Windows 10: Customize and Deploy Start Menu

Windows 10: Customize Default Start Menu

Purpose

To help others in creating a default start menu layout that can then be deployed via imaging solution.

Table of Contents

Purpose. 1

Scope. 1

Procedure. 1

Create Start Menu Modifications. 1

Export Start Menu Layout 1

Apply Start Menu Layout 1

There are two options to apply the change. 1

Option 1 (Microsoft Articles) 1

Option 2. 2

Deployment 2

 

Scope

Customize Start Menu for deployment

Procedure

Create Start Menu Modifications      

1.       Update Grouping Lables, Pinning or UnPinning applications, and reorder any Pinned applications to create your custom start menu.

Export Start Menu Layout

1.       Once your modifications are complete open powershell

2.       From Powershell run

a.       Export-StartLayout –path <path you have access to>\CustomLayout.xml

                                                               i.      ***Ensure the path exists before you start or the export will fail

Apply Start Menu Layout

There are two options to apply the change

Option 1 (Microsoft Articles)

1.       Launch Powershell as Administrator

a.       Run “Import-StartLayout –layoutpath <path you saved the xml>\CustomLayout.xml –MountPath C:\”

b.      All New Profiles created on the system will have the new Start Menu layout and users will still be able to customize it.

Option 2

1.       Rename CustomLayout.xml to LayoutModification.xml and copy to C:\Users\Default\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Shell

a.       All New Profiles created on the system will have the new Start Menu layout and users will still be able to customize it.

Deployment

1.       You can deploy this by creating a script to copy the xml file or run the import-startlayout command during a task sequcne step within MDT or ConfigMgr or Caputre a new .WIM for deployment as part of your base image.  You could probably also deploy the customization as a group policy preference.