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You can switch how Windows 11 displays Start’s All apps list, but Microsoft does not document a user control for assigning one app to a different category. For a custom group of shortcuts, use folders in the pinned area instead; they are separate from All apps categories.
Can you change an app’s category in Windows 11 All apps?
No user-facing setting documented by Microsoft lets you assign an individual app to a different category in Start > All apps. Microsoft describes All apps as a list of installed apps that users and OEMs cannot customize. The available Category, Grid, and List options change how the list is presented, not an app’s category. Microsoft Learn’s Start layout guidance describes the customization limit and a separate publisher route.
Change the All apps view
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Open Start and select All apps.
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Choose Grid or List if you prefer that presentation to Category. These are view choices, not category-editing controls.
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Microsoft Support says Start remembers the last view selected. The available choices may vary across Windows 11 devices or updates; check the options shown on your own PC. Microsoft Support: Customize the Start menu in Windows 11.
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Choose the option that fits your goal
| Option | What it changes | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Automatically groups the All apps list. | Browsing apps in the categorized presentation. |
| Grid or List | Changes how All apps is displayed; it does not let you assign an app to a category. | Viewing the app list in another layout. |
| Pinned folders | Creates a personal group in the pinned area, separate from All apps categories. | Keeping selected shortcuts together for quick access. |
Microsoft describes these views and the pinned-folder feature in its Start menu customization guidance.
Create a personal group with pinned folders
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In Start, pin the apps you want to group if they are not already pinned.
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Drag one pinned app onto another to create a folder.
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Open or select the folder to rename it, then drag additional pinned apps into it.
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This organizes pinned shortcuts; it does not move apps between categories in All apps.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why is there an app-category support route for publishers?
Microsoft Learn describes an EU-specific route for app publishers: onboard the app to Microsoft Store and specify a category, or contact App Categorization Support with the app name, executable name, and requested category. That publisher process is not a setting for Windows users who want to recategorize an installed app.
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The reviewed Microsoft guidance does not document registry edits or third-party customization tools as supported ways to reassign an app’s All apps category.
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