1. Customizing the Start Menu in Windows 10
9/7/2018 5:57 PM
Customizing the Start Menu in Windows 10
Raymond Comvalius
IT Infrastructure Architect
© Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION.

2. Raymond Comvalius - www.nextxpert.com
Independent trainer/architect since 1998
Most Valued Professional (MVP)
Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT)
Author of “Windows 7 for XP Professionals”

3. Windows 10 Start Menu

4. Group Policy vs. Mobile Device Management
Group Policy & MDM
Remove Logoff
Hide Most Used Programs
Hide App Suggestions
AKA Consumer Features
Hide All Power Buttons
Shut down, Restart, Sleep and Hibernate
Disable Jump List History
Start Size
Full Screen or Menu
MDM Only
Hide Recently Added Apps
Allow Pinned Folder
Hide a Single Power Button

5. Defining the Start Layout
Not for Roaming Profiles
Full Start Layout = Mandatory Start Layout
Partial Start Layout = Partly mandatory Start Layout
Deploy
Group Policy
Mobile Device Management (MDM)
Windows Provisioning Package
Import in Windows Image

6. Create Start Layout XML

7. Export the Start Layout
Specific per platform (either x86 or x64)
Customize Start Menu and export Start layout
export-startlayout –path <path><file name>.xml
Decide on Full Start layout or Partial Start Layout
Add LayoutCustomizationRestrictionType="OnlySpecifiedGroups" to DefaultLayoutOverride XML element
XML configured Tile Groups cannot be changed

8. Sample Start Layout XML
9/7/2018 5:57 PM
Sample Start Layout XML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LayoutModificationTemplate
xmlns="
xmlns:defaultlayout="
xmlns:start="
<LayoutOptions StartTileGroupCellWidth="6" StartTileGroupsColumnCount="1" />
<DefaultLayoutOverride>
<StartLayoutCollection>
<defaultlayout:StartLayout GroupCellWidth="6" xmlns:defaultlayout="
<start:Group Name="Life at a glance" xmlns:start="
<start:Tile Size="2x2" Column="2" Row="0" AppUserModelID="Microsoft.BingWeather_8wekyb3d8bbwe!App" />
</start:Group>
</defaultlayout:StartLayout>
</StartLayoutCollection>
</DefaultLayoutOverride>
</LayoutModificationTemplate>
LayoutCustomizationRestrictionType="OnlySpecifiedGroups">
© 2014 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION.

9. Resulting Layout Examples

10. Taskbar Options Three Categories of Apps on taskbar
Default Windows Apps
Apps pinned by the user
Apps pinned during deploy
TaskbarLinks in unattended Windows Setup are deprecated

11. Create Taskbar Layout XML

12. Configuring the Taskbar
Manually create the XML
Add Schema declarations
Add<CustomTaskbarLayoutCollection>
Add Apps
<taskbar:UWA> and AUMID to pin Universal Windows Platform apps.
<taskbar:DesktopApp> and Desktop Application Link Path to pin desktop applications.
Replace or Add your own apps
Add PinListPlacement="Replace" to <CustomTaskbarLayoutCollection>

13. Sample Taskbar Layout XML
9/7/2018 5:57 PM
Sample Taskbar Layout XML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LayoutModificationTemplate
xmlns="
xmlns:defaultlayout="
xmlns:start="
xmlns:taskbar="
Version="1">
<CustomTaskbarLayoutCollection>
<defaultlayout:TaskbarLayout>
<taskbar:TaskbarPinList>
<taskbar:UWA AppUserModelID="Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe!MicrosoftEdge" />
<taskbar:DesktopApp DesktopApplicationLinkPath="%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\System Tools\File Explorer.lnk" />
</taskbar:TaskbarPinList>
</defaultlayout:TaskbarLayout>
</CustomTaskbarLayoutCollection>
</LayoutModificationTemplate>
PinListPlacement="Replace">
© 2014 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION.

14. Deploy the Start Layout

15. XML Challenge Ensure proper XML Formatting
For MDM you must encode to HTML
Test with Local GPO First
Restart explorer.exe after each change

16. Combine Start & Taskbar Layout

17. Deploying the Start Menu
Start layout XML is platform-specific
Apps in the menu must already be installed
Apps already in other groups will be removed from there

18. Use Group Policy to deploy Start layout
Requires Windows 10 Enterprise or Education SKU
Updates based on file time stamp of the XML

19. Use MDM to deploy Start Layout
Requires Windows or up Pro, Enterprise, or Education SKU
OMA-DM with Intune, ConfigMgr or 3rd party MDM
Replace markup characters with escape characters when required

20. Other ways to deploy Start layout
Provisioning Package
Use Windows Imaging and Configuration Designer (ICD) to include XML in the PPKG
Mount a WIM image and run:
Import-StartLayout –LayoutPath <path><file name>.xml –MountPath %systemdrive%

21. 9/7/2018 5:57 PM
Summary
© 2014 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION.

22. Summary
Dynamic Start Layout customization requires Pro, Enterprise, or Education SKUs of Windows 10 since 1703
Both Start Menu and Taskbar allow for modification with Group Policy
XML Formatting can be a challenge
More information:
Manage Windows 10 Start and taskbar layout

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9/7/2018 5:57 PM
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© 2014 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION.