How to permanently remove/ban programs from the Start Menu Recent List? -part 2

Question

In another post someone asked the question: How to permanently remove/ban programs from the Start Menu Recent List? (Since manually deleting them will only get them back on once the program is started again.)

The sole answer gave a suggestion to "switch the feature off".

This answer though useful to some is not to me. Those programs which are indeed often used are on the desktop via a shortcut. Those on the start menu, are programs not often used or perhaps only used this week, then not used for 2 months, then used again later once.

Therefore, as the reader suggested, to then, after turning the feature off and adding links to the programs you do want there manually doesn't do it since I may not want them there 'next week' nor do I like the idea of me having to manually add them and manually remove them all the time.

In Windows XP there used to be a little Microsoft program called TweakUI (Power Toys) that would do exactly that--controlled which programs could go there and which could not. Considering that TweakUi was originally made for the 1st or 2nd Windows version (before Windows 95)

I hesitate to use it again for Windows 7. Does anyone have a suggestion?

Answer 1

The original TweakUI was made for Windows 95, later updated for Windows 98. It wouldn't have worked at all in Windows 1.x, 2.x or 3.x; these operating systems didn't even have most of the features TweakUI configured.

However, the version you used was written specifically for Windows XP – as its "About" page says, "For Windows XP (SP1 or higher) and Windows Server 2003". There should be no harm in trying TweakUI for WinXP on a Windows 7 system.

---

The modifications made by TweakUI's "Hide from Frequently Used Programs" function can also be performed manually using Registry Editor (regedit.exe).

1. Go to the [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Applications] subkey.
2. Create a subkey named after the program's basename (e.g. [uTorrent.exe]).
3. In that subkey, create a string value (REG_SZ) named "NoStartPage". Leave its data empty.

If the program still continues to show up in the recently used list try making a new shortcut to the program and see if that solves the problem. Installer-created shortcuts can cause this setting not to work where a user created shortcut works fine.

There are hidden settings within the shortcuts that the installer can set that you cannot change afterwards, i.e.: Application User Model IDs. These settings will prevent the NoStartPage setting from having any effect which is why you need to replace the installer shortcuts with user made ones.