Start menu sort Alphabetically?

[Shark007]

Thru this forum, ZachDoty has a link to his/her own site.

at that site, i find instruction to sort the start menu alphabetically thru windows.

Make Start Menu Organize Alphabetically 

For Windows XP (not tested on other versions) 


Open regedit (Start > Run > Type regedit > Click "OK") 

Navigate to 
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder 

Right click "MenuOrder" in the left pane 

Click "Permissions..." 

Click the "Advanced" button 

Uncheck the checkbox titled "Inherit from parent the permission entries that apply to child objects. Include these with entries explicitly defined here" 

A security dialog box will open, click "Copy" and you'll be taken back to the "Advanced Security Settings" for "MenuOrder" 

Click "OK" and you'll return to the Permissions for MenuOrder window 

Uncheck "Full Control" in both your account and all security groups where you are a member. Do not change the Read permission 

Exit Registry and Reboot

My question is, can this be done 'unattendedly' as windows installs?

Thanks in advance, for your advice.

Shark007

[ikevin]

Yes it can! I found this, works great. The way it works. Run it. Log off then back on and if there are some start menu items that are not in abc order then right click and click Sort by Name and then THEY WILL ALWAYS SORT! If you run this registry key in unattended install then it will by it self always sort the items!

;Automatically sort start munu and favorites menu
[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder\Favorites]

[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder\Start Menu]

[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder\Start Menu2]

[durex]

Im pretty sure theres a regtweak for this, but I dont seem to have it in my tweaks file... perhaps check the tweaks pinned thread.

:EDIT:

Perhaps try this...

http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showto...10entry191748

[Shark007]

Thank you very much ikevin

works perfectly unattended.

EDIT: I import my (this) regtweak by CMDLINES.TXT

Shark007

[Afterdawn]

Yes it can!  I found this, works great.  The way it works.  Run it. Log off then back on and if there are some start menu items that are not in abc order then right click and click Sort by Name and then THEY WILL ALWAYS SORT!  If you run this registry key in unattended install then it will by it self always sort the items!

;Automatically sort start munu and favorites menu
[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder\Favorites]

[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder\Start Menu]

[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder\Start Menu2]

This isn't a permanent solution... because sometimes the MenuOrder hive gets restored (typically when installing a certain application). Very annoying.

[Tsunami]

Yes, that registry tweak isn't permanent. I use RegPerm to set the permissions on the MenuOrder key. The following command sets Everyone's permissions to read only:

REGPERM /K HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder /A:Everyone:R /Q

[Shark007]

REGPERM /K HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder /A:Everyone:R /Q

Tsunami, thanks for the input.

Regperm works nicely.

Shark007

[DigeratiPrime]

Does that tweak resort the start menu automatically and how often?

[ikevin]

;Automatically sort start munu and favorites menu
[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder\Favorites]

[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder\Start Menu]

[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder\Start Menu2]

This will work PERMINATLY in an unattended install. It has been tested completely. It is permanent when not unattended but u must do this:

1. right click start menu and click Sort by Name then they will sort automatically

2. log off right after step one and then log back in

3. it will now always auto sort the start menu for that user

if that doesnt work, you're doing something wrong

[jimanny]

I've been playing around with this issue for a bit now and I'll share what I've learned - hopefully it will help someone.

It's been my experience that removing the MenuOrder key does work for a normal install, but only for so long. That is manually install windows, log in, remove the key, and restart. It seems that eventually something happens and it ends up unsorted again.

For my unattended install project, I've tried removing the key at T-12 as others have suggested with no luck.

Then I came across this at theeldergeek which explains how to sort alphabetically by restricting the permissions on the MenuOrder key. This one has worked great for me for a manual install - now to implement it unattended.

Here's what I done which works for me using RegPerm:

AlphabetizeStartMenu.vbs:

Option Explicit

' Usage:

'    AlphabetizeStartMenu.vbs <drive> <user>

' Example:

'    AlphabetizeStartMenu.vbs D: NewUser


dim oWS, oFS, oArgs, regperm, user, drive
dim runonceex, menuorder, usersstring

set oWS = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
Set oFS = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")

set oArgs = WScript.Arguments
drive = oArgs(0)
regperm = drive & "\Tweaks\Tools\regperm.exe /K"
user = oArgs(1)

runonceex = "\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnceEx\"
menuorder = "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder"
usersstring = "/A:Administrators:R /A:" & user & ":R /A:RESTRICTED:R /A:System:F /F /I /Q"

