Ten valuable features of the Windows 11 start menu

Some features of the start menu, which is one of the icons of Windows, are hidden in the settings section. We review them in this tutorial.

The start menu, one of the icons of Windows, saw many changes with the release of Windows 11. But some of the functionality of this menu is hidden in the settings, and you probably need to learn about their existence.

Move the start menu to the Left.

One of the most significant changes in Windows 11 is placing it in the center of the Taskbar.

The good news is that you can return the Start menu to its traditional place on the left side of the screen. To do this, follow the steps below.

• First, enter the Windows settings section.
• Then enter Personalization.
• Click on Taskbar on the right side of the screen.
• At the bottom of the page, enter Taskbar Behaviors.
•   In the Taskbar Alignment section, select Left.

Customize colors in Windows 11

There are two ways to customize the start menu color. For starters, you can choose a light or dark theme to apply to the Taskbar and other areas of the user interface.

You can also change the color of the start menu and Taskbar to your desired color. However, this only works if you use a dark theme. You must select the base color and turn on Show Accent Color on Start and Taskbar.

Arrange the icons in the start menu.

The Start menu in Windows 11 is similar to the home screen of an iPhone, iPad, or Android device. You can easily arrange the icons the way you want them by clicking or touching and holding on the touch screen and then dragging and dropping them. You don’t have to drop the icons in their pinned order.

Remove the pinned icons from the start menu.

Windows 11 has a large number of programs that are pinned to the Start menu by default. You don’t have to keep them there forever. Right-click on an app and select Unpin From Start to remove the pinned icon from the Start menu.

Add folders shortcut to start the menu.

A start menu is a place for all kinds of shortcuts. One of the most valuable shortcuts in Windows 11 is the folder shortcut. You can access several folders from the right side next to the power button. This functionality is not enabled by default.

• First, enter the settings section.
• Select Personalization.
• Click Start and then Folders.

In this section, you have a set of different settings related to folders, including settings icons, documents, images, and personal folders to add to the start menu.

Show more icons

Windows 11 start menu is divided into two sections: software and recommended. The space is split evenly between app icons and recommendations by default, but you can adjust it to show more apps. There are three display modes for arranging icons. To choose a different layout, follow the path below.

• Enter the Windows settings section.
• Select the Personalization option.
• Select Start from the right side of the screen.

Here you can choose one of three different modes of partitioning the Start menu space for software and recommendations.

Show the most used software.

The start menu has more features than showing pinned apps. You can also access the list of programs on your computer. The software list is displayed in alphabetical order, but you can move your most used programs to the top of the list. Follow the steps below to enable this feature.

• Enter the Windows settings section.
• Click Personalization and then Start.

In this section, turn on the Show Most Used Apps option. Now you will have the six most used apps at the top for easy access.

Essential tools shortcut

A handy list of shortcuts for essential tools includes Device Manager, Disk Management, Task Manager, Terminal, and Run, displayed right-clicking on the start menu.

Remove the icon of a file displayed in the recommended section

Fortunately, you can easily remove the hero of the files that appear in the recommended area. Right-click on the file and select Remove From List.

Transparency glass effect

If you prefer to turn off this attractive effect, follow the steps below.

• Enter Settings.
• Select the Personalization option.
• Enter the Colors section.
• Turn off the Transparency Effects option.