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In previous Windows 8 and 8.1 versions, users expressed dissatisfaction when Microsoft removed the Start Menu button, but Microsoft brought it back in Windows 10. In the Windows 10 Anniversary update, significant changes were made to the Start Menu, optimizing its features for user convenience. While the Windows 10 Start Menu is highly convenient, fully utilizing its features requires exploring some useful customization methods for both the Start Menu and Taskbar.
10 Ways to Customize the Start Menu Interface: Tailoring Your Windows 10 Start Menu
Customize the Windows 10 Start Menu with Organization, Editing, Removing, Adding New Items to the App List
- You can access the Start Menu folder on the drive and edit, rearrange, or add new items. If you have numerous changes to make, this is the quickest method. To access the Start Menu folder, go to This PC in the address bar, type Start Menu, and press Enter, then navigate to Programs.
- However, the Start Menu won't display commonly installed apps, so you'll need to do it from the main menu. By right-clicking on the Start button and right-clicking on any app you want to uninstall, then click Uninstall to remove that app.
Customize the Windows 10 Start Menu by resizing options within the Start Menu
- You can easily adjust the size of the Start Menu by dragging its edges or right side.
- Increase the length of the app column in the Start Menu by going to Settings >Personalization >Start, where you toggle On the Show more tiles option.
- Once you've enabled the Show more tiles option, you can resize the Start Menu horizontally, but as the column length increases, the number of columns decreases.
Customize the Windows 10 Start Menu with pinning and unpinning tiles
- Easily unpin tiles by right-clicking on the app and selecting
- Similarly, if there's an installed app not pinned to the Start Menu, simply scroll through the app list on the left side of the Start Menu, right-click on the app, and choose Pin to Start.
Customize the Windows 10 Start Menu with resizing tiles
- To achieve a beautiful Start Menu, you can adjust tile sizes by right-clicking on them, selecting Resize, and then choosing your desired size. There are 4 sizes available: Small, Medium, Wide, Large.
Customize the Windows 10 Start Menu with the ability to disable live tile updates
- If blinking tiles bother you, simply right-click on them and select Turn live tile off.
- In the image above, after disabling updates, the News tile returns to normal without blinking anymore. However, for some apps, you should leave updates on, such as Weather or Calendar apps, so they can provide you with the most accurate information.
Customize the Windows 10 Start Menu by changing the Start Menu (and Taskbar) color
- The process is very simple, just go to Settings >Personalization >Color, then simply click on the color you want to use. You can also allow Windows to automatically choose a color based on your current background by clicking on Automatically pick an accent color from my background.
- Scroll further down, and toggle On the option Show color on Start, taskbar, and action center. With this option, you can make the start, taskbar, and action center transparent.
Customize the Windows 10 Start Menu with displaying recent apps and most used apps on the Start Menu
- By default, the list of apps on the left side of the Start Menu will be arranged alphabetically.
- If you want to search for apps more quickly instead of searching through the entire list, you can divide the list into 2 parts: newly installed apps and most used apps. Go to Settings >Personalization >Start. Here, toggle On for the 2 options Show most used apps and Show recently added apps.
Customize the Windows 10 Start Menu with the method of selecting which folders appear on the Start Menu
- With Windows 10 Anniversary, you may notice that User, Settings, Power, and other options are hidden in a small column on the left side of the Start Menu. Click on the button at the top left of the Start Menu to expand this column.
- You can see the options with their full names. You can also add tools to this column.
- Navigate to Settings >Personalization >Start and scroll down, then click on Choose which folders appear on Start.
- Select any folders you want to appear in this section.
- And here are the results.
Customize the Windows 10 Start Menu with the method of removing all live tiles if you dislike them
- To revert back to the classic Windows 7 Start Menu look, simply remove all tiles by right-clicking each one and selecting Unpin from Start.
- Once done, your Start Menu will resemble that of Windows 7.
Customize the Windows 10 Start Menu with the fullscreen option
- If you prefer the fullscreen Start Menu from Windows 8 or 8.1, head to Settings >Personalization >Start, and toggle On the Use Start full screen option.
- Now when you click on the Start Menu, it will be displayed in fullscreen.
Customize the Windows 10 Start Menu by removing suggested apps from the app list
- In the list of apps, you may notice suggested apps by Microsoft. You can turn off these suggestions by going to Settings >Personalization >Start and toggling Off under the Occasionally show suggestions in Start option.
Here, Mytour guides you through 10 ways to customize the Start Menu interface on Windows 10. Now, you can personalize the Start Menu interface to your liking. While Windows 10 Anniversary offers a sleek black interface, if it doesn't suit your taste, you can change the look of Windows 10. Check out how to install themes on Windows 10 and follow along.
Changing icon size on the Taskbar in Windows 11 or How to bring back the Windows 10-style right-click menu in Windows 11 is detailedly guided by Mytour. You can refer to these effective setups on Windows 11.
- See more: How to change Taskbar icon size in Windows 11
- See more: How to revert the Windows 11 right-click menu to look like Windows 10
