At first glance, the Start screen in Windows 8.1 looks pretty much similar to the one in Windows 8 but once you begin using Windows 8.1, you’ll discover that the Start screen has new tile sizes, includes new Apps view, lets you uninstall multiple apps at once and allows you simultaneously uninstall apps from multiple PCs.
The Apps view that appears when you click the Down arrow button in the lower-left of the Start screen is one of the underrated features of Windows 8.1. The Apps view basically lets you view all installed apps and desktop programs and launch them. The other advantage is that it helps you keep the Start screen tidy and clutter-free.
Unlike in Windows 8, where every installed app lands up on the Start screen (it’s possible to disable Start screen pinning though), Windows 8.1 doesn’t automatically pin all installed apps and programs to the Start. Instead, all apps and programs appear in Apps view.
The intent of the Start screen is to provide the information that you care about and allow you pin your favourite apps, web pages (see how to pin webpages to Start), and folders. Unfortunately, most Windows 8 users use Start screen as a launcher, as there is no Start menu or a special place to view and launch all installed apps.
So in Windows 8.1, you need to manually pin your favourite apps and desktop programs to the Start screen. As of now, there is no option or workaround to automatically pin all installed apps and desktop programs to Windows 8.1 Start screen. However, you can manually pin your favourite apps, apps that support live tiles, and desktop programs to the Start screen by following the below mentioned instructions.
How to pin apps to Start screen in Windows 8.1:
Step 1: Switch to the Start screen. Move the mouse pointer to the lower-left of the screen to see a small Down arrow icon and click on the same to see Apps view.
Step 2: Right-click on the app name that you would like to pin to the Start and then click Pin to Start option to pin the selected app to the Start screen.
And if you wish to pin multiple apps to the Start at once, you can select multiple apps by holding down Control key and then clicking on app names one-by-one (touch screen users can select multiple apps by touching an app and then moving it up).
You can use Start Screen Pinner software to pin almost every file type to the Start screen.
