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Windows Vista - Start Menu - Taskbar - Toolbars

Expand or Clear List of Recent Programs Displayed on Start Menu

SUMMARY: Expand the list of recently-accessed programs displayed on the Windows Vista Start Menu, or clear this list altogether.

By default, Windows Vista's Start Menu displays a list of recently-accessed programs directly above the "All Programs" link. This way you can quickly run frequently-used applications without having to find them again via the "All Programs" link or other shortcuts.

If desired, you can expand the size of the Start Menu to show more programs, useful if you access many applications and want quicker access to them via this menu. Also, you can contract the size of the Start Menu to show fewer programs. Or, for privacy reasons, you can completely remove this list altogether.


1. Right-click an empty area of the Windows Taskbar and choose "Properties".

2. When the "Taskbar and Start Menu Properties" multi-tabbed dialog box appears, click the "Start Menu" tab.

3. Click the "Customize" button next to "Start menu".


4. The "Customize Start Menu" dialog box appears. Underneath "Start menu size", click the box next to "Number of recent programs to display" and type in the desired number. Note that if you enter too large a number, Windows Vista will later complain that it cannot display all of these programs on the Start menu.

5. Click "OK" to close this dialog box only.


6. If you selected "0" above, in the "Taskbar and Start Menu Properties" dialog box, underneath "Privacy", uncheck "Store and display a list of recently opened programs".

7. Click "OK" to close this dialog box.

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The MalekTips website was created in 1998 by Andrew Malek of Envision Programming. The page's goal is to freely disperse computer-related tips, hints, and informative articles. Tips are organized to be easy to find, and are presented clearly, in easy-to-understand language. MalekTips also provides information and links to public-domain, open source, freeware, shareware, and commercial software available for download. < more >