Understanding the Win 10 Start Menu

Judging from your emails, a lot of you don’t like the tiles in the Window 10 Start Menu.

But I wonder if it’s because, you’re thinking of them in terms of the Windows 7 Start Menu instead of what these tiles are meant to function as, which is basically a desktop with large icons that you can arrange any old way you choose and keep in that configuration. That leaves the actual desktop free for open programs. That means no confusing clutter and no need to minimize what you’re working, to open something else.

You can adjust the size of the Start Menu simply by clicking and dragging the edge. Position the cursor right at the edge to get a two-way arrow symbol.

You can pull it out for a larger desktop space.

Or pull it towards the left for a single column.

The key to making the tiles work for you is to organize them. I’ve just purchased a new Windows 10 desktop, so I thought you could follow along with me as I set things up the way I like them.

By Default, mine was divided up into Create, Explore, Play, and apps offered by my computer’s manufacturer, Dell.

Under create there are shortcuts to Mail, Calendar, Office, and Paint 3D. These tiles are just shortcuts like any shortcut that appeared on a desktop. Some of these shortcuts, like Calendar and Mail are what’s known as Live Tiles. There’s nothing particularly special about that. That just means they stay updated with current information like today’s calendar events or show you how many unread email messages you have without opening the program.

The advantage over traditional desktop icons is that they are completely customizable as far as arrangement, size, and naming the category they’re under. You can remove any or all of these icons and replace them with whatever shortcuts you want.

Renaming a section is as easy as clicking on it, typing the new name, and clicking off. If you don’t want any label on a section, just delete the text and click off.

To remove a shortcut, just right-click and choose Unpin from Start.

To add a shortcut, just right-click on the name of the program in the All Apps list and choose Pin to Start.

We’ll get more into organizing the Start Menu tomorrow.