Can WEM manage the Start Menu layout on Windows Server 2019 or Windows Server 2022? Or do I have to rely on the Microsoft methods to do this?

WEM will support tagging for Windows 11 and Server 2025. But nothing for Server 2019 or 2022 unfortunately. layoumodifications is still their preferred method.

So GPO it is. Understood.

WEM can manage the Start Menu layout for windows 11. @Yan Wang do we have any plan for other versions?

We are considering focusing on Server 2022 and 2025. Would it be possible to provide the names of customers who have made such requests? This information would be extremely helpful in prioritizing the features accordingly.

I would use fslogix app masking https://jkindon.com/appmasking-the-windows-start-menu/ Or Citrix App Masking to do the start menu, much nicer than using WEM, no start menu refresh and flickering icons at logon.

Does it work for the layout though?

It won’t control the tiles, you would still need a custom layout file for that. You can do registry redirection so you can apply different layout files based on groups users belong to: https://james-rankin.com/articles/quickpost-using-fslogix-to-create-multiple-default-profiles-and-start-tiles-layouts/ The main benefit of doing the start menu with FSLogix is that you can avoid removing stuff for admins, I can’t tell you how frustrating it is logging in to an image as an admin and finding you can’t find stuff like admin tools etc. plus it’s quick, users don’t see the rules being applied. You can also deploy the rules through gpo, so easy to change/update on the fly. I normally stick all my rules in a prod and test folder in netlogon, and have a gpo for test and prod that copies the rules on boot, that way your master device is never affected by app masking.