To keep your All Programs menu from growing too long, you can consolidate menu items into submenus (Figure 2.11). You add submenus by creating folders.

Every item that appears in the Start menu is contained in one of two folders: a folder that applies only to you, the logged-on user (which only you can access); and a folder that applies to all users (which everyone who has a user account can access).

To add or delete All Programs items:

1. Right-click the Start button (Figure 2.12).

2. To add or delete items for only you, choose Open or Explore.
or
To add or delete items for everyone with a user account, choose Open All Users or Explore All Users.

3. To add (or delete) menu items, drag icons into (or delete icons from) the Start Menu folder, the Programs folder, or any folder nested in the Start Menu or Programs folders (Figure 2.13).

Icons placed inside the Start Menu folder or the Programs folder appears in the All Programs menu. Subfolders inside the Programs folder appear as submenus.

To add an All Programs submenu:

1. Right-click the Start button (refer to Figure 2.12).

2. To add a submenu for only you, choose Open or Explore.
or
To add a submenu for everyone with a user account, choose Open All Users or Explore All Users.

3. Click Organize (on the toolbar) > New Folder, or press Alt, F, W, F. or
Right-click an empty area in the right pane and choose New > Folder.
or
Right-click the Start Menu folder or one of its subfolders in the Folders list (on the left) and choose New > Folder. (If the list is hidden, click the Folders bar at the bottom left.)

If a security prompt appears, type an administrator password or confirm the action.

4. Type the name of the folder and press Enter.

You create an empty folder, which is an empty submenu (Figure 2.14).

5. To make a particular item appear in the new submenu, drop a shortcut to it on the new folder and then close the Explorer window.

6. Choose Start > All Programs to see the new submenu (Figure 2.15).

Tip

• To create a nested submenu, create a new folder inside the first folder that you added.

Figure 2.14 A subfolder within the Start Menu folder or the Programs folder appears as a submenu in the All Programs menu.

Figure 2.15 The new folder appears as an empty submenu in the All Programs menu. If All Programs autosorting is turned off, you can drag the folder up or down the menu to reposition it.

Figure 2.11 A menu item with a folder icon spawns a submenu when you click it.

Figure 2.12 You can add or delete items that are visible only to you or to all users.

Figure 2.13 The Start Menu folder and its subfolders determine what appears in the All Programs menu. Click the right-pointing triangle next to a folder (or double-click the folder icon itself ) to reveal its nested folders.