How to always open the Windows 11 Start menu in All apps
By default, the Windows 11 Start menu opens in the section with the applications and the "Recommended" section (how to remove the "Recommended" section from the Start menu). If you want, you can change this behavior.
In this simple tutorial on ways to make the Windows 11 Start menu always open in the “All apps” section, without using any alternative to the standard system menu.
Open the default “All apps” section of the Start menu
You can use the third-party utility ExplorerPatcher to ensure that the Start menu always opens in the "All apps" section. The steps would be the following:
- ExplorerPatcher from the official developer page https://github.com/valinet/ExplorerPatcher/releases/latest
- Run the program.
- Right-click on an empty space on the taskbar and select "Properties".
- Activate the “Windows 11” menu mode.
- Turn on the “Open Start in all apps by default” option.
Done, the Windows 11 Start menu will now open “All apps” instead of the list of pinned apps.
ExplorerPatcher can be used for more than this. For example, you can use the program to disable taskbar icon grouping, remove the “Recommended” section from the Start menu, and make other adjustments to how Windows 11 explorer items work.