How to Customize the Windows 11 Start Menu
If you’re new to Windows 11 you may not know that the Start menu is very customizable. You can make Windows 11 easier to use by customizing the start menu so displays the apps you want, not the apps Microsoft thinks you want.
Luckily, it’s easy to customize the Windows 11 start menu so it’s more like you want it to be. While Windows 11’s Start menu is not as customizable as Windows 10, you can make it more “yours” than the default.
How to Show All Programs & Apps in Alphabetical Order
When you click “All” (at the top-right) you’ll see a complete list of apps installed on your computer in alphabetical order.
As you can see, the Windows 11 start menu becomes an alphabetical menu showing all of your apps and programs. You can scroll from A to Z.
Pinning and Unpinning Apps
You can make the Start menu more “you” by pinning the apps you use most to the main Windows 11 Start menu. It’s easy to do.
Just right-click on an app’s icon and then choose the “Unpin from Start” option in the pop-up menu. That will remove the app from the Start menu, but not from your computer. You can still find the app in the “All” menu.
To pin an app to the Start menu, click “All” to display an alphabetical list of all apps installed on your PC, find the app you want to pin to the Start menu, right-click its icon, and choose “Pin to Start” from the pop-up menu.
The app you pinned will appear at the bottom of the Start menu.
Rearranging Icons on the Windows 11 Start Menu
You can easily rearrange the icons on the Start menu. Just left-click on an app’s icon and drag it wherever you want it. I pinned HP Smart to my Start menu and by default, it appears at the bottom. But I can drag it to wherever I want…
You can see it’s now the first item on the second row on my Start menu.
More Personalization Options
Windows 11 allows you more Start menu customization options in the Settings menu. Open Settings (Windows key + i ) and click on Personalization. In Personalization click on “Start”.
You can customize your Start menu to show “More pins” (my choice), choose the Windows 11 default, or “Show more recommendations”.
You can also choose to show recently added apps, show the most used apps, and show the most recently opened apps in the Start menu, Jump Lists, and File Explorer by turning on the respective switches “On”.
By clicking “Folders” in Settings > Personalization> Start, you can choose which folders you want to show on the Start menu. Just turn the switches “On” for the folders you want to show on the Start menu
You’ll see the folders you chose at the bottom of the Start menu.
