This simple mod is what Windows 11 Start menu should have been from the very beginning

As much as I love Windows 11 and understand that Windows 10 is going away, I 100% agree with the overwhelming majority of users that Windows 11's Start menu is not good. Even though Microsoft is working on new Start menu layouts for Windows 11, they are no match to what we had in the Windows 10 era with its flexibility, customization, and overall convenience.

Fortunately, there is no need to wait for Microsoft to fix its operating system. Third-party app Windhawk is a treasure trove of useful Windows mods, and one of them lets you have Windows 11's Start menu just as it should have been in the first place: Windows 10's convenience and Windows 11's fancy design.

What I miss from the days of Windows 10 is how it allowed me to have the list of all apps and pinned tiles all on one screen with no need to switch between any views. On Windows 11, however, the Start menu defaults to an area with pinned apps and recommendations (that might soon go away), and opening the list of all apps requires making another click. With this mod, however, you can have all your app pins at the center, the list of all apps to the left, and recommended content to the right—no more extra clicks just to find that one app in the list.

Here is what you need to have the same Start menu layout on your system:

1. Download and install Windhawk from the official website.
2. Find the "Windows 11 Start Menu Styler" mod and install it.
3. Once installed, go to the "Advanced" tab and paste the code from the "Modern Start Menu" section on this page. If you want the Start menu without the Recommended section, use the code from the "Start Menu without Recommended" section.

   

4. Click Save, then Load.
5. Open the Start menu and enjoy the much more convenient layout.

The best part about this thing is that it is highly customizable, and you can tweak literally every part, assuming you can figure out what each parameter and its value do. However, even as is, it is a much better alternative to the stock Windows 11 Start menu. That, of course, is if you trust third-party tweaks and mods.

Source

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