Assign or modify an app's category in new Start Menu?


RPmtl

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Windows 11 / 10 Dual-Boot
Is there a way to modify or add an app's category in the new Windows 11 Start Menu? When Windows 11 puts apps into categories I'm wondering where it's getting the app category from and whether there's a way to modify it? Is it buried in a Registry value that can be modified? Or is there a utility that can be used to view, add or change it?

I've been searching the web and have not found an answer and am hoping someone here can offer some insight.

R
 

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    Windows 11 / 10 Dual-Boot
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That's a thing I was wondering about too.
Normally I use OpenShell startmenu, where everything is very organzied. But now having the new Windows menu, I did a test with that. For reaching the normal Windows startmenu in OpenShell I can click shift startbutton.

The programs are really spread all over the catagories without any organization!
Write is missing, Planmaker is in 'Others' (should be in Productivity), Autokey is in Productivity (should be in Utilities) and so on.

In this way for me the new Start Menu is not usable at all.
The only advance compared to the old menu is that it has no Recommended section anymore.

Will stay in the OpenShell as long as possible.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 26200.8457
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    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Build by vendor to my specs
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
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    MSI PRO B550M-P Gen3
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    Kingston FURY Beast 2x16GB DIMM DDR4 2666 CL16
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    Cooler Master Hyper H412R with Be Quiet Pure Wings 2 PWM BL038 fan
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    Cherry Stream (wired, scissor keys)
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    Asus WT465 (wireless)
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    70 Mbps down / 80 Mbps up
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    Firefox 130.0
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    F-Secure (Internetprovider version)
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    Router: FRITZBox 7490
    Oracle VirtualBox 7 for testing software on Win 10 or 11
Agree- forget any Win 10/11 style menu including 3rd party ones (at least that was so when I looked into this a bit..) with Open Shell you can organise the shorcuts any way you like.. and of course that organisation simply reflects the underlying folders and subfolders containing those shortcuts.

Nested folders of shortcuts were so badly handled by Win 10's start menu- I've not bothered with Win 11's.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo t480s
    CPU
    i7-8650U
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD 620
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    C SN810 SDCPNRY-512G-1006
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
This is why most users end up using Grid (my preference) or List view. The Category view is a disorganized mess with no means to organize it. Shame, cause if I could arrange it the way I wanted I'd use it.
 

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System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 25H2
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    Laptop
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    Alienware 18 Area-51
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    Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX (24-Core)
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    Alienware
    Memory
    64GB DDR5 6400MT/s
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    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 and Intel UHD Graphics
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    Onboard, Realtek high-performance Audio chips (ALC3329 & ALC1708))
    Monitor(s) Displays
    300HZ 18-inch QHD 500 nit Comfort View+
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1600
    Hard Drives
    2TB NVMe M.2 PCIe Gen 5 SSD
    Case
    Magnesium Alloy
    Cooling
    Advanced Cryo-Tech Quad-Fan Cooling system & large vapor chamber
    Keyboard
    Cherry MX ultra low profile mechanical keyboard with per key AlienFX RGB lighting
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 4
    Browser
    Vivaldi (main), Firefox, Chrome, Edge
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    MS Defender and Malwarebytes Free
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 25H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 7
    CPU
    Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (12 Core) ARM based CPU
    Motherboard
    Microsoft Corp.
    Memory
    16GB LPDDR5
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    Qualcomm Adreno X1-85
    Sound Card
    Omnisonic speakers with Dolby Atmos spatial sound
    Monitor(s) Displays
    120 Hz 13.8-inch 600 nit PixelSense Flow touchscreen
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    2304x1536
    Hard Drives
    1TB NVMe Gen 4 SSD
    Case
    Anodized Aluminum
    Cooling
    Traditional active cooling fan system
    Keyboard
    Mechanical QWERTY, backlit when in use
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 4 and Surface Arc Mouse
    Browser
    Vivaldi (main), Firefox, Chrome, Edge
    Antivirus
    MS Defender and Malwarebytes Free
Thanks for the feedback and confirmation that it was not "something obvious" that I was missing. I'll poke around later to see what I can discover. Fwiw I dual boot Win 10/11 and still spend most of my time in 10 where I have an extended 1 yr. of updates. I've got 11 to behave in a way I like and would be just fine getting the categories view to disappear altogether (I have the reg edit values to change). But the category view looked promising if only the user could have some say in what goes where ...

R
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 / 10 Dual-Boot
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Build
    CPU
    Intel Core Ultra 9 285K
    Motherboard
    Asus ProArt Z890-CREATOR WIFI
    Memory
    96GB Crucial Pro
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce RTX 4070
    Hard Drives
    3x 1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2
    PSU
    Corsair AX850
    Case
    Lian Li PC-B10
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 G2
    Keyboard
    Das Keyboard Pro 6
Spent some time poking at it and could not find anywhere where the category was being set/defined. There is a category HEX value for some apps in the Registry but it did not appear worth messing with. The file properties of the apps also has no Category setting. It would be a great feature request as changing the app category as needed would make the feature useful. Even having a predefined set of Categories would be better than having no control at all.

Oh well ... time to move on.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 / 10 Dual-Boot
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Build
    CPU
    Intel Core Ultra 9 285K
    Motherboard
    Asus ProArt Z890-CREATOR WIFI
    Memory
    96GB Crucial Pro
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce RTX 4070
    Hard Drives
    3x 1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2
    PSU
    Corsair AX850
    Case
    Lian Li PC-B10
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 G2
    Keyboard
    Das Keyboard Pro 6
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