Microsoft has quietly given IT administrators two powerful new levers for taming the Windows 11 Start menu. With preview updates rolled out in July and October 2025, organizations can now decide whether pinned apps stay locked at every sign-in or appear only once as a baseline—and they can hide the new Category view to enforce an alphabetical grid.

These capabilities, delivered through the ConfigureStartPins policy and a separate HideCategoryView toggle, address a long-standing friction point for managed fleets. The redesigned Start menu that arrived with Windows 11 24H2 introduced a scrollable All section with Category and Grid views, but initial policy support left many IT departments with binary choices: either full lockdown or no control at all. The new options change that equation, making tiered management practical for the first time.

What’s New in the Policy Toolkit

The star of the show is the updated ConfigureStartPins policy, now available as a Group Policy Object and a CSP (Configuration Service Provider) setting. Administrators can craft a JSON file listing the apps to pin and their order, then deploy it to devices. But the crucial addition is the applyOnce property within that JSON.

  • Set applyOnce to false, and the pin layout reapplies at every sign-in. Users cannot permanently alter the arrangement—their changes vanish after a logout. This is persistent enforcement, ideal for shared or task-oriented PCs where consistency trumps personalization.
  • Set applyOnce to true, and the layout acts as an initial blueprint. Users get the curated pins on first sign-in, but subsequent changes stick. This one‑time seeding respects user autonomy while ensuring critical apps are discoverable from the outset.

According to Microsoft’s documentation, this behavior came to Windows 11 24H2 with the July 22, 2025 preview update KB5062660, which bumps the OS build to 26100.4770. The policy can be deployed through device or user scope, giving administrators flexibility in how they target machines.

A second, independent control arrived on October 28, 2025, via preview update KB5067036 (OS build 26100.7019). The HideCategoryView policy removes the Category option from the Start menu’s All section, forcing the alphabetical Grid view as the default—and only—presentation. Microsoft’s CSP reference states: “If you enable this policy setting, the Start Menu will no longer show the category view as an option and will default to grid view.”

What This Means for Different Audiences

For IT Administrators and Desktop Engineers

This is the control set many have been requesting since 24H2’s public rollout. The new policies enable a nuanced, role-based approach to Start customization that wasn’t possible before.

  • Shared and frontline devices (reception desks, training rooms, lab PCs): Set applyOnce:false to guarantee every user encounters the same app layout, no matter what the previous person did. It keeps support instructions reliable and prevents configuration drift.
  • Managed knowledge-worker PCs: Use applyOnce:true to establish a corporate baseline—think HR portal, helpdesk app, expense tool—then let employees add their own favorites. This avoids the support ticket tsunami that erupts when a forced reset wipes someone’s carefully organized launcher.
  • VDI and pooled sessions: Choose based on session persistence. For stateless, non-persistent desktops, persistent pins (applyOnce:false) ensure a standard starting point. For persistent virtual desktops where users expect personalization, the one‑time approach is less disruptive.
  • Category view: Hide it only when a consistent alphabetical grid is operationally necessary—for scripts, training materials, or helpdesk walkthroughs that rely on app names, not automatically generated groups. Microsoft does not let admins define custom categories, so hiding the view removes an unpredictable grouping without offering a tailored replacement.

Crucially, these policies don’t remove apps or enforce allowlists. They only manage the pinned icons and the visual app inventory. Software restriction must still be handled through AppLocker, WDAC, or other means.

For Home and Unmanaged Users

You won’t see these settings unless your PC connects to a corporate network that pushes Group Policy or MDM. The new capabilities are surface only in Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions under device management. If you’re running Windows 11 Home or a standalone device, nothing changes—the Start menu remains yours to customize.

For Developers and Power Users

If you build provisioning packages or deployment scripts, note that the JSON schema for ConfigureStartPins expects a specific structure. The applyOnce property sits alongside the pinnedList array. You’ll need to validate your JSON before deployment; a typo can silently fail. Testing across sign‑out/sign‑in cycles is non‑negotiable because that’s where the behavior divergence becomes visible.

