Classic Shell: Forum

Hi, sorry if this is a really silly question, but I searched heavily before deciding to post this. How can I clear all the recent programs in Classic Start Menu under Windows 10? The usual way of doing it, by going to Taskbar and Start Menu Properties, is only possible in Windows 7. And of course, Windows 8 didn't really have a start menu. Thanks in advance.

If you are using frequently used/most used programs in the Classic Start Menu, in Windows 10, that setting is moved to Settings app (Win+i) -> Personalization -> Start. Called "Show most used apps".

If you are using Classic Shell's "Recent" list, you can right click any item in the list and select "Clear recent items list".

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Links to some general topics:

● Compare Start Menus

● Read the Search box usage guide.

I am a Windows enthusiast and helped a little with Classic Shell's testing and usability/UX feedback.

Thanks Gaurav. The setting you refer to only disables or enables the function of most frequently used programs. I would like to clear or reset this list, as we used to be able to in Windows 7, so that the menu rebuilds the list from that point onward.

Disabling the list clears the most used data from the Registry. After you disable and enable it, the menu will build a fresh list.

If after disabling that in Settings app, your Start Menu continues to show programs on the left side, you may be using the "Recent" list, not the "Frequent" list. You can check which list you are using by going to Classic Start Menu settings -> Main Menu tab.

_________________
Links to some general topics:

● Compare Start Menus

● Read the Search box usage guide.

I am a Windows enthusiast and helped a little with Classic Shell's testing and usability/UX feedback.

Ok, I think you meant that disabling the recent list will build a fresh list. That's true in Windows 7 and perhaps 8, but it's not possible in 10.

After more fiddling around, I see the whole picture. If the start menu is set to show a most recent list, then a right-click on the list will offer the "Clear recent items list" function. If the start menu is set to show a most frequent list (default), the right-click function will not be available, and the list can be disabled or enabled via PC Settings and Personalization. But it will not be cleared when doing so.

Thanks Gaurav.

Something is wrong or misconfigured on your system if you are using the "Frequent" list in Classic Start Menu and yet turning off "Show most used apps" doesn't turn off the list on Windows 10:

Note that the pinned items will not disppear, only the frequently used items will be gone.

If on the other hand, as you said, you are using the "Recent" list, then you can directly clear it by right clicking it and choosing "Clear recent items list".

_________________
Links to some general topics:

● Compare Start Menus

● Read the Search box usage guide.

I am a Windows enthusiast and helped a little with Classic Shell's testing and usability/UX feedback.

It's a clean install of Windows 10, so I don't think it's the system. It would be Classic Shell if anything.

Here are all the screenshots I have taken to highlight the situation, chronological by number in filename.

Continued

Anyway, a recent list is fine for my purposes, so I don't care much if this is bug. Perhaps it's something for someone to look into.

The Frequent list data is all maintained by Windows and stored in the Registry. Classic Start Menu reads this from the Registry and shows the list. So it can be a Windows bug that even after turning off that setting, the Registry data is not being cleared. As long as this data is present in the Registry, Classic Start Menu simply does the job of displaying it. Since the data is not controlled by Classic Shell at all, it does not seem like a Classic Shell bug.

_________________
Links to some general topics:

● Compare Start Menus

● Read the Search box usage guide.

I am a Windows enthusiast and helped a little with Classic Shell's testing and usability/UX feedback.