Windows XP Start Menu Tips

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Windows XP is Microsoft best operating system to date.  XP combines the security of Windows NT and the power of Plug and Play in one really powerful operating system.  One of the operating systems best features is the degree at you can be customized.  The Start Menu is just one of the man features which can be customized or changed to meet your needs.  Here are a few area you may want to change.

Adding Items To Windows XP Start Menu

To add selected items to the Start menu

1. Right-click the Start button, and then click Properties .
2. On the Start Menu tab, under Classic Start menu , click Customize .
3. Under Advanced Start menu options , select the check boxes for the items you want to appear on the Classic Start menu. The next time you click Start , the items you selected are on the Classic Start menu.
   

C Change The Way All Programs Opens from the Start menu

1. Right-click the Start button, and then click Properties .
2. On the Start Menu tab, click Start menu , and then click Customize .
3. On the Advanced tab, select the Open submenus when I pause on them with my mouse check box. The next time you click Start , and point to All Programs , you see a list of available programs.
   

Showing Recent Documents


To show your most recently used documents on the Start menu

1. Right-click the Start button, and then click Properties.
2. On the Start Menu tab, click Start menu, and then click Customize.
3. On the Advanced tab, select the List my most recently opened documents check box. The next time you click Start, the My Recent Documents folder is on the Start menu. This folder contains the documents and files you opened recently.
   

Display a Program on The Start Menu


To display a program at the top of the Start menu

1. Right-click the program you want to display at the top of the Start menu. You can right-click a program on the Start menu, in Windows Explorer, in My Computer, or on the desktop.
   
2. Click Pin to Start menu . The program is displayed in the pinned items list in the area above the separator line on the Start menu.
   

You can remove the program from the pinned items list by right-clicking the program and then clicking Unpin from Start menu .  You can change the order of the programs on the pinned items list by dragging a program to a new position. You cannot pin or unpin items using the Classic Start menu. For more information, click Related Topics .


Change the Style of XP Start Menu

To change the Start menu style

1. Right-click the Start button, and then click Properties .
2. On the Start Menu tab, click one of the following options:
   • To select the default Start menu, click Start menu .
   • To select the style from an earlier version of Windows, click Classic Start menu .
   The next time you click Start , the Start menu displays the new style.
   

To make additional selections for the Start menu style, click Customize . Additional selections include specifying the items you want to display on the Start menu, setting submenus to open when you pause on them with your mouse, and clearing your list of recently used programs, documents, and Web sites.



If you have other questions about the Windows XP Start Menu you can post your question in our free tech support forum .  It is check frequently and in a great source of information and computer help.

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