Enabling a Touch-Friendly UI for Windows 11

With the release of Windows 11, Microsoft has moved away from full-screen Start menu experiences and effectively made using the OS a bit harder on a touch-first device. Even though Windows 11 does have some touch-first options - like wider touch targets when touch is expected by the OS - it still leaves a lot to be desired.

When planning the development milestones for Start11, one of the objectives we targeted was improving the touch-first experience on Windows 11. And if you are using a Surface Pro or any hardware that supports touch input, Start11 includes features that make it easier to use your PC with your finger.

The first option you have for improving the touch experience is making the Windows 10 or Windows 11 style menus full screen. To enable this functionality, open Start11, select either menu, and click the cog icon. On that page, you will see the option to “use full-screen menu”.

When you select this option, it will make the Start menu take over the entire screen - but there is one more option you will want to change to improve the experience.

Above the “use full-screen menu” option, there is another setting that lets you adjust the size. For my menu, I use the absurd size and it truly does make the icons massive. But, when it comes to making it easier to touch the app I want to open, the size provides a large touch target, which is exactly what you need.

The best part about Start11 is that you have a diverse set of options to make your device better suited for touch-first input. If you don’t want the full-screen menu and want a smaller option instead, but also to keep the big icons, you can do that. Or you can make the Start menu only expand to half the screen if that fits your workflow better.

Start11 is a robust tool that unlocks all types of new functionality for users of Windows 10 and Windows 11. You can learn more about the premier Start menu replacement here.