How To Customize Windows 11 – Guide
Windows 11 is the latest major version of Microsoft’s Windows NT operating system, announced on June 24, 2021 and is the successor to Windows 10, released in 2015. Windows 11 was released to the public on October 5, 2021. Windows Update on qualifying devices running Windows 10 and a free update via the Windows 11 Setup Assistant are included with Windows 11. Major changes to the Windows Shell include a redesigned Start menu, replacement of its “tiles” vivo” by a separate “Widgets” panel on the taskbar, creating tiled sets of windows with increased capacity. Internet Explorer (IE) has been replaced by Chromium-based Microsoft Edge as the default web browser like its predecessor Windows 10 and Microsoft Teams is integrated into the Windows shell. ..
Microsoft announced plans to allow more flexibility in the software that can be distributed through the Microsoft Store and to support Android apps on Windows 11 (by making its own App Store available for the function). System requirements for Windows 11 have been extended to Windows 10, citing security reasons. Microsoft only officially supports the operating system on devices that use eighth-gen or newer Intel Core CPUs (with a few minor exceptions), AMD Ryzen CPUs based on the Zen+ microarchitecture. New, or Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 ARM system-on-chip or newer, with UEFI Secure Boot and Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 supported and enabled (although Microsoft may provide exceptions to the TPM 2.0 requirement for OEMs). Although the operating system can be installed on unsupported processors, Microsoft does not guarantee the availability of updates. ..
How to customize Windows 11
Taskbar Settings
To move the start button back to where it belongs and slide the entire Taskbar to the left, just right-click on the Taskbar and select “Taskbar Settings.” You will see the taskbar customization screen. Scroll down until you see “taskbar behaviors,” change “taskbar alignment” to “left,” and enjoy the old, familiar taskbar position. ..
Powertoys Run
One feature which I strongly trust opens a search panel as soon as I press a key combination. This allows me to launch applications quickly, without having to dig through menus. This functionality is available free of charge to Windows 11 users. It is part of the venerable PowerToys package. Once installed, all you have to do is press Alt and Space together. You will have a search bar like this. Next, let’s say you want to launch PowerPoint or PowerShell. Just type “power”:
That’s it. It’s simple and elegant. Initially, I missed the ubiquitous search box on the Windows 10 taskbar. But this is a much nicer and faster way to get to the apps you want to launch. It is a simple add-on and greatly improves the user experience. The PowerToys package is described on this Microsoft page. The page says you can download the tool from Microsoft Store, but I couldn’t find it anywhere. However, I found it on Github (remember Microsoft spent a few billions to spare to buy Github). Here’s the download link, but since it represents the latest stable build as of this writing, you might want to take a look at Github for PowerToys to find the latest stable build at the time you’re reading this. ..
Windows 11 classic context menu
Windows 11 has simplified the traditional Windows context menu. As you can see below, there is an icon bar at the top of the menu and a Show more options item at the bottom. But on Windows 10, right-clicking on a photo would show a lot more. That’s where Windows 11’s Classic Context Menu comes in. It adjusts its context menu to show everything it used to do, like that. You can get the classic context menu back with a few registry hacks, but snooping around in the registry is generally not recommended. The developer of this tweak provides a small application that makes registry changes for you: Windows 10’s right-click context menu includes features not found on Windows 11, such as access to recently used files and folders. To get back to the full context menu found in earlier versions of Windows, you can use a third-party application or tweak your registry settings. However, doing so is not recommended by the developer because it can be risky and difficult to follow instructions correctly. ..
There’s a catch when you point to the developer’s website. When you click on the download button, you’ll see spam-like ads. There are a lot of download buttons and links, but most of them take you to some advertiser. Just be careful and scroll down until you find this download button, just above the Related Posts section. Then make sure you download the W11ClassicMenu.
Windows is not always happy about installing software from the Internet. It can be difficult to trust the source of the software, and some programs may not be properly signed. You may have to bypass some security protections in order to install software from an unknown publisher. You are responsible for your decisions when it comes to installing software from the Internet.
Taskbar 11
Next up is a tool that allows you to adjust various Windows 11 taskbar settings. As you can see, it not only allows you to align your taskbar on the left, but it can also move it to the top of the screen (a feature apparently gone from Windows 11) and make icons bigger or smaller. You can download the executable from this Github repository.
start 11
Two tools that many Windows users are familiar with are Stardock’s Start8 and Start10 utilities. Stardock has been around since 1991, and they started shipping the Start8 utility when Windows 8 changed everyone’s Start menu, removing it. Turns out they also did a Start10, but that wasn’t that critical. ..
Start11 does much of what previous tools do, but integrates all the features in an easy to use way. For example, it can move your taskbar back to the left and also change the menu back to what you are used to. If you wanted to, you could put the old, messy, full-page Windows Start menu back on your Windows 11 computer, just like that. And for those who want the feel of Windows 11 but aren’t quite ready to ditch Windows 10 yet, Start11 will give you that futuristic interface right in Windows 10. You can buy Start11 from Stardock for $5.99.
fences
Fences is a great way to organize your desktop and make it look more modern.
I really like the fact that you can roll up mini-windows, giving you quick access to your icons while keeping your desktop tidy. Another one of my favorites features is using Fences to create portals to folders. Here’s an example going to OneDrive, but I like to use that feature with projects. I can keep all my files for a project organized in a folder on the back of my NAS, but see them all on my desktop. It’s the best of both worlds. ..
Final note
Windows 11 is a new operating system from Microsoft that is designed to be more user-friendly and customizable. This guide will show you how to customize Windows 11 to make it your own. If you have any questions about this guide, feel free to ask us in the comments section below. Finally, if you think this guide was helpful, please share it with your friends on social media using the buttons below. ..
