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My Question - Simply:
I am wanting to know how I can change the shortcuts (that are in the application list) that are for the apps that have been installed from Microsoft Store.

I don't need to know how to show/hide the application list in the start menu! I already know how to do that! I just need to know where the shortcuts for the Microsoft Store apps are stored.

My Question - A few more details:
I want to manage what apps show in the Start Menu (specifically the application list inside the Start Menu). I found this article showing how to manage all the programs installed on your computer (as well as folders), but this doesn't work for any apps installed from Microsoft Store.

That article tells me to look in the following two folders and change what I need/want:

%programdata%/Microsoft/Windows/Start Menu/Programs

%appdata%/Microsoft/Windows/Start Menu/Programs

As I said above, these folders are only for the programs not installed from Microsoft Store. Where is the folder for those shortcuts? Or is there another way to do that same thing with the MS Store apps?

Note: I am not talking about the app tiles that you can pin to the start menu, but the apps shown in the app list. Here are some pictures, so you can see what I am asking about:
getting to the app list section showing the app list section the app list section not the pinned tiles

Jacob Hornbeck
  • 464

2 Answers2

1

To remove an application tile from the Start menu, right-click its icon/rectangle and select "Unpin from Start".

See the Microsoft article Pin and unpin apps to the Start menu.

Note that for a UWP application to be pinned, it needs to be coded for this option. So some applications may not be pinnable.

As regarding UWP applications displayed in the alphabetical list, there is no way of hiding them.

UWP applications include in their manifest (which is built-into the executable file), declarations of where they are to be visible in the Start Menu and in the context menu of Explorer. There is no way that I know of to disable this, except by uninstalling the application.

You can, however, create custom versions of them, rename them and assign a new icon to them, then organize them into a desired hierarchy in the Start Menu. For more information, see the video Start Menu 'Cleanup'.

harrymc
  • 498,455
1

When you click on the Start Button, there are 3 sections that we see:

  1. The very left Microsoft-only Menu.

  2. The main, long, linear Start Menu. This contains all of your programs and all of the Microsoft (UWP) Apps. Any App listed here can be move to the Tiles section by right clicking and selecting Pin to Start. There may be a couple of badly behaved apps, but I do not have any of those, so all my apps show up.

  3. The Tiles section. These tiles can be live or not. ANY Tile can be removed by right clicking and selecting Unpin from Start.

There is a Microsoft-only Black Menu that you get by Left Clicking on Start. That stands on its own and is not part of the three-part Menu System.

The list in Number 2 above is affected by Settings. Start, Settings, Personalization, Start and ensure the setting to show all apps in the Start Menu has been turned ON (enabled).

Screen shots below.

3 part Start Menu

Settings to aid Start Menu

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Additional Notes:

For apps that are the Microsoft UWP apps, the location is where I showed and the icons (to the very best of my knowledge) are store in the app itself and in a very secure area of Windows (C:\Program Files\WindowsApps ).

You can install and uninstall Microsoft UWP apps with extensive Powershell, but (again to the best of my knowledge) you cannot modify the apps. A kind of take it or leave it approach for these apps.