If you’ve used Linux you may have see how neatly categorized all the application are on it. The equivalent of the start menu on KDE or Gnome contains your usual list of applications, however they are categorized in such a way that even if you have hundreds of applications installed —and many Linux users do— it is quite a simple matter to locate the software you want, by exploring it’s category.
Handy Start Menu does the same thing for Windows. While Linux applications include this metadata, making the process automated, and requiring no input from your part, Windows applications include no such metadata. Handy Start Menu’s process is semi-automated. Handy Start Menu is connected to a database of application categorizations, such that you will find your start menu cleaned and categorized instantly after you install it.
Any application which it cannot associate with any category, it will dump into a “folder” called “Without Category.” If you have some lesser known or used applications installed, expect to find them here. However, the application includes a tool to categorize applications yourself. If you wish you can send any categorization decisions you make to the Handy Start Menu database to improve the experience for other people.
One of the best things about Handy Start Menu is that it does not touch your actual start menu structure. It merely imposes its own structure on top. If you open the start menu folder for your user profile you will find your start menu item intact. Enabling and disabling Handy Start Menu is a simple matter of clicking a button, so if you don’t like the application, your wont have to undo the damage done by categorization.
The interface of Handy Start Menu is quite simple. It presents a simple window with two buttons, one to switch back to the standard start menu, and the other to change the categorization of the start menu. The categorization tool is equally simple. You can browse through your start menu items in their respective categories on the left, and upon selecting a start menu item, you will get a list of available categories to assign to it, on the right.
Handy Start Menu is a free application which is quick to install, and light on resources. It works on both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows XP / Vista / 7. It is a mere 2.7 MB download.
Download Handy Start Menu from its website here. You can also check out the rest of our featured Download of the Day software here.