How We Got Here: The Evolving Start Menu

Windows 11’s Start menu has been on a journey since its 2021 debut. The initial centered, simplified design drew praise for aesthetics but criticism for inflexibility. Over successive feature updates, Microsoft gradually restored organization-friendly capabilities. The 24H2 release (build 26100, from late 2024) marked the biggest visual shake‑up, replacing the classic pinned tile area with a scrollable All section that could show apps in Category or Grid views.

That rework left a gap. Legacy Start Layout XML was clunky and often required a full lock to be useful. The new ConfigureStartPins policy first appeared in Windows 11 21H2 but was limited—it could only override the default pins, without the one‑time vs. persistent choice. Administrators had to resort to workarounds like forced reboots or custom login scripts to simulate a “seed and forget” model.

The July 2025 preview added the applyOnce switch, and the October preview added the Category suppression control. Together, they reflect Microsoft’s recognition that enterprise Start management isn’t one-size-fits-all. As WindowsForum first detailed in its analysis of the 24H2 Start redesign, the enterprise question sits above the UI debate: should the organization preserve, initialize, or continuously override the user’s choices? These policies provide an answer.

What to Do Now: A Practical Deployment Roadmap

If you manage Windows 11 24H2 devices, here’s a step-by-step plan to roll out these controls without causing chaos.

1. Confirm Device Readiness

  • Check that your endpoints are on at least KB5062660 (build 26100.4770) for pin controls and KB5067036 (build 26100.7019) for Category hiding.
  • Use Windows Update for Business reports or Configuration Manager to inventory build numbers. A 24H2 device without these updates is missing the policy surface.

2. Classify Your Devices

Group endpoints into cohorts based on how Start is used:
- Shared / Task-specific PCs (kiosks, clinical workstations, factory floors)
- Standard knowledge-worker laptops and desktops
- VDI sessions (persistent vs. non-persistent)
- Unmanaged or developer systems with no pin policy

3. Decide on a Pin Strategy per Cohort

  • For each group, determine whether you need persistent pins, a one‑time baseline, or no management at all.
  • Don’t feel compelled to pin everything. Only include apps that genuinely help users start their workday—typically 3–7 core business applications.
  • Create a JSON file with the pinnedList and set applyOnce appropriately.

4. Separate the Category View Decision

  • Ask: does support, training, or operational consistency require a uniform alphabetical inventory? If yes, enable HideCategoryView. If not, leave it available.
  • Remember, hiding Category view does not remove apps or control which apps users can run—it only changes the visual presentation.

5. Pilot Before Broad Deployment

  • Deploy the JSON pin policy and any Category view setting to a small test group that mirrors your production roles.
  • Test thoroughly: sign out and sign in, verify pins appear as intended, and—for one‑time policies—confirm that user changes survive a reboot.
  • Check the behavior of missing apps. A pin pointing to an app not installed on that device will simply show nothing, which can confuse users.

6. Document and Communicate

  • Tell users what to expect. If you’re resetting pins at every login, explain that the layout is managed for consistency—otherwise, they’ll think their profile is broken.
  • For one‑time pinning, set expectations: the layout will be applied on first sign-in or at the next policy refresh, but changes are theirs to make afterward.

7. Monitor and Iterate

  • Use your management console to verify policy application.
  • For persistent pins, plan a change management process. Any update to the JSON will overwrite all user customizations, so only push revisions when truly needed.

Outlook: More Granularity Likely on the Horizon

Microsoft’s documentation still tags both policies as “under development,” which suggests further refinements are in the pipeline. The community has already voiced interest in per‑user pinning exceptions, the ability to define custom Category groups, and a more seamless integration with Windows Autopilot provisioning.

For now, the tools are a solid step forward. They move the Start menu from a one-dimensional control surface into a managed workspace that can respect either corporate needs or user autonomy—depending on the device’s role. The key is not a blanket policy for all PCs, but a thoughtful classification of who truly needs a controlled launcher and who simply needs a helpful starting point.

The next version of Windows—whether it’s called 25H2 or something else—will almost certainly carry these policies forward, possibly with additional knobs. IT teams that pilot these controls now will be well prepared to integrate their Start menu governance into any future design shifts.

Sources: Microsoft Learn (Policy CSP – Start), WindowsForum analysis of enterprise Start controls, and Microsoft support bulletins for KB5062660 and KB5067036.