How to Add or Remove Folders in Start menu on Windows 11

You can add or remove folders in the Start menu on Windows 11 for faster access to locations under your user profile. Although the Start menu in Windows 11 went through a significant redesign, it retained most of its features.

For example, you can still customize what folder icons appear in the Start menu next to the power button.

Windows 11 allows pinning several types of directories to the Start menu. You can pin a shortcut to Windows Settings, File Explorer, Documents, Downloads, Music, Videos, Pictures, Network, and Personal Folder. This article will show you how to add or remove folders in the Start menu next to the power button.

Add or Remove Folders in Start menu on Windows 11

1. Press Win + I to open Windows Settings. You can also use Windows Search or the list of all apps in the Start menu.
2. Go to Personalization > Start.
3. Click on Folders.
4. Select which icons you want to show up in the Start menu next to the power button. You can add or remove Settings, File Explorer, Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, Videos, Network, and Personal folder.

Done. Unfortunately, you cannot add custom folders to that list.

Once you have your first folder icons pinned to the Start menu, you can get to the settings much faster. Open the Start menu and right-click any shortcut, then select Personalize this list. However, if you didn't add any folder, that menu entry is not accessible.

Remove Settings and Folders shortcuts from the Start menu

Do the following to remove a specific folder shortcut from the Start menu next to the power button:

1. Open the Start menu and right-click any shortcut to the left from the power button.
2. Select Personalize this list.
3. Alternatively, open Windows Settings > Personalization > Start > Folders.
4. Disable shortcuts you want to remove.

Tip: You may notice the Unpin from Start option when right-clicking a shortcut in the Start menu. That command unpins a shortcut from the list of pinned apps at the top of the Start menu, not next to the power button. It is a confusing behavior that Microsoft needs to fix.

Also, it is worth mention that In Windows 10, those folders stack up on one another above the power button. In Windows 11, they align horizontally to the left of the power button.

Unlike Windows 10, Windows 11 comes with no pre-pinned folders to the Start menu, so customizing that part of the UI might be not-so-obvious for many. In fact, many users will not even know that they can pin folders shortcut to the bottom-right corner of the Start menu.

That is how you add or remove folders shortcuts in the Start menu.