Thanks, Shannon

Dear Shannon,

In Windows XP, there is a way to view all items in your start menu.
 

1. Right click on a blank spot on your taskbar and click on “Properties” in the menu that appears.

2. In the “Taskbar and Start Menu Properties” window, click on the “Start Menu” tab, and click on the first “Customize” button.

3. In the “Customize Start Menu” window, click on the “Advanced” tab and look at the middle section labeled “Start menu items:”

4. Scroll through the list of start menu items until you find the item that says, “Scroll Programs”. Remove the check mark from this item and click “OK” in both windows to close them.

Now your start menu will be listed in several columns instead of one scrolling column.

If you want to view all the items in your start menu in Windows Vista, just follow these directions:

1. Right click on a blank spot on your taskbar, and click on “Properties” in the context menu that appears.

2. In the “Taskbar and Start Menu Properties” window, click on the “Start Menu” tab and then click to select, “Classic Start Menu”.

3. Click the “OK” button at the bottom of the dialog box to save your changes and close the window.

Elizabeth 

How do I remove the list of recent items from my Vista start menu? I don’t want to remove the whole, thing, just clear the list of items so it can start again fresh.

Thanks, Ginger

Dear Ginger,

The “Recent Items” menu on your Vista start menu displays a list of the files that you have used recently. This makes it easier to go back to a file that you were working on, just by going to the recent items list and clicking on that item.

In Windows Vista, you can quickly and easily clear the recent items list. Here is how:

1. Click on the “Start” button.

2. Right click on “Recent Items”.

3. In the drop down menu, click on “Clear Recent Items List”.

You can repeat the steps above as often as you want to clear the list.

If you want to remove the Recent Items from you start menu, you can do so by following these directions:

1. Open the “Taskbar and Start Menu Properties” window by right clicking on a blank spot on your taksbar and clicking on “Properties” in the context menu that appears.

2. Click on the “Start Menu” tab

3. In the “Privacy” section (located in the lower half of the window) find the line that says, “Store and display a list of recently opened files”.

4. Click to remove the check mark from this line, and click the “OK” button at the bottom of the window.

If you want to put the Recent items back on your start menu, just repeat the steps above and click to place a checkmark in front of “Store and display a list of recently opened files”.

Elizabeth

How can I alphabetize the items in my start menu rather than have them show in the order of addition?

Vivian

 Dear Vivian,

It is very easy to put your start menu in alphabetical order.

Just click on “Start”, point to “All Programs” (or programs if you are using the classic start menu) and point to any item in your programs menu.

Right click on any folder in the start menu, and then click “Sort by Name”. This will automatically put the programs in alphabetical order.

Elizabeth

Dear Computer Lady,

I love your newsletter! I am a relatively new user and the computer sometimes boggles me.

You recently answered a question about removing icons from the desktop.  I have another question relating to that.  

I was lazy clicking on a game from the start menu, and accidentally dragged it onto the desktop.  It is no longer in the start menu.  If I just remove it from the desktop, I will lose the program.  

How do I get it back into the start menu, and get it off my desktop?

Thanks, Diane

Dear Diane,

It is very easy to drag an icon from your start menu to your desktop, but a little bit harder to get it back where it belongs. 

When you follow these directions, don’t give up if it doesn’t work the first time, just try again.  You are going to be holding down your mouse button during this process until the very end, so don’t forget to keep holding down the mouse button until you are directed to release it.

1. Point to the icon on your desktop, and holding down the left mouse button, drag the icon to your start button. Hold the icon over the start button until the start menu pops up.

2. Still holding down the left mouse button, drag the icon up to the “Programs” or “All Programs” button and again, wait for the programs menu to pop up.

3. Still holding down the left mouse button, drag the icon to the folder it belongs in, and then, you can release the mouse button. The icon should move to the folder you placed it in.

Elizabeth

Dear Computer Lady,

How do I make a new folder in the All Programs list on the Start Menu.  You mentioned in your newsletter that you kept all your games shortcuts in a Games folder, which I thought was a good idea, but couldn’t find a way to make a new folder.

Thanks Linda

Dear Linda,

You have a good question. To tell you the truth, I never make a new folder, I just find one that I no longer want, and then re-name it.

Usually when you have a bunch of games installed, they all make their own folder, so I right click on one of them, and then click “Rename” and name the folder “Games”.

Once I have done that, I drag all the game icons from other folders into the “Games” folder and delete the empty folders.

To Create new folders in Windows 98 or ME, follow these steps:

1. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Taskbar and Start Menu.

2. Click the Start Menu Programs tab, and then click Advanced.  

3. In the All Folders pane of the Windows Explorer window, click the menu on which you want the new menu to appear.  

4. On the File menu, point to New, and then click Folder.  

5. Type the name for the new folder, and then press ENTER.  

6. Close the Windows Explorer window.  

In Windows XP, you will need to go to “My Computer”, double click on your C: drive and work your way down to the following location:

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs

Once you are in the “Programs” window, you can right click on a blank spot, point to “New” and click on “Folder” to make a new folder in the programs menu.

Elizabeth

Dear Computer Lady, 

I liked on the old start menu that when you pointed to documents, there were short cuts to the most recently opened ones.  Is there any way to do that on the XP start menu?

Deb 

Dear Deb,

There are many things you can customize about the Windows XP start menu.

1. Right Click on the “Start” button and click on “Properties”.

2. Click on the “Start Menu” tab at the top, and take a look at the two options on the page.

3. If you want to go back to the whole look and feel of the old Start Menu (Windows XP refers to it at the “Classic Start menu”) click on the option called “Classic Start menu” and then click “OK”.

4. If you want to keep the look of the new Windows XP start menu, but customize the individual items on the menu, click on the option called “Start Menu” and then click the “Customize” button.

5. Here in the Customize Start Menu window, there are many things you can change like the size of the icons, number of icons on the left hand column and more. We want to click on the “Advanced” tab.

6. On the Advanced page, look down at the bottom section called “Recent Documents”. Click to put a check mark next to “List my most recently opened documents”.

7. Click “OK” two times for your choices to take effect.

Elizabeth 

I am a long-time reader of your wonderful newsletter.  I have not just fallen of the turnip truck by any means computer-wise and your newsletter continues to give me absolutely great info. 

Question: XP Pro, I have pinned many programs to my start menu but there are too many items and they won’t all display because there’s no room, so I need to get smaller icons just for the start menu. 

Is it possible to decrease the size of the menu icons only? I do not want to change the size of the desktop icons.

Marge

Dear Marge,

Yes, you can change the size of the menu icons without decreasing the desktop icons.

Right click on a blank spot of your XP taskbar, and click on Properties to bring up the “Taskbar and Start Menu Properties” window.

Click on the “Start Menu” tab at the top and then click on the active “Customize” button in the lower section.

On the “General” tab, you will see a section that will allow you to select “Large Icons” or “Small Icons” for your start menu.

Make your selection and click “OK” twice to save your changes.

Elizabeth
PS: Directions for this and many other XP changes can be found in my e-book “How To Customize The Windows XP Taskbar and Start Menu” at: http://asktcl.com/ebooks/XPtskbr.htm