Editing ‘All Programs’ list in Vista’s Start Menu

Like many nerds, I’m very particular about organization.  I like to have all of my video programs located under a ‘Videos’ directory, my development stuff in one ‘Development’ directory, and so on.  It doesn’t seem like too huge a request, does it?

In Windows XP, you could create new folders, drag icons, and delete links directly on the menu.  Not so in Windows Vista.

You can still customize the ‘All Programs’ list, but you have to do so at the file system level.  To do this, you have to muck around in two directories:

C:Users”User Name”AppDataRoamingMicrosoftWindowsStart Menu
C:ProgramDataMicrosoftWindowsStart Menu (this directory is hidden)

Since the “ProgramData” folder is hidden, then you’ll have to go into your Folder Options applet in the Control panel and uncheck the “hide operating system files” option.

In these directories, you can organize all you like.  Create new high-level category folders, delete useless links, and so on.