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PC troubleshootingPATCH 2026.10.18

How to Rename Items in the WinX Menu of Windows 10

By VGSources Team 8 min read

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To rename an item shown in Windows 10’s Win+X (Quick Link) menu, edit the shortcut’s Comment field—not its filename. The shortcuts are stored in %LocalAppData%MicrosoftWindowsWinX, in Group1, Group2, or Group3. Back up that folder first, change the Comment value on the correct shortcut, and reopen the menu. The command target remains unchanged because you are editing display metadata rather than moving or renaming the underlying file.

What the Win+X menu is and what you are changing

Press Win+X to open the Windows 10 Quick Link menu. It provides shortcuts to administrative tools, system settings and applications. Windows stores those shortcuts under %LocalAppData%MicrosoftWindowsWinX. The menu is divided into three sections:

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Folder Position in the menu
Group1 Top section
Group2 Middle section
Group3 Bottom section

Each entry is normally a Windows shortcut file. The text that Win+X displays can be changed by editing that shortcut’s Comment property. This is different from renaming the .lnk file itself. A filename or folder change can affect how Windows discovers the entry; a Comment edit changes only the visible label while leaving the shortcut target in place.

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Before you edit: make a recoverable backup

WinX is a system-managed menu, so treat its folder as configuration rather than an ordinary document directory. Microsoft External Staff member Shujun Chen cautioned that changing the folder contents is not recommended because it can produce unintended consequences. A backup gives you a way to restore a missing or broken entry.

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  1. Open File Explorer.
  2. Press Win+R, paste %LocalAppData%MicrosoftWindowsWinX, and press Enter.
  3. Close the Run dialog if it remains visible and confirm that the folder contains Group1, Group2 and/or Group3.
  4. Copy the entire WinX folder to a location outside itself, such as Documents or an external drive. Do not leave the only backup inside the folder you are modifying.

Copying is safer than trying to reconstruct a shortcut later because the backup preserves each shortcut’s target, working directory, icon and metadata. If you are changing several labels, keep the original backup until you have tested every edited entry.

Rename a Win+X item through its Comment field

The following procedure is the documented WinX-specific method. It changes the text shown in the menu without changing what the shortcut launches.

1. Open the WinX shortcut location

  1. Press Win+R to open the Run dialog.
  2. Enter %LocalAppData%MicrosoftWindowsWinX.
  3. Select OK or press Enter.

The environment variable points to your current Windows user profile, so the path works without manually replacing a username. If Explorer reports that the location cannot be found, check the spelling and the backslashes, and make sure you are running Windows 10 under the profile whose menu you are editing.

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2. Choose the section that contains the item

Open the group that corresponds to the entry’s current position. Use the menu’s visual position as your first guide:

  • Group1 contains entries in the top section.
  • Group2 contains entries in the middle section.
  • Group3 contains entries in the bottom section.

Do not rely solely on a shortcut filename. Several entries can have similar names, and an update can alter the set of shortcuts. If you are uncertain, open the Win+X menu, note the item’s position, then inspect the candidate shortcuts’ properties before editing anything.

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3. Confirm the shortcut target

Right-click a likely .lnk file and choose Properties. On the Shortcut tab, inspect the Target field. Confirm that it launches the command or application you intend to relabel. This check prevents changing a similarly named entry in the wrong group.

Record the original Comment value, if one is present, before replacing it. A screenshot or a short note is enough; the copied folder remains the authoritative backup.

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4. Edit the displayed label

  1. In the shortcut’s Properties dialog, remain on the Shortcut tab.
  2. Find the Comment field.
  3. Replace its text with the label you want Win+X to display.
  4. Select Apply, then OK.

Use a concise label that identifies the command clearly. The Comment field is not the Target field: do not alter the executable path, arguments or working directory unless you deliberately intend to change what the shortcut runs. Editing those fields is outside the rename procedure and can stop the entry from working.

5. Refresh the menu

Close any open Win+X menu and press Win+X again. If the old text is still displayed, refresh the Windows shell:

  1. Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open Task Manager.
  2. Find Windows Explorer in the process list.
  3. Right-click it and choose Restart.
  4. Open Win+X again and check the entry.

If restarting Explorer does not refresh the label, sign out of Windows and sign back in, then test the menu. These are refresh measures; the cited procedure does not require a particular refresh command, and restarting Explorer does not modify the shortcut itself.

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Comment edit versus filename or folder changes

There are two broad ways people try to alter a WinX entry. They do not have the same result or risk.

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Approach Visible label Shortcut target Risk Use it for
Edit the shortcut’s Comment field Changes the text displayed by Win+X after the shell refreshes Stays intact when only Comment is edited Lower; still keep a backup A display-only relabel
Rename the .lnk file or alter group folders Not the documented way to set the WinX label; the result can vary May be undiscovered, displaced or broken Higher; entries can disappear or stop working Only deliberate structural maintenance with a tested recovery plan

The Windows rename command changes a file or directory name and requires a unique new filename. It does not edit the shortcut’s Comment metadata, so running it is not a substitute for the Properties procedure. If your goal is simply to change what users read in the menu, do not use a command-line filename rename.

