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Article: Windows 7 Feature Focus Start Menu

Windows 7 Feature Focus Start Menu .

The Windows 7 Start Menu
has been enhanced since Windows XP and Vista and is now
easier to use and better looking. Like its predecessor, you
access the Start Menu by pressing the Start button, or Orb,
which now resembles a rounded Windows flag. It no longer
includes the word Start, as did XP: Presumably, most users
understand how this button works now. (That said, if you
mouse over the Start button, the word Start will appear in
a tip window. You know, just in case.)

As with the Windows XP and Vista Start Menu, the Windows 7
Start Menu is divided vertically into two halves. On the
left half is a list of your most-recently used (MRU)
applications. But where Windows XP and Vista would
automatically pin the default Web browser and e-mail to the
top of this list, Windows 7 no longer does so. That's
because Microsoft has moved to a system where the taskbar,
instead of the Start Menu, is used to access your most
frequently needed applications.

[ Learn about the new Windows 7 taskbar. ]

On the right of the Start Menu, as before, is a list of
commonly accessed shell folders and other system locations
and tasks.

Secret: Though Windows 7 no longer includes any pinned
Start Menu shortcuts, you can still pin shortcuts to your
favorite applications into the Start Menu MRU. To do so,
select the shortcut you want to pin from the Start Menu and
drag it up to the top of the most recently used application
list. Or, right-click a shortcut in the Start Menu and
choose Pin to Start Menu. To remove a pinned shortcut from
this area, right-click it and choose Unpin from Start Menu.

Secret: Windows Vista included an application called the
Welcome Center that provided links to commonly-needed
post-setup tasks. This application is missing in Windows 7,
but has been replaced by the new Getting Started
application. Getting Started, by default, can be found at
the top of the Start Menu MRU, on the left side.

Start Menu Jump Lists While the Windows 7 Start Menu works
largely like that of its predecessor, there has been one
major change: Now, items in the Start Menu (and in the
taskbar as well) can optionally have associated Jump Lists,
which provide access to documents or tasks that are
associated with those items. Jump Lists expose themselves a
bit differently in the Start Menu than they do in the
taskbar. But the idea is the same: Instead of launching an
application and then finding the document, picture, song,
or other bit of data you're really looking for, you can now
access this information directly, without a lot of mousing
around. Jump Lists also help reduce clutter.

Secret: You can think of Jump Lists as mini Start Menus for
each item. For example, while the Windows 7 Start Menu is
of course global to the entire PC, the Jump List for
Microsoft Word is specific to that application.

The Getting Started application provides a good example of
Jump List. When you highlight this item in the Start Menu
(by mousing over it--you don't have to click on it), the
right side of the Start Menu fills up with the contents of
its Jump List. As you can see from the image below, the
Getting Started Jump List corresponds to the choices that
are available in the application itself.

While not all Start Menu items will have Jump Lists, those
that do will display a small black triangle graphic,
indicating that that item will expand to display its Jump
List when highlighted.

Secret: Jump Lists represent a bit of a navigational
challenge for keyboard mavens. If you're used to moving
around the Start Menu with the arrow keys, you'll discover
that moving right from an item that contains a Jump List
will cause that Jump List to open, instead of causing you
to navigate to the right side of the Start Menu, as you
might expect. In order to move right through the Start Menu
with the keyboard, then, you'll need to be vigilant and
ensure that you're on an item that does not provide a Jump
List. Remember, these items will not display the little
black arrow graphic.

Jump Lists vary from application to application. After
you've used Paint for a while, for example, that
application's Jump List will include recently saved
graphics file. Microsoft Word provides a list of recent
documents. These lists make a lot of sense, given the
purpose of the applications. But some Windows 7
applications provide custom Jump Lists, and Microsoft has
opened up the programming interfaces for this so that any
application in the future can do so as well.

The Windows Media Player Jump List provides a list of
recently accessed media files, of course. But it also has
links for Media Player-specific tasks, and is a good
example of an application that has explicitly customized
its Jump List display.

Internet Explorer also provides a custom Jump List. Here,
you'll see recently accessed web pages, as expected. But
the IE Jump List also includes access to IE-specific
features, such as InPrivate and New Tab.

These aren't the only examples of custom Jump Lists in
Windows 7, of course. As you gain experience with the
system, you'll discover that many applications provide
access to unique functionality in this way as well.

Start Menu Search One of the best features in Windows 7 is
its integrated search functionality. Although you might
think that this feature is limited only to finding
documents and music files, you can actually use it for a
variety of things, and depending on where you are in the 7
interface, those searches will be context sensitive. So
when you search from the Start Menu's useful Search box,
located on the left side of the menu underneath All
Programs, you will typically be searching for applications.
You can also use this feature, called Start Menu Search, to
quickly launch applications, when you know their names.
This is especially useful for applications that are
infrequently used and thus buried deep in the Start Menu.
It's also a boon to touch-typists, since you don't have to
take your hands off the keyboard to use it.

Secret: The Search Menu's search feature doesn't just
search applications. You can also use it to search
documents, pictures, and other files.

Here's how it works. When you open the Start Menu and begin
typing, whatever you type is automatically placed in the
search box. So let's say you want to run Notepad. You could
always click the Start button, expand All Programs, expand
Accessories, and then click on the Notepad icon. Or, you
could tap the Windows key and just type notepad. As you
type, applications that match the text appear in a list.
When you see the application you want, use the arrow keys
(or mouse cursor) to select it, and then Notepad will start
normally.

Secret: Start Menu Search is even better than this. You
don't have to type the entire name of an application.
Instead, you can just start typing the first few letters.
On most systems, just typing pa, for example, should be
enough to display Paint as the first choice in the found
programs list. So you could just type pa and then tap Enter
to run Paint. Try this shortcut with some favorite
applications to see how little typing is actually required.

Secret: It's possible that some users will prefer to use
the old Run command, which brings up a small dialog box and
maintains a history of previously accessed commands. (I'm
looking at you, Luddite.) Good news: Even though the Run
command is missing from the default Windows 7 Start Menu,
you can turn it on. To do so, right-click the Start Orb,
choose Properties, and then click the Customize button.
Scroll down the list until you see the Run command option
(the list is alphabetical) and then select it. Click OK and
then OK again, and you'll see that the Run command is back
where it used to be. (On the right side of the Start Menu.)
Too much work? The keyboard shortcut Windows Key + R will
display a Run dialog on the fly.

Secret: The classic Start Menu found in Windows 2000 and
older Windows versions was made optional in Windows XP and
Vista and is now gone from Windows 7. If you prefer this
old-school interface for some reason--and I recommend
against this--you can try the Classic Shell add-on.

There's a lot more to learn about the Windows 7 Start Menu,
but this article focuses only on the new and improved
features. Fortunately, I've written a whole book about
Windows 7, called Windows 7 Secrets.

--Paul Thurrott August 13, 2010

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