Windows XP Professional: The Missing Manual

Customizing the Start Menu

As millions of Windows users have demonstrated, it’s perfectly possible to live a long and happy life without ever tampering with the Start menu. For many people, the idea of making it look or work differently comes dangerously close to nerd territory. (It’s true that listing your favorite files there gives you quicker access to them—but it’s even easier to use the Quick Launch toolbar, as described in Section 3.4.3.)

UP TO SPEEDThe Not-My-Documents Folder

Whenever you log on, Windows XP provides a My Documents folder just for you. (It actually sits in the My Computer→Local Disk (C:)→Documents and Settings→[Your Name] folder.)

This feature can be confusing if you’re not expecting it. For example, if you stop by the computer after somebody else has logged in, none of your stuff is where you expect to find it—specifically, in the My Documents folder. That’s because the computer no longer opens your documents folder when you choose Start→My Documents.

If this happens to you, check the name that appears at the top of the Start menu. It identifies who’s currently logged on—and whose documents are showing up in the My Documents window.

Still, knowing how to manipulate the Start menu listings may come in handy someday, and provides an interesting glimpse into the way Windows works.

Note

Thanks to the User Accounts feature described in Chapter 17, any changes you make to the Start menu apply only to you. Each person with an account on this PC has an independent, customized ...