Windows 10 tiles on desktop

Microsoft likes tiles and wants you to like them, too. They've been around since Windows 8 and live on in Windows 10, even with the return of the Start menu.

Whether you love tiles or not, you can find ways to customize and work them so it's easier to access your favorite apps. You can resize your tiles, pin and unpin them on the Start menu or Start screen, turn live tiles on and off, and arrange them into specific groups. Let's look at these different tweaks.

To create additional space for more tiles, click on the Start button > Settings > Personalization > Start. On the right pane, select "Show more tiles."

Click on the Start button and you'll see that the tiled area is larger, creating more space for further tiles.

Just like in Windows 8 and 8.1, you can resize specific tiles in Windows 10 to make them larger or smaller. At the Windows 10 tiled screen, right-click on a tile. From the pop-up menu, hover your mouse over the Resize option and select a new size from small, medium, large, or wide.

Want to remove tiles from the Start menu or Start screen? Simple enough. Right-click on a tile in the Start area. From the pop-up menu, click on the command to "Unpin from Start" to put the kibosh on that tile. Don't worry, though, you can still access the app from the All Apps list.

Want to add a tile to the Start area? Scroll down the All Apps list to find a tile you wish to add. Right-click on it. From the pop-up menu, click on the command to "Pin to Start."

The tile pops up at the bottom of the Start area.

Live tiles can be handy as they show you the latest news and other information on an ongoing basis. But you may not want all those distracting live tiles flashing in your face. Right-click a live tile, such as News, Weather, or Calendar. From the pop-up menu, hover over the More option and click "Turn live tile off."

You can arrange your tiles into distinct groups so they're better organized and easier to find. For example, you may want to create one group for your core apps, another group for Internet-related apps, and a third for entertainment apps. First, pick the tile that you wish to use to start a new group and move it into an empty area on the Start menu or Start screen.

Then move additional related tiles into that group. Keep moving more tiles until you're happy with the group's arrangement. Now we need to give the group a name. Hover your mouse just above the first tile in the group until you see the phrase "Name group."

Click in the field for Name group until the phrase disappears. Now type a name for the group and then press Enter.

You'll now see the name displayed above the group.

Put Your Tiles Into Folders

Okay, so we've resized titles, added and removed them, and organized them into groups. But are too many individual tiles still roaming around your Start menu or Start screen? With the Windows 10 Creators Update released on April 12, you can tap into a new feature that lets you place tiles into folders. That process can serve to better organize your tiles and chew up less space on your screen. You just need to make sure you've already installed the Creators Update.

Here's how it works. Let's say you want to put all your entertainment-related apps into a single folder. We'll use the apps for Xbox, Groove Music, Movies & TV, and Netflix as our initial test subjects. Start by dragging one tile on top of another, such as putting the Groove Music tile on top of the Xbox tile.

Now your Xbox and Groove Music tiles are in a single folder. To access one of the apps, simply click on the folder to open it and display its tiles. Then click on the tile for the app you wish to launch.

Now, let's say you want to add another tile to the folder, such as the one for the Movies & TV app. Drag that tile on top of the folder. Now when you open the folder, all three of the tiles appear.

Continue that process until all you've dragged all the related tiles into that folder. You can then name or rename the folder by clicking on the name field and typing the name you wish to give that folder.

What if you want to remove a specific file from a folder? No problem. Open the folder to view all the tiles inside. Then drag and drop the tile you wish to remove to an empty spot.

Through this process, you can create folders to house many or most of your tiles. You can then opt to set up only your most-used apps as individual tiles directly accessible from the Start menu or Start screen. And now you should have plenty of space to do just that.

For more, check out these other Windows 10 tips:

• How to Control Your Battery Usage in Windows 10
• How to Back Up, Restore Your Documents in Windows 10
• How to Use and Tweak Your Windows 10 Lock Screen
• How to Manage the Start Menu in the Windows 10 Anniversary Update
• How to Try Out Windows 10 for Free for 90 Days
• How to Clean Up Windows 10 With the Refresh Windows Tool
• How to Juggle Multiple Windows 10 Apps With Virtual Desktops
• How to Free Up Disk Space on Your Windows 10 PC
• How to Launch Windows Without Entering a Password