New
#1
Start Menu - making All Programs a menu?
Just moved to Windows 7.
We're told over and over that the new start menu is better in every conceivable way, but the truth is, for a keyboard oriented power user like me, it truly sucks. At least, the default setup, and all the customizations I've attempted, truly suck swamp water.
In XP, I configured all my programs to be accessible in 3 keypresses. Eg. by putting Notepad under Start > Tools > Notepad, I could bring it up in a split second by pressing Windows Key, T, N - likewise for the ~20 other programs I have. I've had this for 8 years and it's ingrained in my style, but more importantly, it is genuinely highly efficient.
I've tried my darndest in W7 to recreate this. However several things are in the way:
1) After the windows key, the Search box has the focus. So no matter what you type in, it isn't shortcutting through the programs menu, it's typing in a search query.
2) I can't seem to create my own top level menus under the start menu (like "tools", "office" etc).
3) The All Programs link doesn't open up a menu with sub menus etc - just lists them in a single list. Maybe typical users prefer this (fair enough) but it's brain damagingly irritating for a power user, as you lose all sense of hierarchy and location.
Can anyone suggest how I could recreate my old XP behavior in W7?
-old-fashioned Brendan
P.S. Honestly I'm astonished that Microsoft have *forced* such a major change on their users. I think the new start menu has some great elements for a typical home users, but they shouldn't have limited the options for hard core users in the process.