How To Change Pinned Or Recommended Rows In Windows 11 Start Menu

Microsoft has now improved the new Start menu with the release of Windows 11 22H2. You can now change how many pinned, and recommended apps are suggested and available in your start menu, depending on your preferences. But how do you take advantage of this new feature? Here’s how you can change and reorder rows in the pinned and recommended sections of your Windows 11 Start menu.

There are mainly two ways to change the number of rows visible, either in the pinned or recommended section of your Start menu. You can choose to use Windows 11 22H2’s native feature to provide more area to the pinned apps or recommended apps and files to reduce the number of rows in either section. Alternatively, if you want to remove even more rows, you can remove recommended apps and files and pinned apps from your Windows 11 Start menu to free up even more space. Here’s how you can change and reduce the number of rows in your Start menu’s pinned or recommended section.

Change The Number Of Rows Visible In The Pinned Or Recommended Section

You can change your Start menu layout to change the number of rows in each section either from the Settings app or the Registry Editor. We recommend using the registry editor method only if you’re unable to change the Start menu layout from the Settings app. Registry changes are permanent and will restrict you from changing the Start menu layout from the Settings app if you’re facing issues. In such cases, you will have to rely on Registry changes each time you wish to change your Start menu layout. Here’s how you can use the Settings app and the registry editor to change your Start menu layout on your Windows 11 PC.

Change Using The Settings App

Here’s how to change your Start menu layout from the Settings app to change the number of rows visible in your pinned and recommended section.

Let’s start by opening the Settings app on your Windows 11 PC. You can use the Start menu or choose to use the Windows + I keyboard shortcut depending on your preferences.
When the Settings app is open on your PC, click and select Personalization from the left sidebar. This will allow us to customize and personalize your Windows 11 Start menu.
Now click and select Start from the right side of the Settings app to customize your Start menu. This will allow us to choose and select the new Start menu layouts offered by Windows 11 22H2.
You will now be shown the three different new layouts for the Start menu introduced in Windows 11 22H2 at the top. The More Pins layout will allow you to increase the number of rows in the pinned section and reduce the number of rows in the recommended section. The recommended section will have only a single row to show recommended items when using the More Pins layout. Click and select this layout if you wish to increase the number of rows for the Pinned section and decrease the number of rows for the Recommended section.
The next layout is the default layout. This should be the currently selected layout on your PC if you haven’t customized your Start menu before. The default layout lets you view three rows of recommendations in the Start menu and four rows in the pinned layout. Click and select default if you are comfortable with the number of rows offered in this layout.
The last layout choice is the More recommendations option. This layout reduces the number of rows available for the pinned section and offers more area to your Start menu recommendations. When using the More recommendations layout, the pinned apps section will get two rows for your pinned apps, while recommendations will get four rows to display recommended items in your Start menu. Click and select this layout if you wish to assign more rows to the recommended section while reducing the number of rows available for your pinned apps. Close the Settings app once you have selected the desired Start menu layout on your Windows 11 PC. You will now have changed the number of rows available in the pinned and recommended section of your Windows 11 Start menu. The changes will be applied immediately, and you can check your Start menu to try out your new layout.

Change Using The Registry Editor

The Registry Editor is a powerful tool that holds most configurations and customized values for your Windows 11 PC. If you cannot change the Start menu layouts using the Settings app, then you can use the Registry Editor to change it. We recommend using this method only if you face issues changing your Start menu layout, as discussed above. Changing your layout using the registry editor will require you to make all changes in the future from the registry editor as well. Additionally, editing the wrong values in th registry editor can break your Windows 11 installation. I recommend you exercise caution when using the steps below. Here’s how you can change your Start menu layout using the registry editor on your Windows 11 PC.

