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Open the Windows 11 Start settings
Go to Settings > Personalization > Start. You can also open Start, right-click near its bottom, and choose Start settings. Microsoft’s instructions are in Customize the Windows Start Menu. Windows 11 feature updates can change labels or available options, so follow the wording displayed on your device.
Adjust the Start menu layout and recommendations
Start is organized into Pinned, Recommended, and All areas. The Recommended area can show recently added and frequently used apps, along with recently opened files. In Start settings, adjust the recommendation providers to control which kinds of items appear. If all recommendation providers are turned off, or if you remove all pinned items, the corresponding section collapses. Start remembers the most recently selected view for Pinned and All.
Windows offers layout choices that change how much room is available to pins versus recommendations. Choose the arrangement that suits whether you prioritize apps you selected or recent and frequently used content; there is no universally best layout.
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#1 Best Overall
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Choose how All apps is displayed
In the All apps area, Microsoft documents three display styles:
- Category: groups apps into categories.
- Grid: displays apps in a grid.
- List: displays apps in a list.
The menu remembers the last view you used, so it should reopen in that style.
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Create folders from pinned apps
Folders made this way organize pinned apps inside Start; they are not shortcuts to file-system folders beside Power.
- Open Start and locate the pinned app you want to organize.
- Drag one pinned item onto another. Microsoft Support’s instruction is: “To create a folder, drag one pinned item over another to create a folder.”
- Rename the new folder, then drag additional pinned apps into it as needed.
- To remove a pin from the folder, open the folder and drag the pin out. Microsoft says the folder disappears when only one pinned item remains.
Add folder shortcuts beside the Power button
These shortcuts provide quick access to selected locations from Start. They are separate from folders made out of pinned apps.
Rank #3
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- Open Settings > Personalization > Start, or right-click near the bottom of Start and choose Start settings.
- Choose Folders.
- Turn on the locations you want beside Power.
Microsoft lists Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, Videos, Network, and Personal folder. The exact labels or presentation may vary by Windows build.
Separate recommendation controls from app-launch tracking
The switches in Settings > Personalization > Start control recommendation providers. App-launch tracking is a separate Windows personalization setting: Settings > Privacy & security > Recommendations & offers > Let Windows improve Start and search results by tracking app launches. Microsoft says Windows can use information about launched apps to personalize Start and search; changing this tracking setting is not the same as switching Start recommendation providers on or off. See Microsoft’s explanation of Windows diagnostic data and privacy.
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Microsoft describes “Personalized offers” as potentially including tips, ads, and recommendations involving Microsoft and third-party products and services. That broader privacy description does not mean every item in Start’s Recommended area is an advertisement.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Navigate Start with a screen reader
Microsoft’s screen-reader guidance covers moving among Pinned, All apps, and Recommended items. After focusing a section, use the arrow keys to navigate its items. See Microsoft’s Start menu screen-reader instructions.
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Do not confuse Jump Lists with Start recommendations
The taskbar option called Show recently opened items in Jump Lists on Start or the taskbar concerns Jump Lists. It is not the master switch for the Start menu’s Recommended area. Microsoft explains the Jump Lists setting in its Windows 11 taskbar guide.
Quick Recap
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