Windows 11 users, good news the Start menu could get a fresh new look to
make your apps more manageable

Date:
Mon, 12 Aug 2024 17:13:56 +0000

Description:
Microsoft appears to be mulling a new Category layout for the apps section of the Start menu in Windows 11.

FULL STORY ======================================================================

Many of the recent changes to Windows 11 s Start menu that weve seen tested
by Microsoft have been getting hot and cold reactions, but this hasnt
deterred the software giant from continuing to experiment with the menu, and its currently trialing a new Category layout that we learned about last
month.

This layout is an alternative to the standard presentation of the All apps section of the Start menu, alongside a new grid-based layout that Microsoft has also been testing. Weve already seen a hint of this new Category view , and that sneak peek featured solid-colored squares arranged in blocks of four (reflecting the fact that it was an early working version of the layout).

However, since a new build arrived in the Windows 11 Beta channel , the Category layout now works, or its at least somewhat functional, as Windows Latest reports . (Although note that the layout still remains hidden in Windows 11 - testers will need to dig to find it). (Image credit: Windows Latest / Microsoft) Getting neater and more organized with apps

This more finished-looking version of the Category layout now shows some app icons instead of just colored blocks as was the case before. Each themed category - such as entertainment, music, or news and weather - shows up to four icons of installed applications in a 2 x 2 grid. However, this grid can show more than just four apps by bundling up to four together as mini-icons - as you can see in the above screenshot, in the other category - giving a
total of 16 apps that can be listed in any category (in theory, as it stands in testing).

That said, none of this is fully functional in the beta build yet - those mini-icons should expand when clicked on, presumably, but dont yet - and Microsoft could change things (or even scrap this idea) as testing
progresses.

Both the Category and Grid layouts would be better options than the default Windows 11 layout for the Start menu to the present one, which shows a long list of apps you have to scroll through in a painful manner. The Grid view bundles up apps alphabetically in a grid, meaning less scrolling, and the Category layout refines things even further with themed groups to make
sifting through your apps easier.

Just reading about these updates to the Start menu has made me nostalgic for older Start menu designs where you could instantly see all your apps in curated categories.

Windows Latest believes that the new Category layout will be functional soon enough, and maybe even implemented in the next major Windows 11 update, version 24H2 - although given how early the feature seems to be in testing right now, Im not sure how realistic that expectation is. YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE... Microsoft is messing with Windows 11s Start menu and jamming in more adverts and Im sick of it Windows 11 gets a useful addition to the Start
menu for a change and some other nifty tweaks Windows 11 update introduces a long-awaited File Explorer feature plus a Start menu change that may not go down so well



======================================================================
Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/windows/windows-11-users-good-news-the-sta rt-menu-could-get-a-fresh-new-look-to-make-your-apps-more-manageable


--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 (Linux/64)
* Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100)