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

Backing Up Your AutoText Entries

Got a bunch of AutoText entries defined for your system? You'll undoubtedly want to back them up at some time. Here's how ...

Discover More

Calculating Dates with Fields

Can you calculate dates using fields? Yes, but you probably don't want to except as a learning experience. An easier way ...

Discover More

Removing Automatic Lines

Type a few dashes, underscores, or equal signs, and you could end up with a full-width line in your document. This is ...

Discover More
More WindowsTips

Introducing Microsoft Garage

Microsoft Garage is a way to test out new innovative programs or features that help developers looking to expand or test ...

Discover More

Setting a Restore Point

Restore Points let you go "back in time" to a point before you made system changes that could prove harmful to your ...

Discover More

Renaming a Bluetooth Device

Having several Bluetooth devices can be hard to manage. You can manage Bluetooth devices better (and easier) by renaming ...

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 nine minus 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.