Windows 10 Tip: Colorize the Start Menu

[allheart55 Cindy E]

 

While many are heralding the return of the Start menu in Windows 10, the truth is that this interface is in many ways all-new, with functionality taken from both the Windows 7 Start menu and the Windows 8 Start screen. And here's one of the neat new things you can do with the Start menu: Change its color.

 

I know what you're thinking. Paul, you could already do this in Windows 8, with the Start screen. And yes, that's true. But with the new desktop focus in the Windows Technical Preview, we're seeing that capability applied to the Start screen. And they way you configure it bears no resemblance at all to the Start Screen Personalize interface in Windows 8.x.

 

Instead, the color of the Start menu is tied to the accent color you configure in the Color and Appearance control panel, and is the same color that is applied to window borders and (in a translucent blend) to the taskbar.

 

 

To access this interface, right-click on the desktop and choose Personalize. Then, in the Personalization control panel window that appears, click on the Color icon.

 

 

Aside from the addition of Start menu coloring, the Color and Appearance control panel has changed since Windows 8.1. But the effects are interesting because the Start menu can be such a large user interface element. Here's the same Start menu with two different color schemes: