1. Right-click the Start button and choose
Properties (Figure 2.17).
or
Choose Start > Control Panel > Appearance and Personalization > Taskbar and Start Menu > Start Menu tab.
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Figure 2.16The keyboard shortcuts for Cut,
Copy, and Paste (Ctrl+X, Ctrl+C, and Ctrl+V) work when you’re editing the name.
Figure 2.17Besides letting you configure the Start
menu, this dialog box lets you choose the old-style, one-column Classic Start menu.
2. In the Privacy section, clear one or both
check boxes if you don’t want someone else to know what you’ve been running or working on.
The Files check box applies to the Recent Items submenu (in the right column of the Start menu). The Programs check box applies to the Most Frequently Used Programs list (in the left column) and the Run command history (if it’s displayed). Checking these boxes again makes Windows repopulate the lists over time.
3. Make sure that Start Menu (not Classic
Start Menu) is selected, and click Customize to open the Customize Start Menu dialog box (Figure 2.18).
4. Choose the desired options, described in
Table 2.3.
5. For Start Menu Size, type or select the
number of frequently used programs to display in the menu’s left column. Displaying more programs gives you quicker access but takes up more vertical space.
6. If you want to revert to the Start menu’s
original factory settings, click Use Default Settings.
7. In the Show on Start Menu section,
check the boxes if you want your web browser and email program pinned at the top of the menu’s left column. Use the drop-down lists to choose among the installed browsers and email programs.
8. Click OK in each open dialog box.
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Figure 2.18The Customize Start Menu dialog box
affects what you see in the menu’s left column, where programs are listed, and the right column, where your personal folders and the Windows system
components are listed.
✔Tips
■ You still can open a folder even if you’ve chosen Display As a Menu: Right-click it in the Start menu and choose Open.
■ To clear the Recent Items list, right-click Recent Items in the Start menu and choose Clear Recent Items List. To clear an individual item in the list, right-click it in the Recent Items submenu and choose Delete. Clearing recent items from the list doesn’t delete the originals from your computer.
■ In the classic Start menu, Recent Items is named Documents.
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Table 2.3 Start-Menu OptionsComputer, Control Panel, Documents, Games, Music, Personal Folder, Pictures
O p t i o n / S e t t i n g D e s c r i p t i o n
Display As a Link Displays a shortcut that opens that folder. Display As a Menu Opens a submenu (Figure 2.19). Don’t Display This Item Removes that folder from the Start menu.
Connect To, Default Programs, Help, Run Command, Search
O p t i o n / S e t t i n g D e s c r i p t i o n
Checked Item appears in the Start menu’s right column.
Unchecked Item doesn’t appear in the Start menu. (If you use these commands rarely or invoke them with keystrokes, clear their check boxes to save menu space.)
Enable Context Menus and Dragging and Dropping
O p t i o n / S e t t i n g D e s c r i p t i o n
Checked Lets you drag icons on, off, and within the Start menu, and also display their shortcut (right-click) menus.
Unchecked Locks Start-menu items in place.
Favorites Menu
O p t i o n / S e t t i n g D e s c r i p t i o n
Checked Adds a link to your Favorites folder, which contains shortcuts to webpages, documents, and folders that you’ve bookmarked.
Unchecked The Favorites menu doesn’t appear.
Highlight Newly Installed Programs
O p t i o n / S e t t i n g D e s c r i p t i o n
Checked Highlights new programs in orange for a few days. Unchecked Doesn’t distinguish new programs.
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Figure 2.19Display As a Menu makes a Start-menu
folder expand as a submenu that displays its contents (rather than open as a window).
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Table 2.3 continued Start-Menu Options Network O p t i o n / S e t t i n g D e s c r i p t i o nChecked Shows a link to shared resources on your network. Unchecked Shows this computer and its peripherals only.
Open Submenus When I Pause on Them with the Mouse Pointer
O p t i o n / S e t t i n g D e s c r i p t i o n
Checked Displays a submenu when you point to it or click it. Unchecked Displays a submenu when you click it.
Printers
O p t i o n / S e t t i n g D e s c r i p t i o n
Checked Adds a link to the Printers folder. Unchecked Displays printers only in Control Panel.
Search Files (affects searches from the Start-menu Search box)
O p t i o n / S e t t i n g D e s c r i p t i o n
Don’t Search for Files Excludes your documents from searches. Search Entire Index Searches everything that Windows has indexed. Search This User’s Files Includes your documents in searches.
Search Communications/Favorites and History/Files/Programs
O p t i o n / S e t t i n g D e s c r i p t i o n
Checked Searches for these items when you type in the Start-menu Search box. Unchecked Omits these items from the results when you use the Start-menu Search box.
Sort All Programs Menu by Name
O p t i o n / S e t t i n g D e s c r i p t i o n
Checked Windows keeps the All Programs menu sorted automatically: files alphabetically at top, fol- lowed by folders alphabetically.
Unchecked Windows doesn’t sort the All Programs menu, letting you add or move a menu item to a specific place without having it jump to its sorted position.
System Administrative Tools
O p t i o n / S e t t i n g D e s c r i p t i o n
Display on the Tools appear in the All Programs menu and Control Panel. All Programs Menu
Display on the Tools appear in the All Programs menu, Start menu, and Control Panel. All Programs Menu
and the Start Menu
Don’t Display This Item Tools appear only in Control Panel.
Use Large Icons
O p t i o n / S e t t i n g D e s c r i p t i o n
Checked Uses large icons in the Start menu’s left column. The menu is easier to read, and its icons are easier to click. (This setting doesn’t affect the All Programs menu, which always uses small icons.) Unchecked Uses small icons in the Start menu’s left column. The menu displays its items compactly (like