Netbook Network

Every time you install an application on your computer, chances are the installer will leave a shortcut in your Start menu. Some installers will be nice and put all their shortcuts and files into one folder – others may just leave all the shortcuts in the root (I’m looking at you, Adobe). Sometimes the installer can change over an update and recreate shortcuts that already exist or put them in a folder like the silly error made by Windows Live Essentials above. There is a way to organize and manage Start menu programs right within an Explorer menu – that means, you can setup and manage your own folder system. Here’s how to do it.

In previous versions of Windows, your Start menu was simply located in your User folder. It’s a little different in Windows 7, and instead of being in the usual place, it resides in your AppData folder. Open a Run window and enter %AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs.

The %AppData% shortcut will instantly take you to your user folder’s AppData folder. Your Start menu’s “All Programs” list will be here, and you can rename, modify, and organize the shortcuts in any way you want. It’s even possible to create your own shortcuts through the Shortcut wizard (right click > new shortcut) or just drag and drop stuff in.

When you’re uninstalling programs, the uninstallers may not recognize the modified menu layout. Renamed shortcuts or shortcuts placed in a different location will have to be manually removed. When updating programs, the installer may also not recognize the existing shortcuts and make some more. You will, once again, need to manually remove the extra shortcuts added.

There is definitely a trade-off between using the default folder system made by program installers or managing shortcuts on your own. If you’re the type of person that loves to customize everything, the latter should do you well. If you want to keep things simple, well, you’ll just have to deal with the default start menu organization.