Windows 11 Taskbar: What Is the Start Feature

Understanding the 🪟 Windows 11 Start Feature

Start is the main place to open apps, change settings and get back to recent files. It has three parts: a Pinned area for the apps you choose, an All apps list of everything installed, and a Recent area (formerly called Recommended) for recent files and newly installed apps.

The Recent area changes as you work, so recent items stay close. The Pinned area only changes when you change it. Knowing what each part does helps you set Start up the way you work.

The same is true of the personalization changes Microsoft announced on October 15, 2026. The post describes them only as “more flexibility to personalize Start and your taskbar” and does not name a specific update or build. Because Microsoft is rolling them out gradually, your PC may not have them yet. Installing the latest updates from Windows Update is the way to receive them when they reach you.

Step 1Finding and Opening the Start Menu

One click on the Windows logo on the taskbar opens Start. By default the taskbar icons are centered, so the logo sits in the middle of the screen. If you prefer the older left-aligned look, you can move it to the left corner.

1. Find the Windows logo (four squares) on the taskbar🖥️. With the default centered layout, it is the leftmost icon in the centered group, next to the Search🔍 button.
2. Click the Windows logo, or press the Windows key on your keyboard. The Start menu⊞ opens above the taskbar🖥️. You should see Pinned apps at the top, a Recent section (formerly Recommended) below them, and an All apps button at the top right of the Pinned area.
3. To close Start without choosing anything, press the Windows key again, press Esc, or click anywhere outside the menu. The panel closes and your open windows stay as they were.
4. To move the logo to the left, right-click an empty part of the taskbar🖥️ and choose Taskbar settings. The Settings⚙️ app opens on the taskbar🖥️ page.
5. Open Taskbar behaviors and set Taskbar alignment to Left. The icons shift immediately. No restart is needed, and you can switch back to Center the same way.

That’s it. You now know how to open and close Start, and the Windows logo sits where you want it on the taskbar.

By default the taskbar sits at the bottom of the screen. On newer builds the taskbar can also be placed at the top, left or right. Look for that choice in Settings › Personalization › Taskbar › Taskbar behaviors.

Step 2Looking at Pinned Apps

Pinned apps sit at the top of Start so your favorite programs are one click away. Think of it as a speed dial: browsers, document editors, games and anything else you use daily, without searching for them.

1. Open Start⊞ and look at the top section, labeled Pinned. These are the apps Windows pinned by default plus any you have added. Typically you will see a web browser, File Explorer📁, Settings and similar apps.
2. Click any app icon in the Pinned section. The app opens right away and Start closes.
3. If you have more pins than fit on screen, the section splits into pages. Small dots appear at the right edge. Click a dot or scroll with the mouse wheel to see the next page.

That’s it. You can now open any pinned app from Start and page through the rest of your pins.

Step 3Managing Your Pinned Apps

You can add programs you use often and remove shortcuts you no longer need. Pinning is done from the app’s right-click menu, and unpinning only removes the shortcut. The app itself stays installed.

1. To pin an app, click All apps, or type the app’s name into Start to search for it. Find it in the results.
2. Right-click the app’s name or icon. A context menu🖱️ appears.
3. Select Pin to Start📌. The app is added to the end of your Pinned section. If you cannot see it, check the next page of pins.
4. To rearrange pins, click and hold an icon in the Pinned section. Drag it to the new spot and release the mouse button. The other icons move out of the way.
5. To remove a pin, right-click its icon in the Pinned section and select Unpin from📌 Start. The icon disappears from Start. To undo it, find the app in All apps and choose Pin to Start📌 again.

That’s it. Your Pinned section now holds the apps you chose, in the order you want, and removing a pin never uninstalls anything.

Step 4Looking Through the “All Apps” List

The All apps list is an alphabetical directory of the programs installed on your PC. Use it to find apps that are not pinned, either by scrolling the A-to-Z list or by jumping to a letter.

1. In Start, click the All apps button at the top right of the Pinned section. The menu switches to a full list of installed programs, sorted from A to Z. A Back button appears so you can return to the Pinned view.
2. Scroll through the list with the mouse wheel or the scroll bar. To jump to a letter, click one of the letter headings in the list (for example P). Windows shows a grid of letters.
3. Click a letter in the grid to go to the apps starting with it.
4. Click the app you want. It opens right away, like a pinned app.

That’s it. You can now reach any installed program from the All apps list, even if it is not pinned.

Some apps are grouped in folders, such as Windows Tools or Microsoft Office tools. Click the folder to expand it and see the apps inside.

Step 5Using the Recommended Section

The Recent section (formerly Recommended) sits below your pinned apps. It lists files you recently worked on and apps you recently installed or opened, so you can pick up where you left off without digging through folders.

1. Open Start⊞ and look below the Pinned area at the Recent section (formerly Recommended). It shows shortcuts to recent files and apps. If the section is empty, you have not opened many files yet, or the feature is turned off.
2. Click an item in Recent. A file opens in its usual program, and an app starts normally.
3. To remove a single item, right-click it and select Remove from list. Only that shortcut is cleared. The file itself is not deleted.
4. To control what appears here, open Settings › Personalization › Start. Turn off the toggles for recently added apps, most used apps, or recently opened items as you prefer.
5. Note that turning off the recently opened items toggle also stops those files appearing in Jump Lists and File Explorer📁. Turn the toggle back on to restore them.
6. On the same Start page, the Layout setting lets you show more pins or more recommendations. Use it if you want a bigger Pinned area and a smaller Recent (formerly Recommended) area, or the reverse.

That’s it. Start now shows the recent items you want, and you know how to hide them or bring them back.

This page is where Start personalization lives. As Microsoft rolls out its added flexibility for Start, your copy of the page may offer more options than described here, or fewer if the update has not reached your PC. If a setting is greyed out on a work or school PC, your organization may be managing it.

Step 6Accessing User Account Options

Your account controls are in the bottom-left corner of Start. From there you can lock the PC, sign out, switch to another account or open your account settings. The power controls are in the opposite corner.

1. Look at the bottom-left corner of the Start panel. Your account picture or initial, along with your name, is shown there.
2. Click your account icon. A small menu appears. It usually offers Change account settings, Lock and Sign out. If other accounts exist on the PC, their names are listed too, and clicking one switches to that account without signing you out.
3. To change your account picture, choose Change account settings. The Settings⚙️ app opens on your account page, where you can pick a new picture.
4. To shut down or restart, click the Power button in the bottom-right corner of Start. Choose Sleep, Shut down or Restart.
5. If updates are waiting, you may see Update and restart or Update and shut down instead. Choosing one installs the updates before the PC restarts or powers off.

That’s it. You can now lock, sign out, switch accounts or power down the PC straight from Start.

Reference:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/customize-the-taskbar-in-windows-0657a50f-0cc7-dbfd-ae6b-05020b195b07#windowsversion=windows_11

Summary

Start is the central launch point in Windows 11. It combines pinned shortcuts, a full app list, recent file shortcuts and account and power controls on one screen. Pin the apps you use daily, use All apps for the rest, and adjust the Recent section (formerly Recommended) in Settings so Start shows what you actually need.

Microsoft’s October 15, 2026 announcement adds more flexibility for personalizing Start and the taskbar. It is arriving gradually, so some PCs will get it later. If you do not see it yet, keep Windows updated and check again later.