'set permissions on MenuOrder key to prevent reordering
'these are set with RunOnceEx just after the new user is logged in
oWS.RegWrite "HKLM" & runonceex & "Title","Alphabetize the Start Menu"
oWS.RegWrite "HKLM" & runonceex & "Flags",20,"REG_DWORD"

oWS.RegWrite "HKLM" & runonceex & "install01\","Create MenuOrder Key"
oWS.RegWrite "HKLM" & runonceex & "install01\1",drive & "\Tweaks\Tools\CreateMenuOrderKey.vbs"

oWS.RegWrite "HKLM" & runonceex & "install02\","Add RegPerm Command Line"
oWS.RegWrite "HKLM" & runonceex & "install02\1",regperm & " " & menuorder & " " & usersstring

CreateMenuOrderKey.vbs

Option Explicit

dim oWS, oFS

set oWS = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
Set oFS = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")

'create MenuOrder key
oWS.RegWrite "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder\", "", "REG_SZ"

I'm actually calling AlphabetizeStartMenu.vbs from a WIHU interface which comes up using RunOnceEx right after I first logon as administrator. The WIHU command sends the CDROM drive letter it finds and new user name that I create with WIHU. BTW, the WIHU install.ini section looks like this for reference:

[Registry Tweaks]
selected = 1
collapsed = 1

description.0 = Keep the Start Menu alphabetic
command.0 = %SRCDRIVE%\Tweaks\Tools\AlphabetizeStartMenu.vbs %SRCDRIVE% %NewUserName%
selected.0 = 1

This is working perfect for me now! After I logon as the newly created user, the start menu is perfectly ordered and I am not able to reorder it by dragging.

I have not tried this without WIHU but it's my guess that if AlphabetizeStartMenu.vbs <drive> <user> was added to RunOnceEx at T-12 it would work as long as <user> existed at the time of the first logon. Perhaps you could create the user with a batch file and a reg file like here. Then, after you logon again, the MenuOrder key permissions would be set for the user specified.

Want to know more? The reason I'm creating the MenuOrder key from AlphabetizeStartMenu.vbs is because I discovered that the key does not exist until after the user is fully logged in - well after RunOnceEx command executes. So basically RegPerm could not set the permissons on a key that did not exist. I discovered this by adding some debug code to the bottom of AlphabetizeStartMenu.vbs:

oWS.RegWrite "HKLM" & runonceex & "install03\","Echo Command Line"
oWS.RegWrite "HKLM" & runonceex & "install03\1","cmd.exe /k @echo " & regperm & " " & menuorder & " " & usersstring

This basically confirmed that the RegPerm command line was correct during RunOnceEx by showing it in a DOS box. It also prevented RunOnceEx from completing so from the same DOS box, I simply started regedit and found the MenuOrder key was not yet created. Then I closed the DOS box and refreshed regedit every second while windows finished it's startup routines with me logged in as the new user. Guess what - MenuOrder never showed up! But it did show up as soon as I dragged an item around in the start menu. I found this very interesting.

As a result, I'm not sure why removing the MenuOrder key at T-12 seems to work for some because for my install, the key already does not exist at that time anyway.

I would be happy to know if you found this info useful.

The End

- jimanny

[Astalavista]

;-----

;-----  Sort Start Menu and Favorites in Alphabetical Order (All Windows)

;-----

[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder]

works everytime... never fail.

make sure that this is included in your regtweaks that u launch at t-13

[jimanny]

I'm installing from an nLite compilation with the "Sort Start Menu Alphabetically" option UNchecked. There are components removed so maybe MenuOrder was already removed with some other nLite option? Anyway here's a screeny of my install at T-12... where's MenuOrder?

Also, it seems to me that even if the MenuOrder key is removed during install, at some point the user is going to accidently or intentionally reorder the start menu which would cause the key to be created. Then once it exists, I think additional shortcuts get added (from installing programs etc.) to the bottom of the list, and there you have the problem.

It seems to me that setting read-only permissions on the thing during a RunOnceEx is the real "never fail" solution.

- jimanny

[BFCF]

;-----

;-----  Sort Start Menu and Favorites in Alphabetical Order (All Windows)

;-----

[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder]

works everytime... never fail.

make sure that this is included in your regtweaks that u launch at t-13

I put that regtweak on my regtweaks that i launch in cmdlines.txt but when i install a new program, the Programs menu is not automatically sorted.

What i am doing wrong?

Thanks.

[Astalavista]

Reboot auto sort then

[jimanny]

@BFCF

For my unattended install, the MenuOrder key does not exist at T-12 anyway (see here) so removing the MenuOrder key via cmdlines.txt and a regtweak is futile. This is probably the case for you too. I used this techinique to sort it permanently and unattended too!

- jimanny