Windows 7 Start Menu - Part 1

I thought it appropriate to start my Windows 7 tutorials with the Start Menu, the one feature of Windows 7 that has changed the least.

By default the left-hand column of the Windows 7 Start menu displays a dynamic list of applications which changes based on your activity. The more frequently you use a program the higher on the list that program will appear.

Although by default Windows 7 doesn’t pin applications to the top of this list as did XP and Vista, should you prefer to pin your favorite programs to the Start Menu, simply right-click on any application icon or shortcut from the Start menu, Desktop or All Programs menu and click ‘Pin To Start Menu’.

Note: Pinned applications will remain at the top of the left column regardless of how frequently you access them. They can be sorted by holding down your left mouse button and dragging them up or down.

You can change the number of Recent Programs Icons that appear in the Start menu by right-clicking on a blank spot on the Taskbar, clicking Properties, the Start Menu tab, Customize, and adjusting the ‘Number of recent programs to display’.

However if you do not need to have your start menu list the most recent programs you have accessed and would prefer to pin only the programs you would like listed, adjust the ‘Number of recent programs to display’ to ‘0’. Then go about pinning the programs you would prefer pinned to the Start Menu.

Windows 7 has a completely new alternative to XP’s and Vista’s ‘Recent Items’ list called ‘Jump Lists’. The contents of Jump Lists can differ depending on the application, but they typically include a list of recent items, frequently opened items and Web sites. If an icon in the left column of the Start menu has a right pointing arrow ▸, the application supports a Jump List.

Example: if you click the Jump List arrow on Microsoft Word’s Start menu icon, it'll display the most recent Microsoft Word documents you have worked on.

You can adjust the number of items in the Jump List by right clicking on the Start Menu, left clicking on Customize and increasing or decreasing the ‘Number of recent items to display in Jump lists’.

By clicking on a Jump List item it will launch the corresponding application. You can even pin commonly accessed items to a Jump List by highlighting them and clicking the pushpin on the far right of the Jump List item.

Here’s wishing you a Good Boot.