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I have dozens of programs and folders in the Start menu App list:
It takes forever to scroll all the way down to launch a particular program. I'm not willing to remove some of these items. I'd rather like to decrease the height of the programs and folders that are shown in there, potentially to the height of the ones back in Windows 7 (as seen below).
Is this possible, or is there a better way?
user897506
Posted 2018-04-23T17:47:24.580
Reputation: 53
1
To emulate a more Windows 7 like start menu that has scrollable functionality but on Windows 10, then consider simply creating a Toolbar from the Taskbar that opens %programdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs to start traversing All Programs that are installed and have start menu shortcuts accessible to every user account on the machine.
Note: If there are programs installed and configured to only create start menu shortcuts for a specific user then use %appdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs.
What's the Difference Again . . .
Programs installed with start menu shortcuts created being for everyone
%programdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\ProgramsPrograms installed with start menu shortcuts created for a specific user only
%AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs
Create a Toolbar Already . . .
1, 2, & 3. Right-click on the Taskbar, select Toolbars > New toolbar...
4 & 5. When the New Toolbar - Choose a folder window pops up, paste in the
%programdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programsvalue and pressEnterand then the lower rightSelect FolderoptionNote: This is where you use the appropriate option or perhaps both as written about in the What's the Difference Again section.
6. Now in the Windows Taskbar area, there will be a new scrollable like Toolbar which allows you to traverse the All Programs area of the apps installed onto the PC somewhat similar to the Windows 7 scrollable start menu.
Pimp Juice IT
Posted 2018-04-23T17:47:24.580
Reputation: 29 425
3
There is a much easier way: if you simply click on any letter heading within the App List, it will reveal an index that allows you to move though the list of installed apps relatively quickly:
After selecting a letter, the index will appear:
Select a letter from within that index to navigate rather quickly through the list.
Source: Windows 10 tip: Jump through your list of installed apps
Run5k
Posted 2018-04-23T17:47:24.580
Reputation: 13 092
Sounds good, but the problem is: sometimes (most of the times actually) when i want to launch an app i look for its icon and not name. i don't recall names fast. Actually, sometimes i don't remember names at all (names of people as well) – user897506 – 2018-04-23T18:18:46.973
2I understand what you are saying, but if you don't know the name of the application you want to launch, that adds an extra layer of complexity to what you are trying to accomplish. If that's the case, I would consider employing some combination of the Pin to Start and Pin to taskbar capabilities to make your favorite applications readily available. Beyond that, it may be a good idea to actually learn the application names, since that would resolve your problem without the need for any modifications and/or additional software. – Run5k – 2018-04-23T18:27:09.400
Yes, maybe i should just abandon the app list and use other solutions. Thanks for your time – user897506 – 2018-04-23T19:21:32.667
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Consider pinning the apps you use frequently to your startmenu instead. This way, you see them the moment you click on the start menu as a tile. You can make the start menu as big as the entire screen so you should have sufficient space to add at least 5 apps. But you probably can add 20 more depending on the resolution you use.
LPChip
Posted 2018-04-23T17:47:24.580
Reputation: 42 190
1
Sounds like an XY problem. What issue are you trying to solve?
– gronostaj – 2018-04-23T17:52:48.677simply, i want to decrease the height of these items (if you have a better solution, i wouldn't say no) @gronostaj – user897506 – 2018-04-23T17:56:56.050
1You can always change the behavior of the start menu entirely, with programs like Classic Shell and StartIsBack++, there are other alternatives, entirely up to you choose one though. – Ramhound – 2018-04-23T18:17:04.960
@PimpJuiceIT that really is a great idea, but I think that it has one notable limitation: any program or folder that only appears on that specific user's App List won't be shown. They would essentially need another shortcut pointed at
%AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs, also. – Run5k – 2018-04-23T19:01:38.793@Ramhound, i am all fine with the Windows 10 Start menu except for the part i mentioned above, so i’m not willing to replace it entirely. I was hoping that there is a way to just decrease the height of the items, possibly a registry key for that? however, it seems that such tweak is not possible. But thanks anyway :) – user897506 – 2018-04-23T19:18:18.960
Look in how many apps you are actually using, and if it are only a few, consider pinning them to the main start menu. That way, you do not even have to go into your apps, but access them from the main start menu instead. – LPChip – 2018-04-23T19:50:35.843
install StartIsBack++ or ClassicShell to get Win7 start menu back. – magicandre1981 – 2018-04-24T15:31:13.650