Chapter 10: Setting Up Your Start Menu and Taskbar

What Is the Programs Menu?

The Programs menu (also called the All Programs menu), which you display by choosing Start | All Programs, is a list of the programs you can run. This is the most commonly used part of the Start menu, and it's also the part you can customize the most. The Programs menu is hierarchical; that is, it has menus and submenus, all of which you can customize.

Figure 10-2 shows the Start menu with the All Programs option selected. In addition to the Programs menu, two submenus are open--the Accessories submenu, and the Games submenu. In this book, to open a game (say, Solitaire), we tell you to choose Start | All Programs | Accessories | Games | Solitaire--that is, click the Start button to display the Start menu, on the Start menu click All Programs, on the Programs menu click Accessories, on the Accessories menu click Games, and on the Games menu click Solitaire.

Figure 10-2: The Start menu with many levels of menus displayed

With Windows XP, Microsoft has abandoned the feature that shrinks the Programs menu to only those items you have used recently. However, if you miss that feature you can have it back by using the Classic Start menu.

When you install a new program, the installation program is likely to add a folder or other item to the Start menu or (more likely) to the Programs menu. You may prefer to put such items in a submenu of the Programs menu or perhaps remove them from the Start menu completely. Newly-installed programs appears highlighted on the Programs menu.