Pin Items to the Start Screen

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 26, 2020)

If you use the Windows Start Screen, you may want to customize it by pinning frequently used applications to it. That way, you can launch these applications by clicking the Start button or pressing the Windows key.

Pinning an item to the Start Screen is very easy: Press the Windows key and begin typing the name of the application you wish to pin, e.g. "DocuSign." When your application appears, right-click it and select "Pin to Start" from the Context menu: (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. Pinning an application to the Start Screen.

And you don't have to settle for the order in which the Start Screen keeps your pinned items. You can drag/drop items within the Start Screen to place them in the order you like by clicking on an item and, while holding down the mouse button, drag it around the Start Screen. When you release the mouse button, the item will be repositioned.

Finally, if you later wish to remove an item from Start Screen, you right-click the item and select "Unpin from Start." The item still retains its availability in its original location on disk, but its Start Screen entry is removed: (See Figure 2.)

Figure 2. Unpinning an item from the Start Screen.

 This tip (463) applies to Windows 10.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Changing the Maximum Undo Levels

Want to change the number of "undo" steps available when editing? You can't, because Word doesn't' really have a maximum. ...

Discover More

Selecting a Window

When you get a lot of windows open on your screen, it can sometimes be difficult to locate the one with which you need to ...

Discover More

Printing Summary Information from a Macro

Part of the information that Word maintains about each of your documents is a summary statement, which you can define in ...

Discover More
More WindowsTips

Using Windows Defender Offline

Normally Windows Defender is used in an online environment. You can, if desired, also use it offline. This tip describes ...

Discover More

Ending a Process Using the Task Manager

One of the many functions of the Windows Task Manager is to allow you to control processes running on your system. If you ...

Discover More

Changing the Desktop Background

You can change the image that is displayed for your desktop background to a more aesthetically pleasing picture. There ...

Discover More
Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is three more than 1?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

Newest Tips
Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.