Annoying Plaxo startmenu item

I’ve been using a service called Plaxo now. It uses a Outlook plugin that updates my adressbook as the other Plaxo users I am connected to changes their contact information. Very handy.

Unfortunately they added a very annoying feature in a recent update, a Plaxo folder was added to the root of the start menu. Since I like to keep my start menu organized and tidy I really don’t want that entry there and tried to move it. To my surprise the next time I started my computer the Plaxo item reappeared at the root. Not only do they add an item to my start menu without asking me and without letting me choose where I want it, it is restored during the check for updates done when I login to my computer. Argh! Why would anyone do something like this? It adds no benefits for the users that I can think of, and annoys people like me.

Plaxo support said it is a feature and it is unlikely it will change in future versions. So I was very close to uninstalling this otherwise very handy tool, but then a collegue at work gave me a little tip. If I hide the item it wont get added back. Said and done, I just set the hidden attribute on the startmenu item and now I don’t have to see it anymore.

So what I really wanted to say with this post is, please don’t mess with my start menu!

Update: Maybe my wording wasn’t all that great. What I ment was that the Plaxo item that is created is at the root of the All Programs part of the start menu.

6 thoughts on “Annoying Plaxo startmenu item

  1. Not to contradict what our support has told you, but what you’ve described sounds very strange and atypical of how Plaxo works. Plaxo installs itself in the \program files\plaxo directory, and should only be creating a folder entry under All Programs group. To my knowledge, we do not install anything into the Start menu.

    Can you provide me the details of the message you wrote into Support (ticket number, etc.). I wonder if they misunderstood your question, and thought you may have been referring to the entry created under All Programs, which is normal for applications.

    Stacy Martin
    Plaxo Privacy Officer
    privacy @t plaxo.com

  2. My workaround still works, and Plaxo knows that there is at least one person in the world that likes to decide where things end up in the start menu. 🙂

  3. Thats actually a common nuisiance, not beeing able to choose where program put themselves in the start-menu and having to move them around manually, and finally having to delete the entry after uninstall. But this case is far worse as it keeps coming back, and back, and back.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.