What Has Happened To The Windows 11 Explorer Context Menu?
Windows 11 has introduced a fundamental change to the
Explorer context menu, with the result that every time we right click a file,
we are met with a compacted version of the menu, utilising icons rather than
words for Cut, Copy, Rename, Share and Recycle, and hiding several options which
would historically have been immediately available.
How Do We Access The Remaining Menu Options?
Options which are now hidden can be revealed by clicking “Show
more options,” at which point the full context menu is revealed. Whilst
this is a deliberate design choice, it immediately doubles the number of clicks
required to access any function which has been relegated to the secondary menu.
This is particularly problematic for a number of prominent third-party
applications which provide functionality via the context menu.
Can We Change This?
Unfortunately, Windows does not provide a convenient slider to toggle the compact menu on or off, nor can individual entries be configured. Unless this functionality is added in future versions, our only option at present is to add keys to the Windows Registry which will restore the full context menu as implemented in Windows 10 and earlier.
How Do We Add Keys To The Registry? Isn’t That Dangerous?
All versions of Windows include Regedit, a utility which can
add, delete and modify entries in the Windows Registry. This is an invaluable
tool, but also a powerful and potentially dangerous one. Which leads to a
preparatory step which should never be overlooked…
Before You Start - Back Up
Making changes to the Windows Registry potentially can cause
harm to a device, and in some cases, this can lead to the device becoming
unstable and unusable. To remove any potential risk, we strongly advocate creating
a backup of your registry, by following the simple steps set out in this walkthrough.
The Process In Full
Part I - Adding Keys To The
Windows Registry
1 )..Click the Start button or press the Windows key on the
keyboard.
2 )..The Start menu appears.
3 )..Type Regedit and press Enter, or click the Registry
Editor shortcut.
4 )..Depending on the system setup, User Account Control may
prompt a challenge. Click “Yes” to continue.
5 )..The main Regedit window appears. A navigation bar
appears at the top of the window, immediately beneath the main menu. It
contains the text “Computer,” which we need to remove. Note that this
should not be confused with the reference to “Computer” in the panel
immediately beneath.
6 )..With the text deleted, the navigation bar is now
entirely blank.
7 )..Select and copy the following text:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\CLASSES\CLSID\
Return to the navigation bar and right click, then select
the option to Paste.
8 )..With the key now pasted into the navigation bar, press
Enter.
9 )..“CLSID” should now be selected.
10 )..With “CLSID” selected, right click and select “New”
from the menu which appears.
11 )..Then select “Key” from the submenu.
12 )..A new key will be created, and temporarily named “New
Key #1.” We need to rename it.
Select and copy the
following text:
{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}
13 )..Return to “New Key #1.” Right click and select
the option to Paste.
14 )..The key will be renamed {86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}.
Press Enter to confirm.
15 )..Right click on the renamed key, and select “New”
from the menu which appears.
16 ).. Then select “Key” from the submenu.
17 ).. A new key will be created, and temporarily named “New
Key #1.” We need to rename it.
Select and copy the following text:
InprocServer32
18 )..Return to “New Key #1.” Right click and select
the option to Paste.
19 )..The key will be renamed InprocServer32. Press Enter to
confirm.
20 )..In the panel to the right, note that under “Data”
we see “(value not set).” To change this, we double click on “(Default)”
within the same panel.
22 )..Doing so closes the dialog box, and replaces “(value
not set)” with a blank field.
Part II - Restarting Explorer And Confirming Changes
23 )..We have now made the necessary changes, and can close Regedit. They will not take effect until either the machine or Explorer is restarted
To restart Explorer, use the keyboard shortcut CTRL+SHIFT+ESCAPE to launch Task Manager.
24 )..Scroll through the list of running tasks to find the entry for Windows Explorer, which should be near the bottom in a list ordered alphabetically.
25 )..Click the “Restart” button.
26 )..Explorer will restart. We can now close Task Manager.
27 )..To check that the changes have been implemented, open
an Explorer window.
28 )..Navigate to any file saved on your device.
29 )..Select that file.
30 )..Right click. You should now see a full context menu,
containing all available options.
Part III - Reversing Changes (Restoring Compact Context
Menu)
31 ).. Click the Start button or press the Windows key on
the keyboard.
32 ).. The Start menu appears.
33 ).. Type Regedit and press Enter, or click the Registry
Editor shortcut.
34 )..Where challenged by User Account Control, click “Yes”
to proceed.
35 )..Click inside the navigation bar, and return to {86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}.
36 )..Select that key in the registry.
37 )..Right click, and select the option to Delete.
38 )..Confirm by clicking “Yes” at the prompt.
39 )..The key is now deleted, and we can again check upon
the outcome.
40 )..Open an Explorer window.
41 )..Navigate to any file.
42 )..Select the file.
43 )..Right click. The menu should now have reverted to the
compact style.
