- Changing the Way the Start Menu Works
- Changing the Size of Start Menu Icons
- Displaying More—or Fewer—Programs
- Hiding (or Changing) the Browser and E-mail Icons
- Selecting Which Icons to Display—and How
- Adding a Program to the Start Menu Permanently
- Changing Back to the Old Style Start
- About This Article
Selecting Which Icons to Displayand How
The default Start menu also displays icons for the Control Panel, My Computer, My Documents, My Pictures, My Music, Network Connections, Help and Support, and the Run command. You can configure Windows XP to not display any of these icons or to display some of the icons as menus.
Follow these steps:
Right-click the Start button and select Properties from the pop-up menu.
When the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box appears, select the Start Menu tab and click the Customize button.
When the Customize Start Menu dialog box appears, select the General tab.
In the Show These Items on the Start Menu box, click As Link to display an icon as a link to the main item; As Menu to display a pop-up menu when an icon is clicked; or Never to not display an item.
Click OK when done.
When you choose the As Link option, clicking an icon displays the related item. For example, when you click the My Documents icon, the My Documents folder opens in a separate window.
When you choose the As Menu option, clicking an icon displays a pop-up menu that contains all the options in the selected item. For example, when you click the My Documents icon, a pop-up menu appears that lists all the folders and files in the My Documents folder.
Which option you choose depends on how you work. If you like to work from folders, choose the As Link option. If you like to work from menus, choose the As Menu option.