To add shortcuts to the Windows 11 and 10 Start Menu, you will need to first create a new shortcut. To do this, open the Start Menu and click on the New button. Then, type shortcut into the text field and click on the Add button. You can then select a location for your new shortcut. If you want your new shortcut to be automatically created in the right-most column of your Start Menu, select this option. If you want your new shortcut to be placed in a different location, you can also choose this option. Click on the OK button to create your new shortcut.

Pin Apps or App Shortcuts to the Start Menu

If an app shortcut or executable (.exe) file is on the desktop, right-click it and select Pin to Start. If an app shortcut or executable (.exe) file is not on the desktop, right-click it and select Unpin from Start.

You can also add an app to the Start Menu from the File Explorer. Open the folder containing the app, right-click the EXE file, and select Pin to Start. ..

To add app shortcuts to the Windows Start Menu from the Start Menu itself, follow these steps:

  1. Open the Start Menu by clicking on the Start button or pressing the Windows key on your keyboard.
  2. Click on All Programs in the left column of the Start Menu.
  3. Click on Accessories and then click on System Tools.
  4. In the System Tools window, click on Add/Remove Programs.
  5. In the Add/Remove Programs window, click on Windows Explorer and then click on App Shortcuts in the left column of App Shortcuts windows.
  6. In App Shortcuts windows, double-click on an app that you want to add a shortcut to your desktop or File Explorer for easy access later.
  7. If you want to add a shortcut for a system utility (e.g., Task Manager or Control Panel), type its name in the text box next to its icon and then press Enter or click OK . ..

Press the Start button or Windows key and type the app’s name in the search bar. Select Pin to Start below the app menu in the search results.

Add Folder Shortcuts to the Start Menu

To pin a folder to the Start Menu, right-click the folder and select “Pin to Start.” ..

Add a File to Windows Start Menu

When you right-click a file, you won’t find an option to add it to the Start Menu. That’s because Microsoft designed the Start Menu to hold apps and folders. It’s currently not possible to pin a file to the Start Menu. However, you can pin a shortcut to a file. ..

You can move the file shortcut to a specific folder on your PC by following these steps:

  1. Open Windows Explorer and navigate to the folder where you want the shortcut to be located.
  2. Right-click on the file shortcut and select “Properties.”
  3. On the “Shortcut” tab, click on the “Location” button and enter the path to the folder where you want the shortcut to be located.
  4. Click on OK to save your changes. ..

Method 1: The File Explorer Hack

If your PC is running Windows 11, right-click the file, select Properties, and then click the shortcut tab.

If you want to quickly create a shortcut for a file in the same folder, you can hold down the Alt key and drag and drop the file to the folder. ..

C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Live Messenger C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Live Writer

To pin a file shortcut to the Start Menu, open the Start Menu and click on the Programs folder. Then, click on the Pin button.

If you have pinned a file to your computer’s Start Menu, you now see its shortcut(s).

Method 2: The Windows Registry Hack

In this method, you’ll first unlock the “Pin to Start” context menu option for files by using a Registry hack. After that, you’ll be able to right-click any shortcut and pin it to the Start menu.

Windows Registry is a collection of files that help your computer work smoothly. Deleting essential files (even by accident) can break your PC or some system functionalities. If you don’t have a backup of your Windows Registry, you may lose all your data and be unable to fix the issue.

To register the necessary changes to the Registry, we’ll walk you through creating a special text file. This file will contain all of the registry changes that you need to make.

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon] “UserName”=“My Name” “Password”=“My Password”

In Windows 11, right-click the file, select Properties, and select Shortcut. ..

If the Start Menu is empty, you may need to pinned a file to the Start Menu.

Add Website Shortcut to Windows Start Menu

To create a shortcut to a frequently visited website in Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome, follow these steps:

  1. Open Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome.
  2. In Microsoft Edge, open the Menu Bar and select Settings.
  3. On the Menu Bar, select General.
  4. Under “Start Page”, select a website you want to shortcut to.
  5. Click on the shortcut and enjoy your new website shortcut!

Add Websites Shortcuts from Microsoft Edge

Open the website or web page you want to pin to the Start Menu and follow these steps:

  1. Open the System Preferences app and click on the General tab.
  2. Scroll down to the bottom and click on Pin Website or Web Page.
  3. Enter a name for the website or web page you want to pin and click on Add.

If your PC’s Start Menu or Taskbar doesn’t have a website shortcut, you can find it by checking your PC’s Start Menu or Taskbar for the website name.

Add Website Shortcuts from Google Chrome

Customize Windows 11 Start Menu

When you have too many shortcuts in the Start Menu, they roll over into a second page in the pinned section. ..

Windows 10 offers users the ability to customize how many pinned shortcuts and recommended content is shown in the Start Menu. This can be helpful if you want to save time scrolling through multiple pages. ..

You can add more shortcuts to your PC’s Start Menu by selecting Personalization > Start and then clicking More pins.

To personalize the Start Menu on your Windows computer, follow this tutorial on customizing the Windows Start Menu.

Pin Shortcuts for Quick Access

To make an app or file shortcut available to all users, paste it into the Public Desktop (C:\Users\Public\Desktop) folder. Afterward, sign in to the user account and manually add the Start Menu shortcut.