Forum Discussion
I want to be able to group app icons on Start menu - Windows 11
for example I want to put PWAs icons in one group, put Photo related app/software icons in another group and so on. Ideally I want to do this by dragging an icon on start menu and dropping it on anot...
It took me a while to clean up my desktop. I have one or two icons on my desktop now - that's it. The reason it works is because of the grouping design I use in Windows 10. I have utilities, games, editing tools, office, etc as separate groups. It makes finding and starting a program super fast and easy. I will not move to Windows 11 until there is a way of getting grouping working - not folders - groups - without that I may never upgrade. I'm not going back to a screen full of icons and a search - no no no no no no no no no
rls_stamps, I was a vocal critic of losing the Windows 10 organization option in Start. I would not put Windows 11 on my main computer, because it would cost me hours of lost time every month (see my post above). However, with the addition of folders to Start in Windows 11 22H2, I find it's ALMOST as good. There is 1 added click now vs. Windows 10, to open the folder, but then everything is there in its group, functionally equivalent to Windows 10 (except for no Live Tiles, but that whole system hadn't been properly supported in Windows 10 for years either). On the plus side, because the folders in Windows 11 are closer together than the icon groups in Windows 10, there's less mouse movement saving some of the time lost to the extra click.
You still can't use icon size to indicate anything. I used larger icons in Windows 10 for my most popular apps, and smaller for less-used apps. And you can't structure them to create visual connections between related apps. But you can position them in any order you want, which is close.
Now that I've been using it for a while, I don't mind this structure. I couldn't have moved to Windows 11 without folders in Start (came in fall 2022) and I still miss the other Windows 10 Start menu features, especially Jump lists on pinned apps (now my biggest remaining complaint about Windows 11), but on net, with the other advantages of Windows 11 over 10, Windows 11 is now better for me than 10.
You still can't use icon size to indicate anything. I used larger icons in Windows 10 for my most popular apps, and smaller for less-used apps. And you can't structure them to create visual connections between related apps. But you can position them in any order you want, which is close.
Now that I've been using it for a while, I don't mind this structure. I couldn't have moved to Windows 11 without folders in Start (came in fall 2022) and I still miss the other Windows 10 Start menu features, especially Jump lists on pinned apps (now my biggest remaining complaint about Windows 11), but on net, with the other advantages of Windows 11 over 10, Windows 11 is now better for me than 10.
GraniteStateColin Windows 10 had folders like Windows 11 now does in addition to the groups, so there is really no plus side to the Windows 11 start menu.
- MarinM, I generally agree -- as you can see in my prior post, the Start changes were the main thing keeping me from moving to Windows 11 at first, and even with folders, there are features I miss from 10 (sizing and positioning icons for rapid access). However, I would acknowledge that for the lion's share of users who NEVER used those features in Windows 10, the new Windows 11 Start menu is much simpler and cleaner. Also, being simpler, hopefully it is easier for MS to develop and continue to improve the UI.
Also, some of the key features of the Windows 10 Start menu are now moving into the Widgets panel. Those are effectively becoming Live Tiles. Arguably, that is a more logical place, separating the app icons that can deliver info to Widgets and keeping start for static icons. Not saying I prefer that personally, but I can appreciate that may be more logical and cleaner overall.
- Good news. I figured they’d do something eventually. I will check it out. Thanks.
