Organize & Add Shortcuts to All Apps List - Windows 10
Customizing the Windows 10 All Apps List
The method for managing the All Apps list in Windows 10 differs significantly from the All Programs list found in Windows 7. Traditional approaches, such as drag-and-drop functionality or right-clicking for exploration, are no longer available.
However, it remains possible to personalize this menu. Users can add custom shortcuts or remove those that are no longer needed.
Adding and Removing Shortcuts
A specific technique allows for the addition of personalized shortcuts to the All Apps menu. Existing shortcuts can also be removed using this method.
This customization offers several benefits. For instance, the menu can be streamlined by eliminating superfluous folders.
Organizing Desktop Applications
Desktop applications can be effectively organized into folders within the All Apps list. This improves accessibility and reduces clutter.
Consider this a way to refine your Windows 10 experience. It allows for a more tailored and efficient application launch process.
Modifying and Arranging Existing Shortcuts
To alter, organize, or reposition an application shortcut, begin by accessing the All Apps list. Locate the desired app shortcut, then right-click on it and choose the "Open file location" option.
It's important to note that this action isn't applicable to "universal apps" obtained from the Store. Removing a Store app and its shortcut requires right-clicking and selecting Uninstall, which will also remove the application itself. This method is also necessary for eliminating shortcuts associated with preinstalled Windows 10 system applications.
A right-click must be performed directly on a shortcut leading to a desktop application. Attempting to right-click a folder within the All Apps list will not yield the desired result; the right-click action needs to be applied to the app shortcut itself.
A File Explorer window will then open, displaying the selected shortcut. Any modifications made here will be automatically reflected in the All Apps list.
Several actions can be taken, such as:
- The shortcut can be renamed by right-clicking, selecting Rename, and inputting a new name.
- The shortcut’s properties can be adjusted by right-clicking, selecting Properties, and modifying its settings. This is useful for customizing a program’s startup behavior or altering its icon.
- The shortcut can be removed from the Start menu by right-clicking and selecting Delete. This is particularly helpful for eliminating unwanted shortcuts, like those linking to websites included by certain programs.
Consider moving a shortcut out of its current folder. Initiate this by right-clicking the shortcut and selecting Cut, or by pressing Ctrl+X. Then, click the up arrow adjacent to the address bar to navigate "Up" one directory level.
This will take you to the parent folder, where you can paste the shortcut using Ctrl+V. The shortcut will then appear directly in the main All Apps list. The original, now-empty folder can be removed, though the All Apps list automatically hides folders without any shortcuts contained within them.
This process can be repeated as needed to further refine your All Apps list, relocating application shortcuts from unnecessary folders to the primary list.
(If a shortcut is not visible in this folder, access the All Apps list, right-click the shortcut, and select "Open file location." Windows stores these shortcuts in two distinct folders.)
Alternatively, shortcuts can be grouped into folders. For instance, a "Games" folder could be created and all game shortcuts moved from their individual folders into it. This would consolidate all games under the Games folder within the All Apps list, simplifying navigation through your applications.
Custom Shortcut Integration
The process of adding custom desktop application shortcuts to the All Apps list is straightforward. It requires placing them within designated folders on your operating system. These folders correspond directly to those revealed when right-clicking a shortcut and choosing "Open file location."
Access to these folders can be achieved by copying and pasting the following paths into a File Explorer window, the Start menu's search function, or a Run dialog box. Direct browsing is not possible without enabling the display of hidden files, as these folders are concealed by default.
Shortcuts specific to your user account are located here:
%appdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs
Shortcuts intended for all users of the system can be found at:
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs
Feel free to create any shortcuts you desire within these locations. For instance, you can copy an .exe file from another directory, navigate to the shortcut folder, and paste the shortcut. The shortcut can then be renamed to your preference, and it will subsequently appear in your Start menu.
This method proves especially beneficial for portable applications and similar software that do not automatically generate shortcuts during installation.
While Windows 7 and earlier versions allowed direct placement of .exe files into the Start Menu folders, resulting in their appearance in the Start menu, this functionality is not available in Windows 10. Attempting to place an .exe file directly into these folders will cause Windows to ignore it, preventing its display in the Start menu. Instead, a shortcut to the .exe file must be created within these folders.
The Windows 10 Start menu operates on a different underlying principle. It is managed by a dedicated system service that continuously monitors the aforementioned folders for modifications and dynamically generates the All Apps list based on their contents. The practical experience remains largely similar for the user.
Initial releases of Windows 10, as reported by Ars Technica, exhibited a limitation of handling only 500 entries in the shortcut database. Exceeding this limit would cause the system to cease displaying new shortcuts. It is anticipated that Microsoft will address this constraint in a future update to Windows 10.
