The new start menu
Beginning with Windows 95 Microsoft led the pack with the Start button on the lower left-hand portion of the screen. Even Linux adopted this in Red Hat and other distributions. Apple has avoided this but still has the “Dock” which is similar to Windows task bar/quick launch features.
Beginning with Windows 8, Microsoft angered a lot of people by doing away with the Start button. This was an attempt to push people away from their reliance on that button so they could provide us with a more touch-based operating system. They brought it back, sort of, in Windows 8.1. However, in Windows 8.1 the Start button simply brought up the Live Tile screen many of us were trying to get away from. It was an improvement, but still a little aggravating to have to break a 20-year habit. One thing it added (that I just loved) in Windows 8.1, was the popup menu it provided when you right-click it. Windows 8.1 and now 10, if you right-click the Start Logo, you are presented with a popup menu full of useful shortcuts (if you’re a system admin). Shortcuts include:
- Programs and Features
- Power options
- Control Panel
- Command Prompt (both restricted and admin)
- File explorer
This has greatly decreased the amount of time I spend working with Windows systems. Nice! In Windows 10, the Start button is back, and in my opinion, better than ever. When your Windows 10 computer is in “Desktop Mode” (attached keyboard and mouse) you will find the Start button (it’s a 4-panel logo now) in the usual place on all your monitors. Click it and you are presented with a list of your most used applications, a file explorer link, Windows Settings link, some live tiles of your choosing, shortcuts to your favorite apps and a link to get to All Apps. Of course the Start menu is customizable (See http://www.howtogeek.com/197836/8-ways-to-customize-the-windows-10-start-menu/).
To have a program appear in the Start menu, simply click the Start logo, All Apps, find the program you want to add and right-click it. From the popup menu select “Pin to Start.” You’re done. The program should now appear in the live tile portion of the start menu.
Something I wish Microsoft would address starting with Windows 8 and higher is a better way to put shortcut links to programs on to your desktop. So far the only way I can find to do this is to right-click the App icon, select “Go to file location,” find the file in the location, right-click that then select Send to->Desktop. This is ok if you have a lot of experience with Windows but to the average user, this is not so simple.
