Solved Power Start Menu = (Activity from Author)

@Karkre

Ignore how ugly this is, I was just messing around with the settings.

You're kind of right with something, I can only get 5 groups along the width. But it obviously depends on your resolution. My desktops are 1920 x 1080. If you were running a higher res, I couldn't know how many you could get in a width.

However, even with that in mind, I counted over 400 shortcuts on the Windows 10 menu. And take into account, you can scroll the menu window (and groups) so technically you could have 1000's of shortcuts. Depending on how many groups you had (without using tabs) you would have to subtract some rows of shortcuts due to the tab name height. But I'd still count over 300 shortcuts.

You want 116 shortcuts? Multiply that by as many as you like.

Also, you can create tabs (note images). So again, technically you could have 10's of 1000's of shortcuts. It is possibly endless.
Note some of the images below. The configuration options regarding colors, transparency, group width, group height, menu locking, locking menu shortcut positions etc etc seem plentiful.

If you use Fences, you can add a Fence instantly as a Group, as you can with folders, websites etc.

It's all I had time to mess with. As I backed up my settings via Start11, I can switch back now and undo the mess.

I hope this helped.

After a lot of hours with Start11, I have not been able to achieve what I really need and that I am finally starting to achieve. At the moment I have arrived at what you see in the attached image. How do you see it? It seems sufficient for my needs.

Karkre said:

After a lot of hours with Start11, I have not been able to achieve what I really need and that I am finally starting to achieve. At the moment I have arrived at what you see in the attached image. How do you see it? It seems sufficient for my needs.

Click to expand...

So you’re not using Groups?
What screen resoloution are you using? I am not sure I understand why you only have space for 9 Shortcuts from top to bottom and I have space for 18, I can get 20 if I don’t use group titles or just have one group per row. You have a 27” monitor so I am having trouble understanding the layout space for shortcuts. Is your monitor view set to 150%?

It doesn’t look like Start11 but I suppose that’s because of how you have set it up.
Don't forget, you can specify rows (amount of icons in a row/horizontally) and height (the amount of icons vertically) by right clicking on the group. (I forget where it is)
If the row amount is set at for example 10, and you only have 6 shortcuts in a row, you will have a space between the groups. Row widths for a group can be different for each group. As can heights.

If your group is set at 15 shortcuts vertically (from top to bottom) and you have 20 shortcuts, you have to scroll down the group (scrollbars are automatically applied).

Let me know if you need help to find things, when I tried it for you in the post above, I backed up the settings for that menu and can reload it if I need to.

Karkre said:

How do you see it?

Click to expand...

I see it that you could've saved yourself a lot of useless pain, simply by going for ExplorerPatcher instead, and, I would be lying if I told you that this isn't how I see it.

hdmi said:

I see it that you could've saved yourself a lot of useless pain, simply by going for ExplorerPatcher instead, and, I would be lying if I told you that this isn't how I see it.

Click to expand...

Does explorer patcher magically know what shortcuts you want on your desktop? So you don’t need to do a thing to set it up, it just knows?
And where is the surety that it wont be blocked in 24H2?

When was the last time you used start11?

I’d be more convinced if you explained you preference as apposed to saying this one is better than that one.

I mean sell ExplorerPatcher to me/people. Convince me it’s better, show me some examples as I have shown with Start11, relayed methods etc.
I am genuinely open to all new software. Like I love Edwins reviews and his testings.

Personally, it doesn’t matter to me what people use as a start menu as long as the productivity suits that individual. It’s just that you have stated a couple of times how much better EP is compared to another option, and I’ve seen no reasons why you think this?

antspants said:

Does explorer patcher magically know what shortcuts you want on your desktop?

Click to expand...

Does your desktop magically know what shortcuts you want on it?

antspants said:

So you don’t need to do a thing to set it up, it just knows?

Click to expand...

What the heck are you even talking about?

antspants said:

And where is the surety that it wont be blocked in 24H2?

Click to expand...

