Personalization Add or Remove Default Shortcuts on Win+X Quick Link Menu in Windows 11


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Start.png

The Win+X Quick Link menu (aka: Power User menu) is a pop-up menu from the Start button that includes shortcuts of common management, configuration, and other power user tools for Windows.

The shortcuts on the Win+X Quick Link menu are broken up into 3 groups. Group1 shortcuts in the bottom section, Group2 shortcuts in the middle section, and Group3 shortcuts in the top section.

Starting with Windows 11 build 22579, Windows Terminal and Windows Terminal (Admin) in the Win+X menu has been replaced by Windows PowerShell and Windows PowerShell (Admin). If you have Windows Terminal installed and would like Windows PowerShell to open in Windows Terminal, set Windows Terminal as your default terminal app.

This tutorial will show you how to add or remove default shortcuts on the Win+X Quick Link menu for your account in Windows 11.


Contents

  • Option One: Remove Default Shortcuts on Win+X Quick Link Menu
  • Option Two: Restore (add) Default Shortcuts on Win+X Quick Link Menu


EXAMPLE: Default shortcuts on Win+X Quick Link menu

Win+X_Quick_Link_menu.jpg






OPTION ONE

Remove Default Shortcuts on Win+X Quick Link Menu


1 Open File Explorer (Win+E).

2 Copy and paste the path below you want to use into the address bar of File Explorer, and press Enter.

(Current User)​
%LocalAppdata%\Microsoft\Windows\WinX​

OR​

(Applied to New Users when created)​
C:\Users\Default\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\WinX​

3 Open the Group1, Group2, and/or Group3 folder(s) containing the shortcut(s) you want to delete from your Win+X Quick Link menu. (see screenshot below)

WinX_folder-1.png

4 Delete the shortcut(s) you want inside the Group1, Group2, and/or Group3 folder(s). (see screenshots below)

Do not delete the actual Group1, Group2, and Group3 folders.



WinX_folder-2.png
WinX_folder-3.png
WinX_folder-4.png

5 When finished, you can close File Explorer.

6 Restart the explorer process or sign out and sign in to apply your changes to the Win+X Quick Link menu.





OPTION TWO

Restore (add) Default Shortcuts on Win+X Quick Link Menu


1 Click/tap on the Download button below to download the WinX.zip file that contains all of the default Win+X shortcuts.



2 Save WinX.zip file to your desktop.

3 Unblock the downloaded WinX.zip file.

4 Open the downloaded WinX.zip file, and open the Group1, Group2, and/or Group3 folder(s) containing the shortcut(s) you want to add (restore) to your Win+X Quick Link menu. (see screenshot below)

WinX_ZIP-1.png

5 Open a separate File Explorer (Win+E) window.

6 Copy and paste the path below you want to use into the address bar of File Explorer, and press Enter.

(Current User)​
%LocalAppdata%\Microsoft\Windows\WinX​

OR​

(Applied to New Users when created)​
C:\Users\Default\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\WinX​

7 Open the same Group1, Group2, and/or Group3 folder(s) as step 4 for the section of shortcut(s) you want to add (restore) to your Win+X Quick Link menu. (see screenshot below)

WinX_folder-1.png

8 Copy and paste (drag and drop) the shortcut(s) you want to restore from the ZIP folder (step 4) into its corresponding Group1, Group2, or Group3 folder from step 7. (see screenshots below)

WinX_ZIP-2.png
WinX_folder-2.png


[
WinX_ZIP-3.png
WinX_folder-3.png


WinX_ZIP-4.png
WinX_folder-4.png

9 When finished, you can close File Explorer.

10 Restart the explorer process or sign out and sign in to apply your changes to the Win+X Quick Link menu.


That's it,
Shawn Brink


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P

Paul Newton

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Brink said:
You could try doing a repair install of Windows 11 below to hopefully restore them without losing anything.

www.elevenforum.com

Repair Install Windows 11 with an In-place Upgrade Tutorial

If you are having problems with Windows 11 on your PC and the usual solutions will not fix Windows 11, you can do a repair install of Windows 11 by performing an in-place upgrade without losing anything. You will keep all accounts, apps, and personal data. Repair install requirements: You...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com
Click to expand...

I'll maybe look into that tomorrow. I don't have the installation media but I think Advanced startup will give me that option and get everything it needs from the recovery partition - I'll double check with the Dell docs ...
 