Start by launching Run on your PC. You can launch the Run app by searching for it in your Start menu or using the Windows + R keyboard shortcut. Press these two keys simultaneously to launch Run.
Now type in regedit into the dedicated text box and press Enter on your keyboard. You can also click OK if you prefer. This will launch Registry Editor on your Windows 11 PC. If you’re prompted by the UAC on your PC, click Yes to confirm your choice and provide administrative permission to launch the registry editor.
Once the registry editor is launched, navigate to this location using your left sidebar. You can also choose to paste the path mentioned below in the address bar at the top. Ensure that you paste the address after Computer in the registry editor address bar.
Scroll the DWORD registry values on your right and find the one named Start Layout. Once found, double-click the value. This will allow us to edit this value and change your Start menu layout on your Windows 11 PC.
Now type in one of the following values to set the desired Start menu layout on your PC. Enter the desired number in the dedicated text field under Value data: to change your Start menu layout. 0: This will set the Default View as your Start menu layout. 1: This will set the More Pinned Apps as your Start menu layout. 2: This will set the More Recommendations as your Start menu layout.
Once you have entered the desired value data, click OK. This will save the changes we made to your Start Layout registry value.
Lastly, close the Registry Editor and restart your PC. This will help restart background services and register the registry changes we made to change your Start menu layout. When your Windows 11 PC restarts, your Start menu should reflect the chosen layout you set above using the Registry Editor.

Remove Recommendations And Pinned Items To Reduce Rows

If using the above methods did not get you the desired look for your Start menu, you can reduce the number of rows further by removing apps and recommendations from your Start menu. This is a tedious process if you have a lot of pinned apps and recommendations, but it will help you reduce the number of rows visible in either section. Additionally, if you want, you can disable recommended items in your Start menu to remove all rows from the recommended section completely. Here’s how you can remove items from the recommended and pinned app sections in your Start menu.

Remove Apps From The Recommended And Pinned Section

You can remove apps and files from the pinned and recommended section using the right-click context menu. Use these steps to remove items from your pinned and recommended section in the Windows 11 Start menu.

Launch the Start menu by clicking the start menu icon in your taskbar. You can also press the Windows key on your keyboard to open the Start menu. Now, right-click any pinned app you wish to remove from your Start menu.
Click Unpin from Start. This will remove the selected pinned item from your Start menu. Repeat these steps to remove more pinned items from the Start menu and reduce the number of rows in the Pinned section.
Likewise, right-click a recommended item you wish to remove from the recommended section.
Now click and select Remove from list. This will remove the selected recommended item from your Start menu. Repeat these steps to remove more recommended items from your Start menu. You will now have removed items from your Start menu to create more empty rows in your Start menu.

You can also completely disable recommendations in the Start menu. This will help free up the Recommended section in your Start menu. Use these steps to disable recommendations in your Start menu.

Begin by opening the Settings app on your Windows 11 PC. You can use the Start menu search. Or use the Windows + I keyboard shortcut, depending on your preferences.
Now click and select Personalization from the left sidebar in the Settings app.
Click and select Start from the right side of your Settings app.
Start by disabling the toggle for Show recently added apps. Click the toggle to turn it off on your Windows 11 PC.
Similarly, click the toggle for Show recently opened items in Start, Jump Lists, and File Explorer to disable it. This will help disable recommendations across your PC. You will now have disabled recommendations in the Start menu on your Windows 11 PC. These changes will take effect immediately, and you can open your Start menu to check the same.

Yes, you can use the section above to disable recommended items from the Start menu. If you wish to keep recommendations enabled but wish to remove selected items, right-click and use the context menu method we discussed above.

Yes, you can easily rearrange the pinned apps in your Start menu. Click and drag the desired app to your preferred location to rearrange your Pinned items.

Final Words

The Start menu is a vital part of Windows OS. It helps you interact with most apps and programs installed on your Windows 11 PC, access different settings, and manage different services. The new Windows 11 Start menu introduces more intuitive ways to interact with frequently used apps, and the 22H2 update allows you to customize your Start menu to your liking. I hope the post above helped you easily leverage these new features and change the number of rows available in your pinned and recommended app sections.

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