Where's the proof that it will be blocked in 24H2 in such a particular way that it will be too hard for people to unblock with basic skills like simply remaming the installer file? Where's the surety that Start11 won't forever continue to make life so hard on people that it takes them an hour of useless pain to get it to do what they want it to do? Is there any reason to assume that, even if it does turn out after all, that ExplorerPatcher will be permanently blocked by Microsoft and cannot be unblocked, there exists a reason why I prefer to use the Windows 7 style choice of Open-Shell for my Start menu replacement as a daily driver, and why I also store copies of my most important shortcuts elsewhere. My point here is, when dealing with Microsoft, surety is going to be synonymous to wishful thinking. It always has been.

That said, it literally takes me minutes to put my icons pretty much wherever I want whenever I want, also including in the Windows 10 Start menu of ExplorerPatcher (if you forced me to use that one in lieu of the Open-Shell Menu). That is, excepting only if you tell me to use those specific programs that are specially designed to make life harder, and that I am allergic to.

antspants said:

When was the last time you used start11?

Click to expand...

Does it actually even matter?

antspants said:

I’d be more convinced if you explained you preference as apposed to saying this one is better than that one.

Click to expand...

For starters, the part of the code that has been rumored to soon be removed from Windows 11 is not related to the Windows 10 Start menu of ExplorerPatcher. Due to how ExplorerPatcher is designed, its Windows 10 Start menu feature does not rely on ExplorerPatcher being able to automatically download the new symbols from Microsoft each time after Windows Update causes Windows 11 to be moved to a new build. ExplorerPatcher graciously falls back to a "basic mode" of sorts, which causes those specific ExplorerPatcher features that rely on the new symbols to be disabled, until it can successfully download the new symbols. ExplorerPatcher does not modify any system files. ExplorerPatcher only stores some of its settings in the Windows registry, and they can be exported/imported to/from a .reg file. (Typing in explorerpatcher settings management in Google Search takes you straight to the Wiki page on GitHub where you can read up on how that works.)

As for how to customize the Windows 10 Start menu of ExplorerPatcher. It is pretty much as straightforward as can be. Right-click on the Windows Settings cogwheel icon on the left in the Start menu shows a link that takes you to the section of Windows Settings that lets you change what's shown on the left in the Start menu (i.e., Windows Settings | Personalization | Start | Folders). The Start menu can be resized freely. Dropping an icon a little bit farther away from other icons puts it in a new group, and the group title can optionally be remamed. Like, it really shouldn't be that hard to figure this out. Especially not if you already are familiar with the official (from Microsoft) Start menu of Windows 10. As a matter of fact, if I'm going to compare the official one to that of ExplorerPatcher, my conclusion is going to have to be that the latter option is slightly ahead, at least when it comes to pure simplicity and ease-of-use. If you have a computer that is running on Windows 10, then it also is possible to directly compare them to spot the differences. (Read my post #60, try it, and find out for yourself if what I wrote is true.)

Forget about it, Id rather not explain why I like to offer suggestions & support without saying how superior my suggestion or answer is to other peoples. But that’s me.
Like I said, it’s all good. Forget about it

antspants said:

So you’re not using Groups?
What screen resoloution are you using? I am not sure I understand why you only have space for 9 Shortcuts from top to bottom and I have space for 18, I can get 20 if I don’t use group titles or just have one group per row. You have a 27” monitor so I am having trouble understanding the layout space for shortcuts. Is your monitor view set to 150%?

Click to expand...

I can't find anything about Groups on Start11...
Resolution of my screen 1920x1080 view set 100%

antspants: This morning I spent 5 hours with Start11 without making progress, I'm afraid I'm not qualified to understand this program.
You have been very kind and patient with me throughout this thread, I feel uncomfortable if I continue to nag. After all, what I have achieved is enough for my needs.

hdmi: Windows currently does not allow me to install Explorerpatcher. I had it previously and the only thing I achieved was a 6x6 start menu.

Karkre said:

This morning I spent 5 hours with Start11 without making progress, I'm afraid I'm not qualified to understand this program.

