Windows 7: Customizing The Start Menu

My question is pretty basic, I want to customize the Start Menu to display a set of nested folders, as I have done with all previous versions of Windows, so that I can navigate to any program that I want in just a few clicks. I know that the search window can often be used to find a program, but not every time. I did find a Start Menu folder in C:\users, but when I attempt to open it, it denies access, and I can't get to a right click context menu to edit the file permissions, without the same problem.



I feel sure that it can be done, but I don't know how...does anyone?

Hello Seekermeister,

These may be helpful in what you are trying to do.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials...in-folder.html

or

Taskbar - Pin or Unpin a Folder

Hope this helps,
Shawn

I appreciate the suggestion, but it is not what I want. I want to creat a fully custom folder directory in which I catagorize all start menu content. I think that this can be done like in other Windows flavors, but I'm having a serious problem gaining the permissions necessary to do so.

This is a fresh installation of Windows 7 and I have almost no experience with it yet. The only account made so far, does have administrative privileges, but I'm not certain that it is the full administrator account, because it keeps telling me "Access Denied" when attempting to made many of the folders, and when I attempt to edit the permissions, it says the same thing, or the options are totally grayed out. One way or another, I'm going to have control of Windows 7, or I will revert to an OS that I can.

If you mean by adding folders and shortcuts into the All Programs area, then this tutorial may help then.

If this is not what you mean, then you will need to use a 3rd party program like the free Vista Start Menu to be able to have a very customizable Start Menu.

Hey, this is actually quite easy to achieve. Nice of Microsoft to move the feature without telling anyone

Start Menu All Programs - Add or Delete Shortcuts

Yes, I had found the means to creat a nested folder tree, but the Start Menu is still not quite to my taste. I have tweaked so that nothing appears on the frequently used or pinned portion of the menu, but I haven't found a way to eliminate the blank area left, so that the folder tree appears by default, so that it doesn't require clicking the All Programs to access it. I have gone through the options in gpedit, and though some appear to apply, none effect this.

I would also like for the menu to not leave a wide margin of space to the right of the folder tree, so that the menu would be narrowed, like in previous version of Windows, but if that can be done, it is beyond me.

Seekermeister,

The only way is to use a 3rd party program like in my post above.

I did look at the program in your post, but I may not have looked close enough. I only looked at the screenshot, and it appeared that it only provided for a means to organize programs via divisions, rather than by a folder tree. I'll take another look.

It may be worth a install to see if it may work out for you. If not, it easily uninstalls to be back to the default Start Menu.

Thanks, I have installed the freeware version, and even though it is nice, I don't know if I would be willing to pay for the Pro version, which appears to be necessary to get exactly what I want. The freeware version does eliminate the blank space I mentioned, and defaults to the folder tree, but still leaves alot of blank space around it.

I may bite the bullet and buy it, but it goes against the grain...which is quite tight.