Applications Folder (Symlink + Move + Flatten)

One Applications folder in your user profile that shows all your app shortcuts in a single flat list. It’s a symlink to your user Start Menu; the script moves shortcuts there from the system Start Menu and Desktop, flattens subfolders, and removes junk (uninstallers, help, readme, etc.).

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The plan (what the script does)

1. Symlink
   C:\Users\<You>\Applications → points to
   C:\Users\<You>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs
   So “Applications” is just another view of your user Start Menu folder.

2. Move (not copy)
   All shortcuts from the All Users (system-wide) Start Menu are moved into your user Start Menu folder. Desktop app shortcuts are moved into that same folder. Nothing is left as duplicates in the original locations (except what we filter out).

3. Flatten
   Shortcuts that landed in subfolders are moved to the root of the user Start Menu (so Applications shows one flat list). Empty folders are removed.

4. Filter and delete
   Shortcuts whose names match the filter list are deleted from both the user Start Menu and the All Users Start Menu. Empty folders are removed again after filtering.

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Folders involved

Folder	Path	Role
Applications (symlink)	C:\Users\<You>\Applications	What you open; points to user Start Menu.
User Start Menu	C:\Users\<You>\AppData\Roaming\...\Start Menu\Programs	Real folder; everything is moved here and flattened.
All Users Start Menu	C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs	System-wide; shortcuts are moved out of here, then filtered and empty folders are cleaned.
Desktop	Your desktop folder	App shortcuts are moved from here into the user Start Menu.

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How to use

1. Keep SyncAppsFolder.bat and Setup-ApplicationsFolder.ps1 in the same folder (no hard paths; you can move the folder anywhere).
2. Double‑click SyncAppsFolder.bat.
3. Approve the UAC prompt when it asks for administrator rights.
4. The script runs in a new elevated window: symlink → move → flatten → filter → clean empty folders.

You can run the BAT again anytime to re-sync (e.g. after new installs).

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What runs what

• SyncAppsFolder.bat

  • If not running as admin, it re-launches itself with “Run as administrator” so you get one UAC prompt and don’t have to right‑click “Run as administrator.”
  • Then it runs Setup-ApplicationsFolder.ps1 with -ExecutionPolicy Bypass so PowerShell doesn’t block the script.
  • It does not create a desktop shortcut; it only runs the script in the same folder.

• Setup-ApplicationsFolder.ps1

  • Step 1: Create/repair symlink Applications → user Start Menu.
  • Step 2: Move all shortcuts from All Users Start Menu → user Start Menu.
  • Step 3: Move Desktop shortcuts → user Start Menu root.
  • Step 4: Flatten user Start Menu (all shortcuts to root), then remove empty folders.
  • Step 5: Filter user Start Menu (delete matching shortcuts), then remove empty folders.
  • Step 6: Clean All Users Start Menu (delete filtered shortcuts, remove empty folders).

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Filter list (shortcuts with these in the name are deleted)

Case-insensitive substring match:
uninstall, uninst, remove, documentation, help, manual, website, readme, support

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Fixes and behavior that were added

• BAT no longer creates a desktop shortcut
  It only runs the script in the folder; no shortcut is created on the desktop.

• UAC self-elevation
  The BAT checks for admin; if not admin, it launches itself with “Run as administrator” so you only need to double‑click and approve UAC once.

• No hard paths
  The BAT uses %~dp0 so the script path is always “same folder as the BAT.” You can move the folder anywhere; only the script name is set at the top of the BAT (Setup-ApplicationsFolder.ps1).

• BAT PowerShell line-continuation fix
  The BAT used to pass ^ into PowerShell and break. The shortcut-creation command was put on one line and inner quotes fixed so the BAT runs correctly without “The term '^' is not recognized.”

• Symlink-based design
  Applications is a symlink to the user Start Menu (not a separate real folder with copies). All shortcuts live in the user Start Menu; “Applications” is just another path to that folder. Everything is moved (not copied) from All Users and Desktop, then flattened and filtered.

• Empty folder removal

  • A folder is treated as empty if it has no subfolders and no shortcut files (.lnk, .url, .exe). Folders that only contain things like desktop.ini are removed.
  • Removal uses multiple passes (deepest folders first) and -LiteralPath so paths with special characters don’t break.
  • Empty folders are removed after flattening (Step 4) and after filtering (Steps 5 and 6).

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Files in this repo

File	Purpose
SyncAppsFolder.bat	Double‑click to run; asks for admin via UAC, then runs the PowerShell script.
Setup-ApplicationsFolder.ps1	Does the symlink, move, flatten, filter, and empty-folder cleanup.
README.md	This file.

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Requirements

• Windows (PowerShell).
• Administrator rights when running the BAT (so the symlink and All Users Start Menu changes can be made). The BAT handles asking for elevation via UAC.