Is there a solution to this madness?

[OleBoy]

I'll try to explain

My PC.

When I click on the Start Button,
/ Program Files, the tree of everything installed expands. Things are getting confusing with it all mixed together. Is there any way to have a folder for MSFS2004 where all of that stuff resides, and then a MSFSX folder where all that stuff can be?

By doing this it would make it a LOT less confusing.

Another thing comes to mind. By me doing this at this time, won't it really mess things up in the registry?

[r678idtyj]

You can actually drag and drop start menu items whithin the expanded menu.
I assume you probably have a "microsoft games/fs2004" or similarly named folder in there: just click the icons you want to put in it and drag them over the folder name, it should expand and allow you to put them in the expanded portion. Repeat process until things are cleared. :D
On my system, you have to expand the target folder first, then click and drag, so if that's the case, don't be confused by it. Finally, you can right-click the start button and choose "explore" to do it. It can be simpler if you know what you're doing.

Hope this helps! :jump:

[OleBoy]

That's exactly what I wanted to do!!

Thank-You very much:applause:

[OleBoy]

Well, I stand corrected. There are still a LOT of short-cuts that I can't see when exploring "All Users". But when I click on the "Start" button, I can. Is there a way to track them so I can get all of them sorted out?

[Alain_F355]

I tried once to put all the auto installed planes that were under start in 1 folder but for some of them it messed up the autouninstall so I now leave them separate.

[Tom Clayton]

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs

If you don't see all you need to see there, substitute your username for "All Users."

[Willy]

I just keep a shortcut on my desktop to the Microsoft Games folder to make it easy to get to the guts of my FS1954, Golden Wings and CFS 2 folders.

[r678idtyj]

Well, I stand corrected. There are still a LOT of short-cuts that I can't see when exploring "All Users". But when I click on the "Start" button, I can. Is there a way to track them so I can get all of them sorted out?
Today 07:12

That should not happen. Are you running an account with administrator rights?

[Mick]

Just open the different folders in the various Start Menus and sort the sub-folders and individual shortcuts the same way you'd sort and file any kind of documents or anything else. Menu shortcuts are like any other file type and can be moved, copied, etc., etc., like anything else using basic Windows functions. Put all the ones you want into one of the menu, most likely the one named for your account if you have an account; otherwise probably the Owner one. (If you don't know how to do that, you need to read up on some very basic stuff about working on a Windows computer.. You computer probably came with a little booklet that includes that stuff.)

You can find the menus in the usual places:

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu...

C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\Start Menu...

C:\Documents and Settings\(your account name, if you have one)\Start Menu...

If you use accounts, when you're logged into you account, that's the Start Menu that gets displayed. If you don't use accounts, the Owner's Start Menu gets displayed. All Users is where either MS or add-on vendors put their items if they want them to be available to anyone who uses the computer. That practice makes sure that everyone has access to the shortcut without having copies of it in everyone's individual Start Menu. Since shortcuts take up an infinitesimal amount of disk space, the economy isn't nearly worth the confusion it causes in situations like yours. But of course, that's the way MS designed it to work, and who would ever expect MS to do anything the smart or easy way...

[OleBoy]

Thanks to all who responded in my dilemma.

I had a pretty good idea how to go about doing what I wanted to do, but I didn't know how to deal with everything scattered through out all the folders in all of the accounts.....speaking Don, and All Users. I figured I could go into the folders and move them without any trouble because I wasn't moving the actual .EXE ...which I know would have messed things up badly. I knew that short-cuts, are links-to the installed file.

Now it sounds like all I have to do is go into the different folders and pull the short-cuts into the FS2004/FSX folders like I did the rest and I'll be good to go.

Thanks Again everyone. It's nice to have another mind for reassurance. :wavey: