start menu icons

Question

how to put program icons in a new folder that i made for some reason i cant grab an icon in the start menu all programs and put them in that folder

Answer 1

In older versions of Windows that use the classic All Programs / Programs menu, items shown there are just shortcuts stored in Start Menu folders. To put program icons into a new folder in that menu, create or move shortcuts into that folder.

Two main approaches are available, depending on whether this is for all users or just one user.

1. Manually create a folder and move shortcuts (classic Start menu)

1. Open File Explorer.
2. Go to the Start Menu Programs folder. For all users this is typically: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs
3. In that Programs folder, create the new folder that should appear in All Programs (right-click → New → Folder and name it as desired).
4. Still in that folder tree, locate the existing program shortcuts (the .lnk files) under Programs or its subfolders.
5. Cut and paste or copy and paste those shortcuts into the new folder.

The next time the Start menu is opened, the new folder will appear under All Programs, and the shortcuts inside it will show as icons in that folder.

If a shortcut is missing, create it manually:

1. In File Explorer, browse to the program’s executable (for example, C:\Program Files\...\app.exe).
2. Right-click the .exe → Create shortcut.
3. Move that shortcut into the desired folder under ...\Start Menu\Programs.

2. For MSIX-packaged apps (developers)

For apps packaged as MSIX where multiple app entries should appear grouped under one folder in the Start menu, use the VisualGroup attribute in the app manifest:

1. Open the package manifest.
2. Ensure the uap3 namespace is declared on the <Package> element:

      <Package ...
          xmlns:uap3="http://schemas.microsoft.com/appx/manifest/uap/windows10/3"
          IgnorableNamespaces="... uap3">
   

3. In each <Application> entry that should appear in the same Start menu folder, add the uap3 prefix to VisualElements and set VisualGroup to the folder name, for example:

      <uap3:VisualElements VisualGroup="My App Suite" ... />
   

All those applications will then appear grouped under that folder name in the Start menu.

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References:

• You may not be able to see the Office 2000 shortcut icons when you click Start
• How to Add Shortcuts to the Start Menu
• Group applications under a folder in the Start menu
• Customize the Windows Start Menu