Start Menu Layout: LayoutModification.xml?

Hi Everyone,
I am trying to do something very simple (I assume) and change the default Start Menu Pinned Tile Group column number from 6 to 3 in order to further resize the start menu and remove a blank gap.

See this picture and note the unnecessary blank portion:

I can't drag/resize the Start Menu anymore to the left which is my whole goal. Note also the double white lines on the upper right which indicate that the group extends to that position.

I've been working on this issue for the past few days and have tried everything I could find. The whole PowerShell export layout command results in this XML code:

Code:

<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="Common Programs">
          <start:DesktopApplicationTile Size="1x1" Column="2" Row="0" DesktopApplicationLinkPath="%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Word.lnk" />
          <start:DesktopApplicationTile Size="1x1" Column="0" Row="1" DesktopApplicationLinkPath="%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\OneNote 2016.lnk" />
          <start:DesktopApplicationTile Size="1x1" Column="0" Row="0" DesktopApplicationLinkPath="%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Firefox.lnk" />
          <start:DesktopApplicationTile Size="1x1" Column="1" Row="1" DesktopApplicationLinkPath="%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Excel.lnk" />
          <start:DesktopApplicationTile Size="1x1" Column="1" Row="0" DesktopApplicationLinkPath="%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Outlook.lnk" />
        </start:Group>
        <start:Group Name="Tools">
          <start:Tile Size="1x1" Column="2" Row="0" AppUserModelID="Microsoft.WindowsCalculator_8wekyb3d8bbwe!App" />
          <start:DesktopApplicationTile Size="1x1" Column="0" Row="0" DesktopApplicationLinkPath="%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\CCleaner\CCleaner.lnk" />
          <start:DesktopApplicationTile Size="1x1" Column="1" Row="1" DesktopApplicationLinkPath="%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Accessories\Paint.lnk" />
          <start:DesktopApplicationTile Size="1x1" Column="1" Row="0" DesktopApplicationLinkPath="%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Accessories\Snipping Tool.lnk" />
          <start:Tile Size="1x1" Column="0" Row="1" AppUserModelID="Microsoft.MicrosoftStickyNotes_8wekyb3d8bbwe!App" />
          <start:DesktopApplicationTile Size="1x1" Column="2" Row="1" DesktopApplicationLinkPath="%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Accessories\Notepad.lnk" />
        </start:Group>
      </defaultlayout:StartLayout>
    </StartLayoutCollection>
  </DefaultLayoutOverride>
</LayoutModificationTemplate>

Anytime I try to change that first StartTileGroupCellWidth="6" to "StartTileGroupCellWidth="3" the file becomes an unreadable Start Layout xml file according to PowerShell. Global Policy Editor (GPE) also doesn't recognize it and reverts the start menu to a default version (which is annoying because I have to re-pin all the tiles to make it look like the picture above). I'm confused by this since I'm only changing one integer.

However, when I change the second GroupCellWidth="6" section to GroupCellWidth="3" the xml file is processed without error and will be able to be imported by PowerShell, BUT the change isn't kept as a re-export of the layout shows that that second "3" change has reverted back to the "6" width.

I'm not above doing work in the registry (and thus bypassing the editing of the XML entirely) so if there's some key somewhere which will allow me to force the 3 column change or allow for the start menu to be further resized and get rid of the blank space, I'm all ears.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

Hi, not seen any detailed discussion on this personally. A good number here, but not all, use a start menu replacement.

Guides such as
Start layout XML for desktop editions of Windows 10 (Windows 10) | Microsoft Docs
Customize and export Start layout (Windows 10) | Microsoft Docs
https://www.citrix.com/blogs/2018/04...er-experience/

may offer something

How to Resize Windows 10 Start Menu
offers no solution, but does comment:

Is there any way to resize the Start Menu to TWO tiles wide instead of THREE?

Idk, at the first look this is not possible.

The screenshot under
3. You will get something like this:
may be interesting in passing.