The start button and menu is one of the elements that has undergone the most changes throughout all the versions of the Windows operating system that have been released. With Windows 8 it was tried to put aside this characteristic element, but finally the criticisms of the users caused its return with the current Windows 10. In this article we explain how you can customize the start button of your Windows 10 operating system in a very simple, to get the most out of it.
Use the Windows 10 Start Button Settings app
Many users do not know that Windows 10 offers us a tool, which we can use to customize many of the functions, included in the start button of this operating system.
Accessing this tool is as simple as typing the word " Start Settings " in the search engine that we find right next to the Windows 10 Start button.
This will open a new window showing several options, which we can modify to customize the Windows 10 Start button to our liking.
The most interesting options that are not offered are the following:
Show more icons on startup : this option allows us to increase the lateral expansion of the Start menu, so that it will be possible to place more board-type icons, to access the different applications and the different files that we have stored on our PC.
List of applications in the start menu : it is an option that we can activate or deactivate, to make it appear or not, a list with all the applications that we have installed on our computer, just when we click on the Start button.
Show recently added applications : when you activate this option, the Windows 10 Start button will show us in the first positions the applications that we have used or installed most recently. This is something that can be very useful, to help us quickly locate the program that we have just installed.
Use full screen start : this is an option that has been added to satisfy users who liked the Windows 8 interface. If you activate it, you will see that the start menu of your Windows 10 is displayed in full screen when you click on the Start button, mimicking the behavior of the Windows 8 Metro interface.
Show the most used applications : This option adds a new section at the top of the Windows 10 Start menu, in which all the most frequently used applications are displayed.
At the bottom of the window of this Windows 10 Start button configuration application, we find a link to a section, which allows us to configure which folders we want to appear in this operating system menu.
This is very useful if you want to add for example the download folders, documents, videos, music, Pictures and the network folder. This way you can access it much more easily.
Change the color of the Windows 10 Start menu
From the same Windows 10 configuration application, how can we very easily change the color shown by the elements, which are found within the operating system's start menu.
To access this option, we have to click on " Colors ".
The option " Choose an accent color " is the one that will allow us to modify the appearance of the tiles and other elements found within the Windows 10 Start menu. Unfortunately, you cannot change the color of all the elements or of all the tiles.
Resize the Windows 10 Start menu
Another feature that was added in Windows 10 is the possibility of modifying the size of the Start menu of this operating system, something that was not possible in previous versions.
To do this, you just have to open the Windows 10 Start menu, and go to one of its corners. You will see that small arrows appear, indicating that you can resize the window, in the same way as with any other application of the operating system.
Resize tiles
The tiles that appear within the Windows 10 Start menu are quite modifiable. One of the things that we can do very easily, is to change the size of these icons to be able to find them better, or simply to improve the aesthetics.
To do this, we just have to click with the right mouse button on the icon that we want to modify, and then select the option " Change size ". We can choose between 4 different sizes, so that our preferences and needs are adjusted as much as possible.
Dock and Unpin applications like tiles
Windows 10 allows us to configure the applications to our liking, which we want to appear as tiles within the start menu of the operating system. We can do it very easily, using the Anchor and Unpin option.
To add a new application to the tiles, we only need to click with the right button of the mouse on the application in question, and then select the option " Anchor to Start ".
To remove a tile we will do just the opposite, click with the right mouse button on it and select the option " Unpin from start ".
Another option that we can use is to pin the application to the Windows 10 taskbar .
Install an alternative Start menu
If you hate the appearance of the Start button that comes bundled with Windows 10, and you can't get it to your liking in any way, you can resort to the last trick we suggest, which is to install an alternative Start menu.
Classic Shell is a program that was born to offer a more traditional Start menu and button to Windows 8 users, although it has been updated and is perfectly compatible with Windows 10. Best of all, you can use it for free.
Once you have installed it, you will see that the Windows 10 Start button looks very similar to what it was with previous versions such as Windows 7.
Here ends our special article on how to customize the Windows 10 Start button, we hope you liked it.