Controlling the Vista Start Menu - Adding and changing a menu
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Not only can you change the program icons shown in Vista’s Start menu items, but you also can change the very nature of the menus themselves. You can add, rename, or remove the menus altogether if you want to.
As introduced in the previous section, all you have to do is know where to look. If you’re adding a menu for a particular user, for example, you need to access the user’s Start Menu folder at:
%UserProfile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu
Once there, you can perform the following menu tasks:
Add new menus
To create a new menu, just add a folder to the Start menu hierarchy. This new folder will appear as a separate item in the Vista Start menu.
Change existing menus
You can modify the contents of existing menus by moving folders or shortcuts to new locations.
Rename folders and/or shortcuts
This one’s self-explanatory. You can rename an item here just as you can any other file on your hard drive. Alternatively, you can right-click the item from the Start menu itself and choose Rename from the context menu.
Two Start menu items shouldn’t be renamed, moved, or deleted. They are the Startup folder and the Administrative Tools folder. In the case of the Startup folder, altering its properties can prevent Vista from using it. As for the Administrative Tools folder, any changes, such as whether or not the administrative tools display, should be performed using the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box, as discussed multiple times in this chapter.
Adding Administrative Tools to the Vista Start Menu
Earlier in this section, we discussed the Classic Start menu and its familiar way of adding the administrative tools to its list of possible programs. I know from experience that this is a favorite of many a Windows administrator, and it is even the reason that many still use the Classic Start menu interface.
But it’s also easy to add the administrative tools to the Vista Simple Start menu as well. When you add them to the other ease-of-use benefits of the new Start menu, this helps make the new way of doing things all the more compelling.
Here’s how to set it up:
Right-click the Start button and choose Properties from the context menu, launching the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box.
Select the Start Menu tab and then the Customize button.
Click OK twice to complete the action.
Figure 4-7. Displaying options for the administrative tools
Now the entire range of administrative tools is but a click or two away.
Changing the Start menu picture
Now for some more fun features. If you’ve been shipped a computer with Vista pre-installed or have recently upgraded to Vista, you have likely noticed a picture associated with the user account located in the Start menu’s upper-righthand side, just above the username.
You can change this picture if you want. Here’s how:
- From the Control Panel, open the User Accounts applet. In the Standard View, look under the User Accounts and Family Safety grouping.
- Once there, choose the “Change your picture” link. You’ll now see a group of preinstalled pictures. As shown in Figure 4-8, simply click the picture you want to use, and then click Change Picture.
Boring. More fun: use a picture of your own by choosing the “Browse for more pictures” option, and then navigate to the picture you want to use. Select the picture and then click Open.
Next: Controlling Start menu behavior with the registry >>
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 This article is excerpted from chapter four of Windows Vista Administration: The Definitive Guide, written by Brian Culp (O'Reilly; ISBN: 0596529597). Check it out today at your favorite bookstore. Buy this book now.
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