How do I mark all items in the Start Menu as “not new”?

Question

How do I mark all items in the Start Menu as "not new"?

There are a half-dozen programs in my start menu (at least) that aren't really that new but it thinks they are because I "haven't used them yet". How can I fix this?

Answer 1

Stop Highlighting Newly Installed Programs

As with earlier versions of Windows, the Windows 7 Start Menu highlights the names of newly-installed software. This way it makes it easier to find these applications, assuming that if you install an application you plan on using it soon.

If you wish to disable this behavior, do the following:

1. Right-click an empty area of the taskbar and choose "Properties".

2. The "Taskbar and Start Menu Properties" multi-tabbed dialog box appears. Click the "Start Menu" tab.

3. Click the "Customize" button.

4. The "Customize Start Menu" dialog box appears. Scroll down and uncheck "Highlight newly installed programs".

5. Click "OK" on the dialog boxes to close them.

Answer 2

You can just use every item at least once and they will not appear as new any more. If you have only six or seven items, this is the easiest solution.