Tip: Alphabetize Your Windows Programs Menu

One of my biggest pet peeves about Windows is that, when you install new programs, they appear in the Programs menu (under Start > All Programs) in the order they were installed. I don't know about you, but I don't think about software in terms of when I happened to run the setup application. Rather, I just look for the name, and the best way to do that is using our good old ABCs.

Alphabetizing your Programs menu in the old days used to require a Registry hack, but fortunately this has gotten a lot easier since Windows 2000 and XP.

To alphabetize your Programs menu do the following: Click Start, click All Programs, and right-click on any sub-folder you see (note: not an actual program). Then click Sort by Name. Voila! Your programs will now appear in alpha order instead of being seemingly random. Note that folders appear ahead of unfoldered applications, and any new apps you install will be added to the bottom of the list. To re-alphabetize, just follow these simple instructions periodically.