1. Configure the Start Menu feature
The main configuration options for Windows 10 Start Menu are located in the Settings app. You can access Settings from the Start Menu or by right-clicking on the Desktop and choosing “Personalize”.
“Show more tiles”
The Start Menu’s default behavior is to have three columns of medium-sized tiles in a tile group. If you want to have an extra column so you can have two large or large tiles lying side by side in a group, then turn this option on. We’ll talk about groups of bricks a bit.
“Sometimes showing suggestions in Start”
If you enable this feature, you’ll allow Windows 10 to show ads for recommended apps.
“Show most used apps”
This option shows your list of most frequently used apps at the top left of the Start menu. You’ve been using Windows 10 longer, and this list will be more representative. One thing to note is that once you add a program to the tile area, it no longer appears in this list.
“Show recently added apps”
Before Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 14328, this only showed the latest app you have installed. In later builds, it will show three.
“Use Start full screen”
Turn this feature on to use the entire screen to show your tiles, just like you can see on a tablet. Text items typically placed on the left-hand side of the regular start menu are currently hidden. However, you can access them via the “hamburger” icon. Once you have selected an app (or pressed exit to cancel), you will return to the standard screen.
“Show recently opened items in Jump Lists on Start or taskbar”
This makes it easier for you to access recent files without trawling through File Explorer. Jump Lists are associated with individual applications and show the files most recently used by that application:
“Choose which folders appear on Start”
This allows you to add links to standard folders such as Documents, Downloads, Music, or Pictures.
2. Add your most useful keyboard shortcuts
To pin an app to the Start Menu as a tile, locate the Start Menu’s required app. Right-click on it, and select “Pin to Start” If you want to add it as a tile, drag and drop it into the tile area of the Start Menu. To unpin from the Start Menu, right-click on the tile and choose “Unpin from Start”.
3. Uninstall the application
You can uninstall an application from the Start Menu by right-clicking on it and choosing Uninstall. This operation is not as smart as you might expect. It merely opens optional programs and features in the control panel and doesn’t highlight the selected apps. However, it saves you a few clicks.
4. Brick group
This, for me, is one of the best features of the new Windows 10 Start Menu. It allows me to quickly find the apps I need for the specific tasks I perform all the time.
Once you have the individual tiles the way you want, you can move them into groups. Just leave a bit of space between a group of tiles and a sequel, and Windows 10 will figure out what you’re trying to do.
Hover over the group, and a small icon with two horizontal lines appears. Click it and type a name for the group.
5. Go back to the Windows 7 interface
If you’re not the whole look, you can change the Start Menu to a fair estimate of an older version of Windows 7. Just delete all tiles in the tile area (by right-clicking each turn and selecting “Unpin from Start”). When all the tiles are gone, you need to resize the Start Menu so that the tile area disappears. If that isn’t “Windows 7” enough for you, consider using a third-party utility like Classic Shell.
