IT Support Notes

Windows XP is Microsoft best operating system to date.  XP combines the security of Windows NT and the power of Plug and Play in one really powerful operating system.  One of the operating systems best features is the degree at you can be customized.  The Start Menu is just one of the man features which can be customized or changed to meet your needs.  Here are a few area you may want to change.

Adding Items To Windows XP Start Menu

To add selected items to the Start menu

1. Right click the Start button, and then click Properties
2. On the Start Menu tab, under Classic Start menu , click Customize
3. Under Advanced Start menu options , select the check boxes for the items you want to appear on the Classic Start menu. The next time you click Start , the items you selected are on the Classic Start menu

Change The Way All Programs Opens from the Start menu

1. Right click the Start button, and then click Properties
2. On the Start Menu tab, click Start menu , and then click Customize
3. On the Advanced tab, select the Open submenus when I pause on them with my mouse check box. The next time you click Start , and point to All Programs , you see a list of available programs

Showing Recent Documents

1. Right-click the Start button, and then click Properties.
2. On the Start Menu tab, click Start menu, and then click Customize
3. On the Advanced tab, select the List my most recently opened documents check box. The next time you click Start, the My Recent Documents folder is on the Start menu. This folder contains the documents and files you opened recently

Change the Style of XP Start Menu

1. Right-click the Start button, and then click Properties
2. On the Start Menu tab, click one of the following options:
   • To select the default Start menu, click Start menu
   • To select the style from an earlier version of Windows, click Classic Start menu
3. To make additional selections for the Start menu style, click Customize . Additional selections include specifying the items you want to display on the Start menu, setting submenus to open when you pause on them with your mouse, and clearing your list of recently used programs, documents, and Web sites