How to identify the right item when names are unclear

Use the menu position

WinX displays the groups in order: Group1 at the top, Group2 in the middle and Group3 at the bottom. Open the menu and write down the surrounding entries. Then open the matching folder and compare the shortcuts’ properties.

Check the Target field, not just the filename

The filename in Explorer can be abbreviated or generic. The Shortcut tab’s Target value tells you which executable, command or system component the entry invokes. Edit the Comment only after that target matches the item you selected in Win+X.

Change one shortcut at a time

When several entries need new labels, edit one, refresh the menu and verify it before moving to the next. This makes a wrong-group selection easy to detect and keeps troubleshooting local to one shortcut.

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Troubleshooting renamed WinX entries

The old label is still visible

  • Reopen Win+X after closing the menu.
  • Return to the shortcut’s Properties and confirm that the new text is in Comment, not another field.
  • Verify that you edited the shortcut in the correct Group folder.
  • Restart Windows Explorer from Task Manager. If necessary, sign out and sign back in.

Do not edit the Target field merely because the label did not refresh. A stale display is normally a shell-refresh or wrong-shortcut problem, not a reason to change how the command launches.

The wrong menu entry changed

Map the entry’s position again: top means Group1, middle means Group2 and bottom means Group3. Inspect the Target field of the shortcut you changed and compare it with the command you intended. If the target is wrong, restore the original shortcut from your backup rather than trying to repair several properties manually.

The entry disappeared or no longer launches

Stop making further edits and restore the affected .lnk file from the backup. Copy the original shortcut back into its original group, then restart Windows Explorer or sign out and in. If you backed up the complete WinX folder, restoring the complete folder is an option when multiple entries were affected; preserve any newer, unedited files before replacing it.

A missing entry can also result from moving a shortcut between groups, changing a filename to one that conflicts with another file, or editing Target, Start in or other shortcut properties. The Comment-only method avoids those structural changes.

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You tried the rename command

The command-line rename operation changes a filename or directory name. It does not set the text that WinX reads from the shortcut’s Comment property. If the command changed a filename and the entry disappeared, restore the original filename from the backup, then use the Properties dialog to edit Comment.

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Windows recreated or added folders after an update

Windows upgrades and repair operations can alter the contents of the WinX location. A Microsoft Q&A report describes additional WinX folders appearing after an upgrade and identifies the location as storage for system-tool and application shortcuts. Check custom labels after a feature update, repair install or major system maintenance. Keep your backup until you have confirmed that every customized entry still appears and launches correctly.

Restoring the original menu safely

Restore one shortcut

  1. Open the live WinX folder with %LocalAppData%MicrosoftWindowsWinX.
  2. Open the appropriate Group folder.
  3. Compare the edited shortcut with the copy in your backup.
  4. Copy the original shortcut from the backup back into the live folder, allowing Windows to replace the edited copy when prompted.
  5. Restart Windows Explorer and test Win+X.

Restore the complete backup

Use a full-folder restore only when several entries or group folders were changed. First copy the current WinX folder to a separate temporary location so you can recover any legitimate changes made after the backup. Then replace the live folder’s contents with the backed-up contents and refresh Explorer. This approach returns the menu to the exact state captured by the backup.

Windows 10 support status and what it means for this procedure

Microsoft Support states that support for Windows 10 ended on October 14, 2025. Microsoft no longer provides free Windows Update software updates, technical assistance or security fixes for Windows 10. The WinX Comment-field procedure can still be used on an existing Windows 10 installation, but the operating system’s unsupported status matters when deciding whether to keep customizing it.

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Because unsupported installations may receive repair work, migration or an eventual upgrade, save your backup outside the Windows profile and keep a note of your custom labels. After any feature update, in-place repair or profile migration, verify the WinX groups again; system maintenance can replace or reorganize their contents.

Practical checklist

  • Press Win+X and note the item’s top, middle or bottom position.
  • Back up %LocalAppData%MicrosoftWindowsWinX outside that folder.
  • Open the matching Group1, Group2 or Group3 directory.
  • Use shortcut Properties to verify the Target field.
  • Edit only the Comment field, then select Apply and OK.
  • Reopen Win+X; restart Windows Explorer or sign out and in if the old label remains.
  • Restore the backed-up shortcut if an entry disappears or fails.
  • Recheck custom labels after upgrades or repair operations.

Key distinction to remember

A WinX relabel is shortcut-metadata editing. The safe, documented pattern is to identify the correct group, verify the shortcut target, change its Comment field and refresh the shell. Renaming files or changing group structure addresses a different problem and carries a substantially greater chance of losing or breaking a menu entry.

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PC troubleshootingQuick Link menuWin+X menuWindows 10Windows shortcuts

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