Expanding folders as submenus on the Start menu

Question

You can add shortcuts to the Start menu, in the top left pane.  If you add a folder there, when the user clicks on it, prior Windows versions would display its contents as a submenu.  Windows 7 instead opens the folder in Explorer. 
Is there a way to make it display a submenu instead?

Answer 1

You can do all this is the right pane (Win7, not sure others). R-click on start button, go to Properties, then in Start Menu tab go to Customize. Scroll down until you see Personal Folder and select Display as a menu radio button. Now all files/folders auto-expand
to their contents as you hover over them (click if you want). I added a MyDevelopment folder (just to keep naming conventions a bit, also have a Installs folder there. Now you can put all your development their. If you allready have development folder, navigate
to it. Clicking on an item launches it, or browses a sub-folder. R-clicking on folder allows you the option to open that folder.
As far as the Start Menu their are a lot of articles and utilities to adding expanding folders and moving start menu items to these for better organization. One simple trick is to pick an expanding folder drag copy to another existing folder. Rename that
copy to something and then move back to parent level. I've done this with two folders ("1" and "2") which can be use to create new folders of your own by r-drag/copy 2 to 1 (select copy!), re-name copied folder to what you want, move back to parent level.
Now you r-drag/copy any folder in you system to these (drag and hover over All Programs, continue to drag to your folder, hover, move in till you see a line and let go r-button. The folder and all their sub-folders become expandable.
Copy has to be done (will not copy contents just makes all short-cuts). Looking into making this process easier or write an app for assisting in this method but I sort like the popup menus in right pane.
I have also created my own toolbar on taskbar using my user dir for the new folder. A lot easier to make automatically everything is a popup when hover over. Had to make a "MyPrograms" folder in my user dir and create logical catagories there for programs.
Then same thing having to r-drag/copy folder/itmes in start menu to "MyPrograms" folder.
Have documented all this and if want to you can email me
[email protected]. Soon will have StartMenuOrganized doc done both detailing steps to accomplish all this. I don't know about you, I've looked at Win8 and why clutter up your screen with all these windows (in their new UI Metro/Aero?). Can allready do
this in other windows and drag drop items to apps and launch! Rather have clean desktop w/organized access to programs and data.