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    Dell
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    12th Gen i7
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    16GB DDR4
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel onboard
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    250 Mb/s
P

Paul Newton

Member
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10:57 AM
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Location
Northamptonshire, UK
Visit site
OS
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Brink said:
You could try doing a repair install of Windows 11 below to hopefully restore them without losing anything.

www.elevenforum.com

Repair Install Windows 11 with an In-place Upgrade Tutorial

If you are having problems with Windows 11 on your PC and the usual solutions will not fix Windows 11, you can do a repair install of Windows 11 by performing an in-place upgrade without losing anything. You will keep all accounts, apps, and personal data. Repair install requirements: You...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com
Click to expand...
Well, I did the repair install and guess what ... I still have the same problem - No Terminal, Powershell or Command prompt on the WinX menu :mad: :mad: :mad:
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell
    CPU
    12th Gen i7
    Memory
    16GB DDR4
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel onboard
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1280
    Hard Drives
    512GB SSD
    2 TB SATA HDD
    Internet Speed
    250 Mb/s
P

Paul Newton

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Brink, many thanks for all your help and suggestions (even if none of them worked - hardly your fault :-))

I have a temporary solution which works for me. I am using ExplorerPatcher GitHub - valinet/ExplorerPatcher: This project aims to enhance the working environment on Windows. I then created a new toolbar and added shortcuts for Command Prompt and Windows Powershell. In the toolbar they can be clicked to run normally or right-clicked and Run as Administrator. I also had Terminal on my Start Menu and I have pinned that to the Taskbar.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell
    CPU
    12th Gen i7
    Memory
    16GB DDR4
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel onboard
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1280
    Hard Drives
    512GB SSD
    2 TB SATA HDD
    Internet Speed
    250 Mb/s
Brink

Brink

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Paul Newton said:
Brink, many thanks for all your help and suggestions (even if none of them worked - hardly your fault :-))

I have a temporary solution which works for me. I am using ExplorerPatcher GitHub - valinet/ExplorerPatcher: This project aims to enhance the working environment on Windows. I then created a new toolbar and added shortcuts for Command Prompt and Windows Powershell. In the toolbar they can be clicked to run normally or right-clicked and Run as Administrator. I also had Terminal on my Start Menu and I have pinned that to the Taskbar.
Click to expand...

Great news. :party:

You might also like these context menus:

www.elevenforum.com

Add "Open in Windows Terminal" expandable context menu in Windows 11 Tutorial

Windows Terminal is a modern host application for the command-line shells you already love, like Command Prompt, PowerShell, and bash (via Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)). Its main features include multiple tabs, panes, Unicode and UTF-8 character support, a GPU accelerated text rendering...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com
www.elevenforum.com

Add "Open in Windows Terminal (Admin)" context menu in Windows 11 Tutorial

Windows Terminal is a modern host application for the command-line shells you already love, like Command Prompt, PowerShell, and bash (via Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)). Its main features include multiple tabs, panes, Unicode and UTF-8 character support, a GPU accelerated text rendering...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
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    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
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    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
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    Logitech wireless K800
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    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
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    Google Chrome
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    Other Info
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    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    Linksys EA9500 router,
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    Intel SST
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    13.3" 4K UWVA AMOLED multitouch
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    3840 x 2160
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    Google Chrome
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    Windows Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
P

Paul Newton

Member
Local time
10:57 AM
Posts
20
Location
Northamptonshire, UK
Visit site
OS
Windows 11 Pro
Brink said:
Great news. :party:

You might also like these context menus:

www.elevenforum.com

Add "Open in Windows Terminal" expandable context menu in Windows 11 Tutorial

Windows Terminal is a modern host application for the command-line shells you already love, like Command Prompt, PowerShell, and bash (via Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)). Its main features include multiple tabs, panes, Unicode and UTF-8 character support, a GPU accelerated text rendering...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com
www.elevenforum.com

Add "Open in Windows Terminal (Admin)" context menu in Windows 11 Tutorial

Windows Terminal is a modern host application for the command-line shells you already love, like Command Prompt, PowerShell, and bash (via Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)). Its main features include multiple tabs, panes, Unicode and UTF-8 character support, a GPU accelerated text rendering...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com
Click to expand...
Hello Brink. I am not interested in those at the moment, but I am interested in Add Custom Shortcuts to Win+X Quick Link Menu in Windows 11
Unfortunately, it does not work for me (22H2, 22621.819). I will post a reply there with this finding.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell
    CPU
    12th Gen i7
    Memory
    16GB DDR4
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel onboard
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1280
    Hard Drives
    512GB SSD
    2 TB SATA HDD
    Internet Speed
    250 Mb/s
Haorutia

Haorutia

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Is there any way to remove all shortcuts in the WinX menu?
I am using Windows 11 Pro 22H2 in a local environment and want to delete all menus from WinX.
I have tried deleting past questions posted with Default user as the link, but it didn't work.

Also, I can't use third party software because it is prohibited.
 

My Computer

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