EXE files and Start menu


  1. Posts : 548
    Windows 10 Build 1809
       #1

    EXE files and Start menu


    Is there any way I can put an .exe file on the Start menu? I know I can put a link to it on the desktop but that has too many icons on it already.

    Thank you.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 14,046
    Windows 11 Pro X64 22H2 22621.1848
       #2

    You should be able to right click on the .exe in File Explorer and select Pin to Start Menu.
      My Computers


  3. Posts : 2
    Windows 10 x64
       #3

    Ztruker said:
    You should be able to right click on the .exe in File Explorer and select Pin to Start Menu.
    Nice try :-(

    Unfortunately, Windows 10 displays massive problems with .exe-files within the start menu. Neither searching for them nor pinning them to the start menu work.

    Just have a look in those threads:

    http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/w...7-6c3339465037


    http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/w...5-ebfeadf0d82e


    http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/w...d-131dd2e15981


    Can't search for .exe files in start menu? : Windows10

    Regards
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 86
    Windows 10 Pro
       #4

    This true, especially if you have a lot of items in your start menu list. If you have more than 512, anything missing is not searchable and is not pinnable despite effort to pin it to start. I hope in the next build, this issue is fixed. I am not sure if insiders are able to share information on this, but would be great if this is fixed in their test builds.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 343
    Windows 10
       #5

    You can pin to taskbar. You can also sort by a better order on your desktop.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 3,502
    Win_8.1-Pro, Win_10.1607-Pro, Mint_17.3
       #6

    JJG10 said:
    Is there any way I can put an .exe file on the Start menu? I know I can put a link to it on the desktop but that has too many icons on it already.

    Thank you.

    Ztruker said:
    You should be able to right click on the .exe in File Explorer and select Pin to Start Menu.
    You can only put shortcuts on the menu.

    Ztruker's suggestion should work fine.

    Here's a tip (unrelated to the issue):
    Create a new folder on your desktop named dtIcons (any name will do),
    then drag all of the icons on your Desktop to that folder.
    Once you have the icons in the folder, you can leave it on your desktop (moving any new icons to that folder as they are created ) - you'll have to open the folder to access the icons of course
    -- OR --
    move the folder (as long as the file name chosen does not already exist in the location - rename it if necessary) off of your desktop to your User folder (any location you choose)
    then create a new toolbar on your Taskbar and point that to the folder holding your icons.
    this gives you a drop down menu of your icons that were cluttering up your Desktop.

    You can manually add shortcuts to the menu list (left hand pane).
    There are some considerations if you manually added the item to either All users menu > All apps or your personal menu > All apps. Win8 / Win10 menu keeps track of items on the menu. The easiest way to tell Windows that a new item is placed there is to create a shortcut anywhere BUT All apps and copy that shortcut to All apps.

    You can also use PowerShell to 'touch' the object.

    The PowerShell cmdlet below uses the non-existent contoso.lnk as an example.
    If your shortcut is in your personal menu, you will have to change the environment variable
    from
    $env:programdata
    to
    $env:appdata

    AND
    Change the file name of the shortcut from contoso.lnk to the file name of the shortcut you want to update

    (ls "$env:programdata\microsoft\windows\start menu\programs\contoso.lnk").lastwritetime = get-date

    It really is easier to just create a new shortcut and copy it to the menu you want.

    There are a few instances where people have disabled UAC and that causes more headaches than it's worth. Set UAC to the default if it has been changed.

    EXE files and Start menu-uacdefault.png


    Search and Indexing are tightly tied together - if you've modified your index locations, you'll need to revisit your settings. Make sure Start is included as a location in the index.
    If the object is not in an indexed location - Search might not find it.
    Search from Explorer will find it regardless of the index status.

    Search for file names (Q1 report) or extensions xls
    If you search for Q1 report.xls - your results will not be what you expect.

    Lastly try this
    Press the WinKey [ ] on your keyboard and start typing our search query
    The input box doesn't appear until you type the first character and the results are filtered as you type.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 13,895
    Win10 Version 22H2 Pro and Home, Win11 Pro and Home
       #7

    JJG10 said:
    Is there any way I can put an .exe file on the Start menu? I know I can put a link to it on the desktop but that has too many icons on it already.

    Thank you.
    Or in a few words, anything you put on the Start menu or Taskbar or Desktop will still add an icon to be clicked on. The only other way I can think of is to create a Folder on the Desktop then start moving icons/shortcuts into it to lessen the clutter. I've done that on several computers, only have to open the Folder and choose the program.
      My Computers


  8. Posts : 3,502
    Win_8.1-Pro, Win_10.1607-Pro, Mint_17.3
       #8

    Berton said:
    Or in a few words, anything you put on the Start menu or Taskbar or Desktop will still add an icon to be clicked on. The only other way I can think of is to create a Folder on the Desktop then start moving icons/shortcuts into it to lessen the clutter. I've done that on several computers, only have to open the Folder and choose the program.
    yes, but Start does not really want exe files - everything is a lnk
      My Computer


 

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