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You can customize most of the Windows 11 Start menu from Start > Settings > Personalization > Start. From there, you can control recommendations, add folder shortcuts beside the power button, and choose how content is displayed. You can also pin apps, File Explorer folders, and Microsoft Edge websites; drag pins into a new order; and combine pins into folders. To move the Start button itself, change taskbar alignment under Taskbar settings. Enterprise and OEM layouts use separate JSON and policy tools, while some newer size and section controls remain dependent on your Windows build.
How do I open the Windows 11 Start settings?
The Start settings page is the control center for personal Start menu changes. Open it either directly from Start or through the Settings app.
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- Right-click an empty area at the bottom of the Start menu and choose Start settings.
- Alternatively, open Settings > Personalization > Start.
The page contains controls for recommendations, account-area folder shortcuts, and other options Microsoft has enabled for your Windows 11 build. If a control described below is missing, check your Windows version and update status before assuming that your PC is misconfigured.
How do I pin or unpin an app?
Pin an app from Search or the app list, then remove it from the same context menu whenever you no longer need it on Start.
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Pin an installed app
- Use Windows Search on the taskbar or open Start and begin typing the app’s name.
- Right-click the search result.
- Select Pin to Start.
The app appears in the Pinned area. Right-click any pinned app and choose Unpin from Start to remove it. Unpinning does not uninstall the program; it only removes the shortcut from Start.
Pin a game or launcher
The same Search workflow works for a game, launcher, emulator, or utility that has a normal Windows shortcut. Pin only the entries you open frequently; less-used titles can remain available under All so the Pinned area stays easy to scan with a controller or keyboard.
How do I pin a folder or website?
Windows 11 supports pins beyond traditional applications. File Explorer folders and websites opened in Microsoft Edge can both be added to Start.
Pin a File Explorer folder
- Open File Explorer and locate the folder.
- Right-click the folder.
- Choose Pin to Start.
This is useful for a game-library folder, captures directory, mod workspace, or another location you open repeatedly. The command adds a shortcut; it does not move or duplicate the folder’s contents.
Pin a website from Edge
- Open the site in Microsoft Edge.
- Select the three-dot menu in the upper-right corner.
- Choose More tools > Pin to Start.
Edge creates a Start shortcut for that page. If the site later changes its address, remove the old pin and create a new one from the current page.
How do I reorder pinned items and create folders?
Drag-and-drop controls the order of pins. Dropping one pin on another creates a folder that can hold related shortcuts.
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- Open Start.
- Click and hold a pinned item.
- Drag it to the position you want and release.
Arrange the first rows around your routine: for example, put the game or app you launch most often first, then place communication, recording, or file-management tools nearby.
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Create and name a folder
- Drag one pinned item directly over another pinned item.
- Release it when Windows shows the folder target.
- Open the new folder and select its name to rename it.
- Drag additional pins into the folder.
To take a pin back out, open the folder and drag that item onto an empty position in the Pinned area. Microsoft Support notes that the folder disappears when only one pin remains, so the final shortcut returns to the regular pin grid.
What are Pinned, All, Recommended, and the other Start areas?
Start combines several sections, each with a different purpose. Understanding them prevents you from looking for a setting in the wrong place.
| Start area | What it does | Can you change its contents? |
|---|---|---|
| Pinned | Shows app, folder, and Edge website shortcuts you choose. | You can pin, unpin, reorder, and group items into folders. |
| All | Lists installed applications and provides Category, Grid, and List views. | Users and OEMs cannot customize the All list itself. |
| Recommended | Displays recommendation areas controlled by available providers. | You can turn recommendation providers off; affected areas collapse when all providers are disabled. |
| Account area | Contains account controls and optional folder shortcuts beside the power button. | You can choose which supported folder shortcuts appear there. |
| Mobile-device companion | Provides a companion experience for a connected mobile device. | It is supplied through Phone Link and cannot be customized by an OEM. |
Microsoft Support describes the user-facing menu in terms of Search, Pins, Recommendations, All apps, account controls, and a mobile-device companion. Microsoft Learn’s OEM documentation instead refers to the layout sections as Pinned, All, and Recommended. Those names describe the same overall Start experience from different perspectives.
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How do I change the All apps view?
The All section offers three display modes: Category, Grid, and List. Choose the mode that best matches how you search for software.
- Category: groups applications by category for browsing.
- Grid: presents app icons in a visual arrangement.
- List: uses a more compact, text-oriented list for scanning names.
The Pinned and All sections remember the last view selected. If you switch views while organizing your menu, Windows keeps that choice the next time you return. This preference changes presentation, not which applications are installed.
The Pinned area can be expanded with Show all when you need to inspect more shortcuts. Use that command when a large collection of pins extends beyond the initial rows instead of repeatedly scrolling through a crowded first page.
How do I remove or reduce Recommended items?
Recommendation controls are on Settings > Personalization > Start. The available switches depend on your Windows build and the providers enabled on the PC.
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- Open Start settings.
- Review the recommendation-provider options.
- Turn off the providers whose suggestions you do not want.
- Return to Start and check the resulting layout.
When every provider for an affected recommendation area is disabled, Windows collapses that area rather than leaving an empty block. This can make room for the content you actually use, but it does not convert the All section into a user-editable list.
How do I add Downloads, Documents, or other folders beside the power button?
Windows 11 can place shortcuts for common personal folders in the account area beside the power button.
