Windows tip: how to get the old context menu back
The icons and slimmed-down menu in Windows 11 are a big change to what Windows users are used to. But you can get the classic context menu back if you miss it. Here’s how.
The context menu in Windows 11 proper annoys me. Right-clicking on a file or folder makes icons pop up with meanings I don’t always understand. Neither is the order of icons and commands consistent. It all depends on where on your screen you open the menu. I want those classic and clear commands including «Cut», «Copy» and «Rename» back!
I’m also missing the menu items «Print» or «Send to». These are hidden in a submenu called «Show more options», which houses the classic menu. This extra click seriously slows down my workflow.
With a small workaround, you can make the context menu look like it did in Windows 10.
How to get the old menu back
- Open the registry, press Windows key+R, type «regedit» and press Enter.
- Navigate to the following path «HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\CLASSES\CLSID»
- Right-click on the CLSID folder and select «New» > «Key». Name the key as follows: {86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}
- Right-click on the new key and choose «New» > «Key» again.
- Name this key «InprocServer32»
- In the right window, you’ll now see an entry named «(Default)». Under «Data» it says «Value not set» next to it. Double-click and enter the number 0. Click «OK».
- Now double-click on the entry again and delete the number 0. Then click «OK». This is to make sure the field is really empty. No 0 or «Not set», but genuinely empty.
- Restart your PC. The old menu is back!
I've been tinkering with digital networks ever since I found out how to activate both telephone channels on the ISDN card for greater bandwidth. As for the analogue variety, I've been doing that since I learned to talk. Though Winterthur is my adoptive home city, my heart still bleeds red and blue.