Start menu

The Start menu, and the Taskbar on which it appears, were created and named in 1993 by Daniel Oran, a program manager at Microsoft who had previously collaborated on great ape language research with the behavioral psychologist B.F. Skinner at Harvard.

Later enhancements via Windows Desktop Update included access to special folders such as "My Documents" and "Favorites" (browser bookmarks).

Until Windows Vista, the Start menu was constantly expanded across the screen as the user navigated through its cascading sub-menus.

Later developments in Internet Explorer and subsequent Windows releases make it possible to customize the Start menu and to access and expand Internet Explorer Favorites, My Documents and Administrative Tools (Windows 2000 and later) from the Start menu.

This menu presents a tree view of its hierarchy that expands towards the bottom, with a vertical scrollbar whenever needed.

Since the found items can be immediately opened, the Start menu search box partially replaces the function of the Run command from previous versions of Windows.

Most importantly, however, items on the Start menu support Jump lists through cascade buttons on their right.

Unlike prior versions, the ability to revert to the "Classic" Start menu design is no longer available.

Windows Phone was the original host of the design principles of the third generation Start menu.

A list of recently launched programs or shortcuts to special folders no longer appears on the Start screen.

Drag and drop support for adding new items to the menu as well as reorganizing the contents of the All Programs view is no longer available.

Applications can be pinned to the right half, and their respective tiles can be resized and grouped into user-specified categories.

The left column displays a vertical list, containing frequently-used applications, and links to the "All apps" menu, File Explorer, Settings, and power options.

Windows 11 does not support live tiles, with their functionality being moved to the separate "Widgets" area on the taskbar.

The Start button on Windows Server 2012 and Windows 8 is initially moved from the traditional taskbar to "charms", a hidden secondary taskbar located to the right of the screen (accessed by swiping in from the right on multitouch devices, or positioning the mouse in one of the right corners of the screen and sliding up or down).

[21][22] On most versions of Windows, the Start button is located on the lower left corner of the screen, while the start button on Windows 11 is located in the center (but can be moved back to the lower left corner).

The location of this folder however, depends on the operating system installed: In Windows Server 2003 and earlier, the folder name "Start Menu" changes depending on the localization; for example, on German versions of Windows XP it is "Startmenü".

TweakUI, an unsupported utility program from Microsoft, offers additional customizations, including speeding up the response time of the Start menu, window animation, and other hacks.