gHacks Technology News | Latest Tech News, Software And Tutorials » window startmenu http://www.ghacks.net A technology news blog covering software, mobile phones, gadgets, security, the Internet and other relevant areas. Sat, 11 Feb 2012 09:52:46 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Get rid of a huge programs list in the start menuhttp://www.ghacks.net/2007/12/19/get-rid-of-a-huge-programs-list-in-the-start-menu/ http://www.ghacks.net/2007/12/19/get-rid-of-a-huge-programs-list-in-the-start-menu/#comments Wed, 19 Dec 2007 20:06:38 +0000 Martin Brinkmann http://www.ghacks.net/2007/12/19/get-rid-of-a-huge-programs-list-in-the-start-menu/ I was testing the software Tidy Start Menu which offers users a way to move start menu entries into several categories like Office, Games and Internet when it occurred to me that I did not need that program at all to do the same. The only advantage that I could see in using it was that I did not have to create the main folders in the startmenu by myself.

I quickly uninstalled the software and decided to create a few main folders and move the majority of my applications into them. Only shortcuts to those applications that I would use in my daily routine would remain visible. I decided to stick with the main categories Office, Games, Internet, Utilities and Graphics.

Many startmenu entries have not only the shortcut to the program in their folder but also shortcuts to readme files, uninstallations and the like. I always thought that this was superfluous and made me occasionally miss the mark, so to speak. It happened more than once that I opened a readme or uninstallation instead of the program that I wanted to start.

So, while I was at it I decided to remove everything except for the program shortcuts. This took a while and I have to make sure that I move every new program that is created into the right folder but it does look nicely now. I have ten categories and two application shortcuts beneath them.

How do you sort – if you do that – your startmenu ?

]]> http://www.ghacks.net/2007/12/19/get-rid-of-a-huge-programs-list-in-the-start-menu/feed/ 14 Alternatives to the original Windows startmenuhttp://www.ghacks.net/2007/07/14/alternatives-to-the-original-windows-startmenu/ http://www.ghacks.net/2007/07/14/alternatives-to-the-original-windows-startmenu/#comments Sat, 14 Jul 2007 12:51:47 +0000 Martin Brinkmann http://www.ghacks.net/2007/07/14/alternatives-to-the-original-windows-startmenu/ After a few months of using Launchy and Rocket Dock I realized that I actually did not use the startmenu of my Windows operating system at all. I either use these great apps that give me more flexibility and speed or use icons on my desktop for certain tasks.
Another reason why I’m not using the startmenu anymore is that it really looks and feels messy after a while because every new application adds it’s own folder to it. The question that came up for me is whether I needed the startmenu at all.

The answer was a clear ‘no’. There is however a much better way than to simply ignore the startmenu. I’m talking about an application called JetStart which is a tiny utility which replaces the original startmenu with a cleaner better one. It looks more compact, displays the applications that you use the most plus adds several predefined folders like Internet that can be populated with shortcuts as well.

jetstart startmenu

Jetstart offers another feature which is a fully customizable floating toolbar that allows you to access all categories and launch favorite programs quickly. The main program window let’s you not only quickly search for and launch programs but also uninstall them. It is also possible to import items from the original start menu.

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