How to pin Settings to the Start Menu in Windows 10
- Do you have any favorite apps or settings that you'd like to access more easily?
- Check out our tips below to learn how to pin your settings to the Start Menu for quick access.
- Speaking about the Start Menu, it is a basic Windows feature that we take for granted. Take a look at our Start Menu Guides and get prepared for any situation.
- Leave nothing at all to chance and bookmark our Windows 10 Troubleshooting Hub as well.
As we go on with the latest updates of Windows 10, we keep on discovering interesting new features. In this post, we’re going to talk about one of them, which is the possibility to add your favorite Settings to the Start menu.
So if you want to find out how you can pin particular Settings pages located in the Settings application to the Start menu of Windows 10, follow this tutorial and the steps listed below.
Besides pining Settings to the Start menu, in this tutorial, you will also find out how to unpin the respective Settings options. In order to start the pining steps, go to the Settings page first located in the Start menu , and continue from there.
How can I pin Settings to the Start menu in Windows 10?
1. Use the Pin to Start menu
- Left-click or tap on the Start feature.
- From the Start menu left click or tap on the Settings feature situated in the upper left side of the menu.
- Now you should have the Settings window in front of you.
- Left-click or tap on the setting you wish to pin to the Start Menu of Windows 10.
- Now in the upper side of the Settings window, next to the search dialog box you will have a Pin icon.
- Just left click or tap on the Pin icon and the setting you selected will be pinned to the Start menu in Windows 10
Note: After you pin a specific setting to the Start menu you will also notice that the Pin icon will change, thus notifying you that the setting is already pinned.
Note 2: You can perform the same steps for all the settings you wish to pin to the Start menu of Windows 10.
The latest Windows 10 OS versions also allow you to pin your favorite Settings page to the Start menu by simply right-clicking in the respective Settings page.
Once you’ve done that, a quick Pin to Start menu will appear that lets you set the respective Settings page to the Start menu.
2. Create a desktop shortcut
If you want to quickly access certain Settings pages, you can also create a Settings shortcut on the desktop as an alternative to pinning Settings to the Start menu.
All you need to do is right-click on your desktop, select New, then Shortcut. A new window will pop-up allowing you to select the page that you want to add to the shortcut.
Here is the list of the main Settings commands in Windows 10:
| Settings app page | Command |
| Account info | ms-settings:privacy-accountinfo |
| Airplane mode | ms-settings:network-airplanemode |
| Backgrounds | ms-settings:personalization-background |
| Battery Saver | ms-settings:batterysaver |
| Battery Saver Settings | ms-settings:batterysaver-settings |
| Battery use | ms-settings:batterysaver-usagedetails |
| Bluetooth | ms-settings:bluetooth |
| Calendar | ms-settings:privacy-calendar |
| Camera | ms-settings:privacy-webcam |
| Cellular | ms-settings:network-cellular |
| Closed Captioning | ms-settings:easeofaccess-closedcaptioning |
| Colors | ms-settings:colors |
| Colors | ms-settings:personalization-colors |
| Connected devices | ms-settings:connecteddevices |
| Contacts | ms-settings:privacy-contacts |
| Data Usage | ms-settings:datausage |
| Date and Time | ms-settings:dateandtime |
| Dial-up | ms-settings:network-dialup |
| DirectAccess | ms-settings:network-directaccess |
| Display | ms-settings:display |
| Display | ms-settings:screenrotation |
| Ethernet | ms-settings:network-ethernet |
| Family & other users | ms-settings:otherusers |
| Feedback | ms-settings:privacy-feedback |
| For developers | ms-settings:developers |
| High Contrast | ms-settings:easeofaccess-highcontrast |
| Keyboard | ms-settings:easeofaccess-keyboard |
| Location | ms-settings:privacy-location |
| Lockscreen | ms-settings:lockscreen |
| Magnifier | ms-settings:easeofaccess-magnifier |
| Manage Wi-Fi Settings | ms-settings:network-wifisettings |
| Messaging | ms-settings:privacy-messaging |
| Microphone | ms-settings:privacy-microphone |
| Mobile hotspot | ms-settings:network-mobilehotspot |
| Motion | ms-settings:privacy-motion |
| Mouse | ms-settings:easeofaccess-mouse |
| Mouse & touchpad | ms-settings:mousetouchpad |
| Narrator | ms-settings:easeofaccess-narrator |
| Notifications & actions | ms-settings:notifications |
| Offline maps | ms-settings:maps |
| Optional features | ms-settings:optionalfeatures |
| Other Devices | ms-settings:privacy-customdevices |
| Other Options (Ease of Access) | ms-settings:easeofaccess-otheroptions |
| Personalization | ms-settings:personalization |
| Power & sleep | ms-settings:powersleep |
| Privacy | ms-settings:privacy |
| Proximity | ms-settings:proximity |
| Proxy | ms-settings:network-proxy |
| Radios | ms-settings:privacy-radios |
| Region & language | ms-settings:regionlanguage |
| Sign-in options | ms-settings:signinoptions |
| Speech | ms-settings:speech |
| Speech, inking, & typing | ms-settings:privacy-speechtyping |
| Start | ms-settings:personalization-start |
| Storage Sense | ms-settings:storagesense |
| Tablet mode | ms-settings://tabletmode/ |
| Themes | ms-settings:themes |
| Typing | ms-settings:typing |
| VPN | ms-settings:network-vpn |
| Wi-Fi | ms-settings:network-wifi |
| Windows Update | ms-settings:windowsupdate |
| Work access | ms-settings:workplace |
If you wish to unpin the Settings from the Start menu, read the lines below:
- Open the Start menu.
- Find the Setting you wish to unpin from the list.
- Right-click or hold tap on that setting.
- From the menu that appears left click or tap on the Unpin from Start feature.
Note: Another quick way to unpin a setting is by going again to the Settings window as you did before, click on the setting you wish to unpin and left click or tap on the icon presented next to the search dialog box.
And you are all done, you now know exactly how to pin your Modern settings situated in the Settings app to the Start menu of your Windows 10.
If you have any questions regarding these steps, feel free to reach for the comments section below.
FAQ: Learn more about Pin option
- How do I pin to start screen?
To do this, simply select the Settings app from the Start menu and hold it while you click or tap the Pin to taskbar or Pin to Start options.
- What is the difference between pin to start and pin to taskbar?
The difference between the two is the location of the pin: the Start menu appears in the left pane when you click on the Start button and the taskbar is the horizontal bar on the bottom of your screen.
- How do I unpin to taskbar?
To do this, type the name of the program you want to remove in the search box of the Start menu. Select the app by right-clicking on its icon and then click on Unpin from taskbar.
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in July 2018 and has been since revamped and updated in March 2020 for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness.
Editor's Note: This article was originally published in April 2015 and was revamped and updated in June 2020 for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness.