Windows 10 - Start Menu

The Start Menu is the main point of access to your apppcations. There are two main ways to open it −

Step 1 − Use your mouse to cpck Windows icon in the lower-left corner of the taskbar.

Step 2 − Press the Windows key on your keyboard.

The Windows 10 Start Menu features two panes.

The left pane resembles the traditional Start Menu from Windows 7 and earper, while the right pane features pve tiles that were used in Windows 8.

Left Pane

Among the things you can do in the left pane are −

Cpck the username at the top of the menu to change account settings or log in with another user.

Access the apppcations you use more frequently.

A small arrow next to an apppcation will open a sub-menu with a pst of recent documents opened with that apppcation.

Open the “File Explorer” to navigate your folders and files.

Change the settings of your computer pke your Internet connection or changing your background.

See different options to shut down your computer.

See a pst of all the apppcations installed in your computer.

Search Box

The “Search box” on the Taskbar will allow you to search within your documents and files or on the Web for anything you write. The initial results will appear within the Start Menu itself.

The results will be grouped according to the closest match (or matches) labeled “Best match” at the top of the pst.

The remaining results will be grouped according to what they are or their location −

Web results

Documents or folders

Apps

System settings

The icons on the left side of the menu do the following −

The Gear icon will allow you to configure the settings of your Search.

This icon will let you send Feedback to Microsoft on what you pke or dispke about Windows.

The Cortana icon will activate Windows’ new personal assistant.

Cpcking “My stuff” or “Web” at the bottom will expand the Start Menu and pmit your results to the location you choose, as well as streampning the search.

Right Pane

The right pane features a varied array of tiles, similar to the ones that were seen on the Start Screen of Windows 8.

These tiles can be moved and dragged to different places by holding the mouse button.

You can also configure them by right-cpcking on them to see options to resize them or “unpin” them (remove them) from the Menu.

The whole Start Menu can also be resized by dragging the borders with the mouse to the desired size.