How to sort folder and programs in Start10

Not exactly sure what you're trying to do. Could you explain further?

Island Dog,...perhaps I can further explain this issue....because I have the same issue but with the old AND new versions of Fences.

There was a post that talked to the same issues but that was in 2015: https://forums.stardock.com/470633/page/1/#replies

I have had XP and just recently upgraded to Windows 10 computer. The original Fences obviously worked beautifully in XP...LOVE that software.....had no idea that the old version or newer paid versions of Fences would cause problems.

The problem (with ANY version of Fences):

AS soon as it is downloaded I cannot move my desktop folders into a Fence or even around the desktop at ALL!....I left click on the desktop folder as if to try and drag and move and a black circle with line through it appears...can't move anything on the desktop.

I CAN cut and paste a folder into the Fence...but once inside the Fence I once again cannot move it around within the Fence (click, move, drag).

****Is there a setting or a registry entry that gets changed and creates this bug with Windows 10?

***Frankly, there are no suitable alternatives to Fences which, for me, WAS such a wonderful little application.

thanks

gauchon

I have already made sure if Fences was 'locked' or 'unlocked'.....but it doesn't matter....lock or unlock status shouldn't keep regular non-fenced-in desktop folders from moving around (left click, drag, move,etc).

When I uninstalled Fences...all was back to normal.

You would need to create new folders, hide unwanted folders, create and/or rename shortcuts yourself in C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs and C:\Users\<your name>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs

(You'll need to be signed on as Admin and show 'Hidden Files, Folders and Drives')

This is helpful, thanks. It's a shame we had to manually hack Windows system folders to customize Start 10 folders back in 2017. Is this still the case in 2019? 

You have always been able to drag & drop shortcuts in the all programs menu in Start10.  Likewise right clicking on an item in the tree lets you rename it.

If you want to make new folders etc or do bulk organizing then you can right click on the all programs button and pick Open or Open all users which opens up explorer in the correct location.  Using explorer for this makes sense (and is what Windows 7 offered I think), as it is a UI designed specifically for copying, deleting etc.

Shortcuts are stored in the OS standard Start menu items folders.  This is normal, why you would want to mess with showing hidden files, folders and drives I have no idea though as they should be visible folders regardless.

Hello Neil. Thanks for providing some guidance for a new Start 10 user. I tested drag and drop, renaming, creating new folders, etc. and now see your point that it makes sense to use tools already built into Windows for Start file/folder management.

However, I'm still concerned about possible negative side effects of modifying Start Menu folders. For example, how do you restore everything back to stock or recover from accidents while modifying Start menu items? Will changing things have any negative impact on system operation? Will app some Windows or app updates/uninstalls fail if certain Start Menu folders and shortcuts are modified? 

I was imagining a program like Start 10 might maintain it's own mapping and leave the system Start Menu folders untouched. Infinitely more work to actually develop than to imagine I'm sure... If that's the current state of things, I can live with it. 

How about the Universal Applications folder though? I have lots of UWP apps installed. The list extends far beyond the edge of my desktop and is very unwieldy to scroll through. Any way to organize Universal Apps list into folders the way we can for pinned apps on the right side of the standard Windows 10 style menu? 

You cannot cause any more problems than if you moved them for the Windows 10 menu or the Windows 7 one or earlier versions.  It is considered normal for a user to be able to modify these.  You cannot recover from mistakes any more than you can if you move shortcuts that installers put on your desktop or your pictures if you move them on your harddrive.

If Start10 were to maintain a mapping it would add complexity to the product for no reason and introduce a whole new set of issues to worry about.  Windows updates shouldn't care and likewise app updates will not care where a shortcut is.  Worst case you moved a shortcut and uninstalling doesn't remove it and a new install puts the icon back where it originally was.

The purpose of Start10 is to work like the menu worked in Windows 7 (or even the Windows 10 one)

Regarding UWP apps, these do not have shortcuts in the system in the same way and cannot be moved at present.