Sometimes, having a bunch of different things in the same place, randomly put together is not a good idea, as it may prove difficult to find what you need. And this is how the Start screen in Windows 8 will be after you install all the apps you want to use. You will have loads and loads of shortcuts on it. Luckily, to help users be more organized and productive, Windows 8 makes it easy to organize shortcuts into groups, so that it will be easier to find what you’re looking for. In this tutorial, I will show how to group pinned apps on the Start screen and how to name groups of shortcuts.

NOTE: To show you how things are done, I will group my Internet browsers and name the newly created group to "Browsers".

How to Create App Groups in Windows 8

While using the Windows 8 Start screen, you can organize your shortcuts by creating groups. Having your apps shortcuts contained in a group makes it easier for you to quickly find your favorite apps, all in one place. Before creating any group, my Start screen used to look like this:

To create a new group, all you have to do is drag & drop your chosen shortcuts to the right of the screen, just until a gray vertical bar appears.

After you finish moving your shortcuts, you should have a new group, looking like this:

How to Name your App Groups

To make it even easier to organize and view your groups, you can also name them. In the end, every group you create will have its name displayed on top of the apps, just like in the screenshot below.

Naming a group is a simple task. First, you have to click on the magnifying glass on the bottom-right screen. An alternative is to simultaneously press Ctrl on your keyboard and use the mouse wheel to scroll down. To get back, use the same combination, except you have to scroll up.

This action will make the screen decrease the size of the pinned shortcuts, so that you can see all of them without scrolling.

The second step is to right click on the group for which you want to assign a new name. Then, click on Name group from the menu displayed on the bottom of the screen.

This will open a dialog. Here you can write the name you want for the group. After writing it, click on Name.

That’s it! Now the group you selected has a name, and that name will be displayed on the Start screen.

Conclusions

Now you know how to create and name a group. It’s a very easy and fast task that can really improve a lot the way you work on the new Windows 8 Start screen. If you have any ideas on how to make it easier to organize stuff in Windows 8, don’t hesitate to write a comment.