Customizing the Windows Start menu

Just as in earlier Windows versions, you can customize the Start menu of Windows 10. For users who have never worked with Windows 10 before, the appearance of the Start menu may be significantly different than what they were previously used to. You can configure the Start menu from the Settings app, as explained in the last section.

You can customize the application tiles that appear on the Start menu and how those tiles look and behave. When a tile is pinned to the Start menu, you can configure it from the context menu. The context menu appears when you right-click on the pinned tile:

Figure 3.16 - Context menu

The options in the context menu, shown in the previous screenshot, are as follows:

• Unpin from Start: This unpins the tile from the Start menu.
• Resize: Choose from Small, Medium, Large, and Wide. This is dependent on the app.
• More: You have several options, which are also dependent on the type of app you're using. For example, you may have the Turn Live Tile off, Pin to taskbar, App settings, Rate and review, and Share options.
• Uninstall: You will see this option for installed desktop applications.

Let's look at how to export the Start menu in the next section.

Exporting the Start menu layout

It is possible to manually customize the Start menu, but when using devices in an organization, this is not practical. In a corporate environment, you can control the Start menu layout by creating a customized Start menu on a computer and then exporting the layout to other computers.

There are two different layout export options:

• The full Start menu layout: With this layout, your end users cannot pin, unpin, or uninstall apps from the Start menu.
• The partial Start menu layout: With this layout, your end users can create and customize their own groups. Specified groups cannot be changed, such as your enterprise line-of-business apps.

The Start menu layout is exported as a .xml file, which can be deployed with the following:

• Group Policy
• The Windows Configuration Designer provisioning package
• Microsoft Intune

Once you have configured the desired Start menu layout, you can use the Export-StartLayout PowerShell command to export the Start menu layout to a .xml file using the following procedure:

1. Open Windows PowerShell.
2. On a device running Windows 10 versions 1607, 1703, or 1803, run the Export-StartLayout command with the following syntax:

   Export-StartLayout -path <path><filename>.xml

   For our example, Export-Startlayout is the command, -path is the path variable, and <path><filename>.xml is the folder and filename to save with:

   Export-StartLayout -Path X:\StartMenuLayout.xml

3. On a device running Windows 10 version 1809 or higher, run the Export-StartLayout command with the -UseDesktopApplicationID switch:

   Export-StartLayout -UseDesktopApplicationID -Path X:\ StartMenuLayout.xml

4. Now that you've run this, your Start menu should look as follows:

Figure 3.17 - Exported Start menu layout

In addition, the .xml file from your exported Start menu is as follows:

<LayoutModificationTemplate xmlns:defaultlayout="http://schemas.microsoft.com/Start/2014/FullDefaultLayout" xmlns:start="http://schemas.microsoft.com/Start/2014/StartLayout" Version="1" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/Start/2014/LayoutModification">

  <LayoutOptions StartTileGroupCellWidth="6" />

  <DefaultLayoutOverride>

    <StartLayoutCollection>

      <defaultlayout:StartLayout GroupCellWidth="6">

        <start:Group Name="Productivity">

          <start:Tile Size="2x2" Column="2" Row="0" AppUserModelID="Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe!MicrosoftEdge" />

          <start:Tile Size="2x2" Column="0" Row="0" AppUserModelID="Microsoft.MicrosoftOfficeHub_8wekyb3d8bbwe!Microsoft.MicrosoftOfficeHub" />

          <start:Tile Size="2x2" Column="4" Row="0" AppUserModelID="Microsoft.WindowsStore_8wekyb3d8bbwe!App" />

        </start:Group>

        <start:Group Name="Calculator">

          <start:Tile Size="4x4" Column="0" Row="0" AppUserModelID="Microsoft.WindowsCalculator_8wekyb3d8bbwe!App" />

        </start:Group>

      </defaultlayout:StartLayout>

    </StartLayoutCollection>

  </DefaultLayoutOverride>

</LayoutModificationTemplate>

https://github.com/PacktPublishing/Microsoft-Exam-MD-100-Windows-10-Certification-Guide/blob/master/Chapter03/StartMenuLayout.xml

To configure a partial Start menu layout, you should export the Start menu layout and then open the .xml file. There is a <DefaultLayoutOverride> element in the exported .xml file. Add LayoutCustomizationRestrictionType="OnlySpecifiedGroups" to this element by following these steps:

1. Copy the exported file to a shared folder.
2. Deploy the exported .xml file using any of the deployment methods.

You have now successfully created and exported a Start menu as a .xml file. The next step is to deploy this Start menu.

Deploying the Start menu with Group Policy

If you plan to use Group Policy, you must specify the .xml file in Group Policy. In the following steps, we will add the exported .xml file to a Group Policy setting:

1. On a computer, press the Windows key and type gpedit and then select Edit Group Policy.
2. Click on User Configuration or click on the Computer Configuration | Administrative Templates | Start menu and Taskbar option.
3. Right-click on Start Layout and click Edit.
4. Select the Enabled option.
5. Fill in the path that specifies the location of the .xml file and click OK.

If you followed the previous steps, then the resulting page will look as in the following screenshot:

Figure 3.18 - Start menu policy settings in Group Policy

Now, let's move on to deploying the Start menu with Microsoft Intune.

Deploying the Start menu with Microsoft Intune

If you plan on using Microsoft Intune, you need to upload the .xml file to a device restrictions policy. In the following steps, we will upload the exported .xml file to a device restrictions policy:

1. In the Microsoft Azure portal, go to Intune.
2. Click on the Device configuration | Profiles | Create profile option.
3. Then, enter a friendly name.
4. After that, select Windows 10 and later.
5. Then, select Device restriction for the profile type.
6. Select Start.
7. In the Start menu, browse to the .xml file and select it.
8. Then, click OK.
9. After that, click OK again.
10. Lastly, click Create.

The result of the previous steps should be as follows:

Figure 3.19 - Start menu policy settings in Microsoft Intune

We now know how to customize the Start menu for our own Windows 10 computer. We have also learned how to customize it in an organization environment and how to deploy it with Group Policy and Microsoft Intune. You can design the Start menu to be entirely what you or your business want it to be.

Next, we will look at working with PowerShell. As an administrator, your daily work will mostly involve working with PowerShell.