The Start menu is one of the most commonly used functions on Windows computers, as it contains options for accessing your files and applications. You can customize the Windows 10 Start menu if you don’t like the tiles, default layouts, or even the menu color. Windows gives you the ability to change the appearance of the menu to your liking.
This gives you the ability to remove unwanted items from the menu and clear it, add the most useful apps to the list, get rid of app suggestions, and even enlarge the menu to cover the entire screen.
Start Menu Resizing
On most computers, the Windows 10 Start menu takes up only a fraction of the screen. If you want it to stretch to cover more of the screen, you can customize the Windows 10 start menu that way by dragging it in any direction you want it to stretch.
- Start menu on your computer.
- Move your cursor to the edges of the menu and your cursor will turn into arrows.
- Drag the arrows in the direction you want the menu to stretch.
Add and remove application templates
The Start menu does not have a tile for every application installed on your computer. However, you can add tiles for your selected apps to the menu if you like. You can also delete existing app tiles if you don’t want them to remain there.
Add App Tile
- Open the menu and find the app you want to add a tile for.
- Right-click the application and select Pin To Start.
- The tile for your application will be added to the menu.
Remove App Tile
Right-click the tile you want to remove and select Unpin From Start.
Rearrange tiles in list
Windows arranges tile icons itself, but you can arrange them manually to prioritize the tiles you use most. You can change the order of the tiles and your apps will appear accordingly.
– /
- Find the tile you want to reposition.
- Press and hold a tile to move it to a new position.
- The tile will take its new position.
Disable Live Tiles
There are certain tiles in your menu that show real-time information such as real-time weather data. If you are not using these tiles, you can turn them off so that they no longer work.
- Find the Live Tile you want to disable in the Start menu.
- Right-click the tile and select More, then Disable Live Tile.
- You can re-enable it at any time by right-clicking it and selecting “Advanced” and then “Enable Live Tile”.
Add Boxes to Folders
If you’ve added more tiles to a menu than it can fit on one screen, you can group the tiles so that they all appear in a single folder-like structure. You can use it for tiles that are related to each other (for example, entertainment applications).
- Open the start menu and find the tiles you want to merge.
- Drag one tile onto another. It will create a folder for your tiles.
- If desired, you will be prompted for a name for your folder.
Tile Resize
As with the Start menu, you can also resize individual tiles. Thus, the tiles you select can be larger or smaller than any other tiles in the menu. You can do this for frequently used tiles so they can be easily found in the menu.
- Find the tile you want to resize.
- Right-click the tile and select Resize.
- You now have four size options to choose from.
Enable full screen menu
If you often select items from the Start menu, the default size may not work for you. Fortunately, you can set the Windows 10 Start menu to full screen mode. Then it covers the entire screen when it starts up.
- Right-click anywhere on an empty spot on your desktop and select Personalize.
- Select Start from the options available in the left sidebar.
- On the right-hand side, you will find the Use Start in Full Screen option. Turn on the setting to always open the Start menu in full screen.
Change Start Menu Color
The Start Menu adapts the default color for your system, and if you don’t like the current color, you can change it fairly easily. All tiles and icons in the menu will be colored in the color of your choice.
- Right-click on the desktop and select Personalize.
- Select “Colors” from the left sidebar on the next screen.
- Scroll down until you see the Windows colors section. Choose a new color for the Start menu and it will be immediately applied to it.
Disable app suggestions
Sometimes Windows offers you applications that you must install on your computer from the Start menu. If you don’t like it, you can disable this setting and it will hide the app suggestions in the menu.
- Right-click on the desktop and select Personalize.
- Click Start in the left sidebar.
- Disable the Show suggestions from time to time option in the Start menu in the right pane.
- Launch the Settings app and click Personalization.
- Find the Start option in the left sidebar and click it.
- Scroll all the way to the bottom of the right pane and select the option “Choose folders displayed on the Start menu.
- On the next screen, you can enable and disable various folders in the Start menu. You can turn the switch for each of these folders to ON or OFF to hide or show them in the menu.
Change which folders appear in the list
Windows shows certain folders of yours in the Start menu by default, but gives you the option to hide and show those folders. This way, you can customize the Windows 10 Start menu and leave only the folders you select in the list.
Have you ever customized the Windows 10 Start Menu? If so, what changes did you make to it? We’d love to hear from your personal experience with menu customization and let us know in the comments below.
–