The Start Menu is the main point of access to your applications. There are two main ways to open it −

Step 1 − Use your mouse to click Windows icon in the lower-left corner of the taskbar.

Step 2 − Press the Windows key on your keyboard.

The Windows 10 Start Menu features two panes.

The left pane resembles the traditional Start Menu from Windows 7 and earlier, while the right pane features live tiles that were used in Windows 8.

Left Pane

Among the things you can do in the left pane are −

• Click the username at the top of the menu to change account settings or log in with another user.

• Access the applications you use more frequently.

• A small arrow next to an application will open a sub-menu with a list of recent documents opened with that application.

• Open the “File Explorer” to navigate your folders and files.

• Change the settings of your computer like your Internet connection or changing your background.

• See different options to shut down your computer.

• See a list of all the applications installed in your computer.

Search Box

The “Search box” on the Taskbar will allow you to search within your documents and files or on the Web for anything you write. The initial results will appear within the Start Menu itself.

The results will be grouped according to the closest match (or matches) labeled “Best match” at the top of the list.

The remaining results will be grouped according to what they are or their location −

• Web results
• Documents or folders
• Apps
• System settings

The icons on the left side of the menu do the following −

 The Gear icon will allow you to configure the settings of your Search.

 This icon will let you send Feedback to Microsoft on what you like or dislike about Windows.

 The Cortana icon will activate Windows’ new personal assistant.

Clicking “My stuff” or “Web” at the bottom will expand the Start Menu and limit your results to the location you choose, as well as streamlining the search.

Right Pane

The right pane features a varied array of tiles, similar to the ones that were seen on the Start Screen of Windows 8.

These tiles can be moved and dragged to different places by holding the mouse button.

You can also configure them by right-clicking on them to see options to resize them or “unpin” them (remove them) from the Menu.

The whole Start Menu can also be resized by dragging the borders with the mouse to the desired size.