Start menu

The Start menu introduced in Windows 95 is an element of the user interface of the Windows operating system up to version 7 and again since Windows 10, as well as of ReactOS. It provides access to installed programs, documents and the Windows Control Panel, among other things, in the form of a dropout menu. Access is either via the key combination Ctrl+Esc, the Windows key or the dedicated button in the taskbar.

Antecedent

Model

The entire menu behind a small control element was already implemented on the Xerox Star, one of the first workstations with a graphical user interface by the designer responsible for it, Norm Cox. As an icon he chose a symbol of a list with three horizontal lines, which was later called the hamburger menu icon.

Windows 95 Alpha

In early alpha versions of Windows 95 (codenamed "Chicago"), the Start menu did not yet exist in its current function. Program shortcuts were located in a folder on the desktop, similar to the program manager of Windows 3.x, the remaining functions were divided into three individual menus: The first contained the entries "Run" and "Shutdown" and an item to open a list of open programs (similar to the taskbar). Next to it, the notification area (tray or info area, in Windows the area next to the clock), the desktop icons as well as the open windows could be managed. The second one offered the search function, the list of recently used documents and a kind of precursor of today's My Documents. Below that was another list of open programs. The third menu was dedicated to help and tips.

Windows NT 3.51

The Start menu in the NT-based Windows versions is officially included in Windows NT 4.0 for the first time as a result of the redesigned desktop interface. Before that, however, there was already a new Windows interface Newshell with Start menu for Windows NT 3.51, which can only be installed in English. It transforms the interface, which is visually based on Windows for Workgrops, into a new desktop with taskbar and Start menu similar to Windows 95, but Microsoft explicitly advised against productive use. It changes the Windows version number from NT 3.51 to 4.0.

Classic Start Menu (Windows 95 to ME as well as NT 4.0 and 2000)

Up to Windows ME, this was a classic, single-column menu. Up to Windows Vista, it can be selected as an alternative to the newer variants. It has the following properties:

• Freely definable entries
• Programs (menu)
• Documents (formerly Favorites, shows the most recently used documents; under Windows 98 both shortcuts are available, there the Documents menu contains a shortcut to My Documents and offers space for further manual shortcuts)
• Settings (may vary depending on system configuration)
• Control Panel
• Network connections or dial-up network/connections
• Printers and fax machines
• Taskbar and Start menu - configures the taskbar, and the Start menu itself
• under Windows 98: Folder Options... and Active Desktop settings (the former later under Explorer Tools, the latter under Desktop Properties)
• Search (submenu items may vary)
• By files and folders...
• On the Internet
• By people... (users on the network)
• By computer... (clients on the network)
• Help (Under Windows XP: Help and Support)
• Execute...
• Log off user (Windows 95: entered under Exit...)
• Exit
• Shutdown (shutdown with automatic power off, not yet supported under Windows 95, requires an ATX-compatible motherboard)
• Restart
• Start in MS-DOS mode (not under Windows ME and in the NT versions)
• Standby modeE
• Idle stateE

^E = only available under Windows 98, ME and 2000 and only if the hardware supports APM or ACPI and this support is enabled in Windows.

When installing Windows 95A there is an option which interface to use. Besides the new shell, the older program manager can also be selected, which makes the operating system look like Windows 3.x. Taskbar and start menu are not available in this case.

Difference between Windows 9.x and Windows NT

The start menu of NT systems is similar to that of Windows 9x. However, since Windows NT is not based on DOS, it is not possible to start the computer under MS-DOS in the Shutdown... menu. Logging on under a new name, if the user is logged on to a Windows domain, is done automatically on the network, which leads to a synchronization with the user settings located on the server during the logon process. In the Programs menu there is the submenu "Administration (General)". There, devices and users are administered and various system controls are available.

New features of Internet Explorer for Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0

The web extensions of Internet Explorer, version 4.0, also affect the Start menu in detail, especially of Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0, but their biggest changes concern the desktop, Windows Explorer and the taskbar. With these web extensions, it is possible to drag and drop the entries and subdirectories of the Programs and Documents menus, among others, or to drag them from the desktop or other locations to the Start menu, just as in Windows 98. Also a context menu of the right mouse button is available, with which among other things the Send to... dialog is available, with which shortcuts on the desktop can be created. Without the web extensions, these functions are also not available.

New features for Windows ME and Windows 2000

Mainly only the appearance has changed compared to Windows 98, especially the icons. But there are advanced settings. In the menu Taskbar and Start Menu... there is now the option "Use personalized menus". The computer "remembers" frequently used options and programs, and in the future hides the rarely used items and only shows them again upon explicit user request. On the Advanced tab, "Settings for 'Start' menu" can be set, including options such as whether Favorites (Internet bookmarks) should be integrated into the Start menu or whether Printers or Control Panel should be integrated into the Start menu as a submenu instead of in an Explorer window.