- Open Settings > Personalization > Start.
- Select Folders.
- Turn on the shortcuts you want.
Supported choices include Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, Videos, Network, and the personal folder. The switches add convenient links; they do not relocate the actual folders or change their permissions.
Can I move the Start button to the left?
Yes. Windows 11 supports centered and left-aligned taskbar icons, and this setting determines the horizontal position of the Start button.
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- Right-click an empty part of the taskbar.
- Choose Taskbar settings.
- Expand Taskbar behaviors.
- Open the Taskbar alignment menu.
- Select the alignment you prefer.
Choosing Left places Start on the left side in the traditional position. Choosing Center keeps Start and the taskbar icons centered. This is a taskbar setting rather than a Start-menu setting, so you will not find it on the Personalization > Start page.
What can and cannot be customized by a normal user?
Personal customization is broad in the Pinned and recommendation areas but deliberately limited in the All section.
- You can choose which apps, folders, and Edge websites are pinned.
- You can reorder pins and group them into named folders.
- You can choose the All view and the folder shortcuts shown by the power button.
- You can control recommendation providers exposed by your Windows build.
- You cannot manually rewrite the installed-app inventory shown under All.
- You cannot use the personal Start settings page to define an OEM-wide image or a company-wide policy.
For a gaming PC, a practical arrangement is to keep frequently launched games and launchers in Pinned folders, place capture and configuration folders beside them, and use List or Grid in All depending on whether you remember names or icons more easily.
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How are OEM and enterprise Start layouts configured?
Preinstalled PC images and managed fleets use deployment tools rather than the personal drag-and-drop interface. The main choices are LayoutModification.json, the Start Policy CSP, and Group Policy.
| Scenario | Primary method | Controls |
|---|---|---|
| One person organizing one PC | Start settings, context menus, and drag-and-drop | Pins, folders, views, recommendations, account-area folders, and taskbar alignment |
| OEM image with predefined pins | LayoutModification.json |
OEM-defined pins in Pinned and the configurable Recommended item |
| Managed organization | Start Policy CSP or Group Policy | Policy-based Start configuration; JSON application depends on Windows version and update level |
For OEM work, Microsoft documents primaryOEMPins and secondaryOEMPins properties in the JSON layout. The file must be encoded as UTF-8. These deployment settings are intended for image builders and administrators, not for rearranging one user’s menu after Windows is installed.
Microsoft’s technical documentation states that, beginning with Windows 11 version 24H2 with KB5062660, both the policy provider and Group Policy can apply the JSON file. Earlier Windows 11 versions support only the CSP method for that JSON approach. Confirm the target build and update level before distributing a layout, because a file that works on one release may not be applied by another management path.
Are the newest Start layout controls available on every Windows 11 build?
No. A Microsoft Insider Blog post dated May 15, 2026 described preview work that separates the Pinned, Recommended, and All toggles, adds a separate file-recommendation control, and introduces Small and Large Start menu size settings.
Those features were described as rolling out to Insiders over the following weeks. Treat them as build-dependent until the reader confirms that the controls appear in the stable release installed on the PC. Do not troubleshoot their absence as a permissions problem when the device is simply on an older or different build.
What should I check when a Start customization does not work?
The Pin to Start command is missing
Make sure you are right-clicking an app search result, a File Explorer folder, or a website open in Edge. Other file types and applications may not expose the documented pin command. For websites, use Edge’s More tools > Pin to Start path rather than the browser’s general bookmark command.
A folder is not visible beside the power button
Open Start settings > Folders and verify the switch for that folder. These shortcuts are separate from pins, so adding a folder to Pinned does not automatically add its icon to the account area.
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Recommended still appears
Review every recommendation-provider switch shown on your build. Only the affected areas collapse when all providers for them are disabled; other Start sections remain available.
A managed layout does not apply
Verify the Windows release, update level, policy channel, and UTF-8 encoding of the JSON file. The JSON deployment route has different support on earlier releases, so an administrator may need the Start Policy CSP instead of Group Policy for the target version.
The Start button is still centered
Reopen Taskbar settings > Taskbar behaviors and change Taskbar alignment. Moving pins inside Start does not affect the button’s taskbar position.
Do I need extra software or hardware to customize Start?
No. The documented personal workflow is built into Windows 11 and uses Start, Settings, File Explorer, and Microsoft Edge. A keyboard and mouse are optional conveniences, not prerequisites, and third-party utilities are not required for pinning, folders, recommendations, views, account-area shortcuts, or taskbar alignment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Windows Configuration Designer or Unattend configure the Windows 11 Start menu?
Microsoft Learn says Windows Configuration Designer and Unattend cannot be used to configure the Windows 11 Start menu. Use the documented JSON and policy mechanisms for OEM or managed deployment instead.
What is the mobile-device companion shown in Start?
It is a companion area supplied through Phone Link for a connected mobile device. Microsoft’s OEM documentation says OEMs cannot customize that companion area.
How many OEM pins can an OEM layout define?
Microsoft documents up to four page-one entries through primaryOEMPins and up to four entries at the end of Pinned through secondaryOEMPins. Those limits apply to the OEM layout file, not to the number of items a person can organize manually.
Will changing Start settings install or remove my games and apps?
No. Pinning and unpinning changes shortcuts only. The installed applications remain available under All or through Search, and removing a pin does not uninstall the underlying program.
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