Windows Vista Security: Praxisorientierte Sicherheit für Profis

Customizing Windows Vista’s Desktop

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Getting Around the Start Menu

The Start button is the gateway to your computer’s menu system. Clicking the Start

button displays the Start menu. You can also display the Start menu by pressing the

Windows logo key on your keyboard.

The Start menu allows you to run programs, open folders, search your computer, get

help, and more. As with Windows XP, the Start menu in Windows Vista has two views:

Standard

The standard Start menu is the default view and provides easy access to pro-

grams, folders, and search.

Classic

The classic Start menu is an alternative view that provides the look of the Start

menu in Windows 2000 and earlier releases of Windows.

In most cases, you’ll want to use the standard Start menu rather than the classic Start

menu, because the standard Start menu includes enhancements that make it easier to

access programs and folders on your computer. It is also more customizable.

For the purposes of the discussion in this section, I’ll assume you are

using the standard Start menu. You can switch between the standard

and classic Start menus at any time by right-clicking the Start button

and then selecting Properties. In the Taskbar and Start Menu Proper-

ties dialog box, the Start Menu tab is selected by default. Click Start

Menu to use the standard Start menu, or click Classic Start Menu to

use the classic Start menu. Click OK to apply the settings.

The standard Start menu in Windows Vista is organized differently than in Windows

XP. See Figure 2-3 for an example of the standard Start menu in Windows Vista.

The standard Start menu has four key areas:

Programs list

The programs list in the left pane displays recently used programs and programs

that have been pinned to the Start menu.

Common folders and features

The common folders and features options in the right pane provide quick access

to the folders and features used most often.

Control buttons

The control buttons in the lower portion of the right pane include the Power,

Lock, and Options buttons used to control the state of the computer.

Search box

The Search box in the lower portion of the left pane allows you to search your

entire computer for files, folders, or programs.

I discuss these Start menu features in the sections that follow.

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Chapter 2: Optimizing Windows Vista’s Interface

Navigating and customizing the programs list

The Start menu’s left pane displays recently used programs and programs that have

been pinned to the Start menu. In the default configuration, Internet Explorer and your

default mail program are pinned to this list, and up to eight recently used programs are

displayed as well. You can customize the programs list by pinning additional items to

the Start menu and by changing the number of recently used programs to display.

Programs pinned to the Start menu are listed in the uppermost section of the pro-

grams list. Pinning programs to the Start menu provides quick access to your favor-

ite programs. You can pin a program to the Start menu by following these steps:

1. Click the Start button.

2. Navigate the menu to the program’s menu entry.

3. Right-click the program’s menu entry.

4. On the shortcut menu, select Pin to Start Menu.

Figure 2-3. The Start menu in Windows Vista