the list of programs in the Start Menu gets longer it may get more difficult to find the program you want. Click on the box next to “Sort All Programs menu by name” to make it easier to find what you are looking for.
Note, if you get too carried away experimenting with these options and make a mess of things, there is a button at the bottom of the menu to return everything to Microsoft’s default settings.