ctrl.altered.mind

On Windows, I generally tend to pick my applications by typing the executable filenames in the Run window (Win+R). However, if you depend on the Start Menu > Applications menu to locate your programs, this will interest you the most. I discovered a very cluttered Start menu today, and decided to get it organized using X-Windows style context groups. Apparently, creating new folders manually within the Start menu folder does not help much, and it is a pain to drag and drop application shortcuts (especially if you have a ton of them). A quick search led me to a nicely written freeware application, called Tidy Start Menu (v2.7), that does the organizing for you in a couple of minutes. The categories are preset, but leave nothing to be desired. The application is complete with wizards to backup and restore start menu shortcuts, delete empty and redundant shortcuts, and import/export menus using XML files. Tidy Start Menu has an extended version (for $19.99 with their special Christmas pricing) if you need to create custom categories, or a context menu to easily uninstall programs, among other features.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 10th, 2006 at 5:14 pm and is filed under Microsoft, Windows.