During operating system deployment, I use a provisioning package created with Windows Configuration Designer to set the default Start Menu pins for new users. The package uses the documented Start Menu JSON configuration and includes the newer applyOnce=true setting. The pinned applications remain intact, but whenever a user changes the Start Menu view from Categories to List or Grid, the selection returns to Categories after signing out and back in. Removing the registry configuration created by the provisioning package prevents the reset, but then new users no longer receive the desired default pins. Has anyone found a way to preserve the user's selected view while still applying the default layout for new profiles?
3 Answers
This appears to be a limitation or bug in the newer Windows 11 Start Menu. The provisioning configuration can preserve the default pins, but there does not seem to be a documented setting for the Categories/List/Grid view. If the reset only began after the newer Start Menu update, the practical options may be removing any policy that refreshes the layout or waiting for Microsoft to expose a setting or release a fix.
The behavior may be caused by another Start Menu or taskbar policy rather than the provisioning package itself. Some policies are reapplied during policy refresh and can force the default view back to Categories, even if the pins are preserved. Check for policies that modify the taskbar or remove built-in apps, and temporarily disable them to see whether the view starts persisting.
A provisioning package should normally apply the layout once for new profiles, while a policy that refreshes at logon will keep overwriting user changes. Double-check that the setting is truly configured with applyOnce=true and that the updated package was applied to the device before the affected profiles were created. Changing that value after the original deployment may not retroactively fix existing profiles.
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