Click to expand...

At least you had a good, Karkre, that’s all you can ask of yourself

Karkre said:

Windows currently does not allow me to install Explorerpatcher.

Click to expand...

Same here. I can see in your specs that you are using McAfee antivirus. Each time when I buy a new laptop, I choose to uninstall McAfee always immediately after all critical security updates have been downloaded and installed by repeatedly going to Windows Update in Windows Settings until Windows Update no longer finds any new available updates. So, because I am not using McAfee, I don't know if McAfee is blocking ExplorerPatcher, but if that's what's happening, then you may need to find a way to let McAfee unblock ExplorerPatcher if you wish to still continue to use McAfee. (The reason why I don't continue to use McAfee after Windows fully updated itself is simply because it is known to have been causing all sorts of problems with various programs on Windows in the past.)

ExplorerPatcher automatically gets blocked/quarantined by Windows Security (Defender) also, but it is still possible to let Windows Security unblock ExplorerPatcher by adding it to the list of exclusions.
After I added the file %programfiles%\ExplorerPatcher\ep_setup.exe and the folder %appdata%\ExplorerPatcher to the list of exclusions, ExplorerPatcher has been working perfectly fine for me on 2 different laptops both of which are running on Windows 11 version 23H2.

Karkre said:

I had it previously and the only thing I achieved was a 6x6 start menu.

Click to expand...

The column width is 6, but the number of rows dynamically changes beyond 6.

Also note, if you are struggling to find out how you can Pin to start, here's how:

By default, each new group title/header is just an empty space above the tile(s) that belong(s) to the group. Renaming the title that appears in the header can be done by clicking on the header, and, unpinning all the tiles/icons that belong to the same group can be done via right-click on the header of that group. Groups can also be moved around by dragging the header of the group that you want to move.

In ExplorerPatcher's settings, it also is possible to choose whether you want the App list to be displayed, be hidden or be disabled. If this setting is changed to Hide, then, in the Windows 10 Start menu of ExplorerPatcher, there are 2 icons on the left, directly below the icon that has 3 horizontal lines (also called the "hamburger" icon). These 2 icons let you switch between the App list and the Pinned tiles.

In addition to the tips that I already gave in the last paragraph of my post #67, my explanation above should help to make it look almost identical to the image that you posted in your post #53.

Finally, I am sorry to hear that you had to waste 5 hours of your time. I could travel from my place to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in probably less time; just the mere thought of wasting 5 hours of my time with Start11 makes me feel so tired and beat, that I could use a wonderful vacation there!

Thank you. I'll try it in the next few days.
and... losing 5 hours with a new PC seems very normal to me (I have spent many more hours trying to put Firefox just like I had it on W10)

Karkre said:

losing 5 hours with a new PC seems very normal to me (I have spent many more hours trying to put Firefox just like I had it on W10)

Click to expand...

This is one of the main reasons why I use Firefox Portable. It conveniently lets me make simple copies of the FirefoxPortable folder that, by design, stores the whole thing, also including all of its settings/customizations, the addons, and the settings of the addons etc. so, all it takes is just copy the whole folder. (Alternatively, use the registered version of WinRAR to add the folder to a new archive, which takes noticeably less time to extract over a network share than the time it typically takes to copy the folder itself over the network share.)

Karkre said:

Thank you. I'll try it in the next few days.
and... losing 5 hours with a new PC seems very normal to me (I have spent many more hours trying to put Firefox just like I had it on W10)

Click to expand...

To create a new “Group” right click on the space in the Win 10 menu area.
even better if you decided to use Fences, you would add one of the Fences as a group. Whatever is in the Fence goes in the Group.

I’ve spent over 20 years (I think) still learning Adobe Ssoftware. Some programs take longer than others.

After too many hours of work, I give up: I have uninstalled Start11 and EP. Actually, what I showed in post #62 meets all my needs: it does not consume disk space, it is 100% Windows, you just have to press winkey + d to see it and it shows all my applications on a single screen.
Thank you for the interest you all have shown.