Customizing User Navigation

Customizing user navigation is the next stop on the Windows Vista customizing road trip. In the preceding chapter, with the help of some cool hacks, you were able to change and improve the boot and logon screens. This chapter picks up where Chapter 1 left off and shows you how to customize and improve the visual navigation elements of Windows Vista.

This chapter starts with customizing the look and the contents of the cool new Start panel. The improved Start panel in Windows Vista has many useful new features, and I show how you can use them best. Then, I show you how you can customize the new program list and customize almost everything you see. If you don't like the new Start panel, you can then find out how to get the old classic Start menu back. Then, I show you some cool hacks to improve and customize the classic Start menu.

You also learn how to customize the taskbar on the bottom of your screen. The taskbar is an essential part of navigating your computer. I show you how to customize and improve its features and give you some new ideas on how you can use it that may dramatically improve your experiences with Windows Vista.

Customizing the Start Panel
The Start panel is what I consider the replacement for the traditional Start menu that you may be familiar with if you were a pre-Windows XP user. I call this the Start panel because it is not just a menu anymore. It is now a collection of various shortcuts and features, all thrown onto one panel that pops up. It offers many new features such as a dynamic list that includes your most frequently run programs so that you can easily access them without having to navigate through All Programs. In addition, the Start panel has replaced all the icons on the desktop except for the Recycle Bin so that your desktop will look much cleaner and uncluttered. New in Windows Vista is a Search box on the bottom of the Start panel. This new box enables you to easily search through programs in the Start menu and search your computer for documents and launch commands like a traditional Run box. Everything can be accessed from the Start panel now!

Today, tools and hacks allow you to customize the Start panel. Almost everything on it is customizable. You can add and remove icons and shortcuts, and you can even change the way it looks. You can even change the way the features on it, such as the Search box, work.

When you have finished reading these next few sections, you will have transformed your Start panel into something that works better for you and is much more useful for your everyday tasks.

Customizing navigation shortcuts
You will find many new navigation links on the Start panel that will help you navigate to various parts of Windows. All these shortcut buttons on the right side of the Start panel can be customized. Many can be removed completely, and others can be added. By default, you will see a button with your username followed by buttons for Documents, Pictures, Music, and Games. All these buttons are shortcuts to your personal folders. The next set-Search, Recent Items, Computer, Network, and Connect to-are more functional navigation shortcuts that allow you to jump to the most common system components. The last three shortcuts offer you a way to access system configuration components such as the Control Panel and Default Programs and a convenient shortcut to Help and Support for new users.

Some shortcuts are not displayed, such as the classic Run button, Printers, and Favorites. Other features, such as Display as Menu for buttons, that allow you to jump directly to a specific child item are also missing. This feature can be useful in some situations. For example, if you enable Display as Menu on the Computer button, you will see a list of drivers that you can jump directly to. This eliminates a few extra clicks that will help you get to where you want to go faster.

All these features and shortcuts are customizable on one screen. Follow these steps to access the Start Menu Customization screen:

Right-click the Start button and click Properties.

On the Start Menu tab, click the Customize button on the top right of the window. This loads the Customize Start Menu window, as shown in Figure

Scroll through the list and make changes to the items as you see fit. Refer to the sections that follow for my recommendations.

When you're finished adjusting the options, click OK and OK once more to close Taskbar Properties. Your changes will be live instantly.

Now that you know how to change the settings, the next few sections guide you through my recommendations for creating a clean and powerful Start panel.

Hiding user folders
Having all the user folders on the Start panel can be useful for some but not for me. You are already given a button that has your username on it. Through that button, you can access your music, pictures, and documents. Having these extra folders visible is just cluttering the Start panel and taking up real estate that could be better spent.

To clean up the user folders, while on the Customize Start Menu window (shown in Figure 2-1), set these options:

Documents: Select Don't display this item.

Music: Select Don't display this item.

Pictures: Select Don't display this item.

Games: Select Don't display this item. You can reach the games through the normal Start menu.

Customizing system component and management shortcuts
The system component shortcut buttons and management buttons also take up a lot of space on your Start panel. I rarely find myself using any of these buttons with the exception of Search and Computer. The others I have in my Quick Launch bar, or you can find them in the system tray. Here are my recommendations for these two sections:

Connect To: Clear the checkbox. You can access this in the system tray.

Computer: Set to Display as menu.

Default Programs: Clear the check box.

Help: Clear the check box.

Network: Clear the check box. You can access this in the system tray.

Printers: Check. The only other place you can get this is in Control Panel, which is inconvenient if you print a lot.

Run: Check if you like the old Run button. You can use the search box now as a Run box, too, but some may still like the old Run box. I do!

Tip While in the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties window (right-click the Start button and select Properties), I recommend removing the check next to Store and displaying a list of recently opened files. This removes the annoying Recent Items entry on your Start panel.


You are now finished customizing your Start panel. If you followed my recommendations, your Start panel will now look like Figure