How to restore the old right click menu in Windows 11. In this step by step guide I’ll show you exactly how to do it.
In Windows 11, Microsoft changed the context menu that appears when you right click on an item. The new context menu is a streamlined version with only a few options available until you click on the Show More Options link.
What Is The Old Right Click Context Menu?
In case you’re not familiar with older versions of Windows, the context menu appears whenever you right click on an item.
Previous to Windows 11, the context menu would display all the options that are available for that item. In other words, it’d show you what actions you could perform on that item.
In Windows 11, the context menu has been redesigned to only display the most commonly performed actions.
You can still view all the available options by clicking on Show More Options, which will then open the full context menu.
Make Windows 11 Always Show More Options.
To make Windows 11 always show more options by default whenever you right click on something, you’ll need to create two new registry keys.
It’s easy to do, but obviously does involve editing the Windows registry, so I’d always recommend creating a System Restore Point, or at the very least, Backing Up The Registry.
Click the Start button and type “regedit“
Then click Registry Editor (App) on the search results panel.
Windows User Account Control will popup, click the Yes button.
Navigating The Windows 11 Registry.
To get the old right click menu back you’ll need to create 2 new registry keys. If you’re familiar with navigating the registry, then you need to go to –
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID
if you do that, you can skip past the next sections and go straight to Creating The Registry keys
If that doesn’t mean anything to you, then I’ll guide you to it.
Click the small arrowhead beside
HKEY_CURRENT_USER
You’ll see the HKEY_CURRENT_USER expand to reveal more folders.
Scroll down and click the arrowhead beside the Software folder.
With the Software folder will expanded, left-click the arrowhead beside Classes.
The Classes folder will expand. It contains a lot of folders and entries.
Scroll down the list to the folder CLSID.
It’s a long way down the list. More than halfway down. The folder you’re looking for is CLSID and yes it is written in capital letters.
Create The Registry Keys To Restore Windows 11 Right Click Menu.
To get the old right click menu back, you need to create a new registry key inside the CLSID folder, and then a subkey inside the new key that you just created.
Right click on the CLSID folder. On the menu, hover your pointer over New and then left click Key.
Rename The New Registry Key.
A new registry key folder will be created and of course it’ll have the temporary name New Key #1.
In order to get the old right click menu restored, you need to rename the new key folder to be –
{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}
Rename it exactly as it appears here including the brackets. Or better still, copy and paste it
When you’ve done that, press Enter on your keyboard to confirm.
Create The Subkey.
Once you’ve created the new registry key and renamed to {86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2} , you now need to create a subkey inside it.
Right-click on the folder {86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}
Move your pointer onto NEW and then left-click Key.
Rename The Subkey.
Just as happened earlier, the new subkey will have the temporary name New Key #1. And again you’ll need to rename it in order for this to work and get the old style context menu back.
Rename the subkey to be InprocServer32
And just as before, you have to name it exactly as it’s written here, or copy and paste it in.
Final Step In Restoring Windows 11 Context Menu.
This final step is really noting more than checking that everything is as it should be and Windows 11 will always show more options by default on the context menu.
- Left-click once on the subkey InprocServer32 (the one you just created) to select it. It will become highlighted.
- Then double left click on DEFAULT in the right-hand panel.
- The Edit String box will open. Make sure there isn’t anything in the Value Data box. It should be completely empty.
If it’s empty, click the OK button, close the registry editor and restart your computer.
If you see something inside the Value Data box, delete it. Then click the OK button, close the registry editor and restart your computer.
The Old Right Click Menu Working In Windows 11.
After a restart you’ll find that the old right click menu has been restored to Windows 11.
All the usual options are there without the need to click Show More Options.
How To Return Windows 11 To New Style Context Menu.
It may happen that after a while you decide that you’d rather have the new streamlined context menu back in Windows 11. It can happen.
So to return to the new menu, simply delete the new registry keys that you just created and then restart your computer.
Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID
And delete the key
{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}
Summary.
Getting the old style context menu back in Windows 11 isn’t difficult to do. It’s just a matter of creating a couple of registry keys.
If you’re a little worried about doing this, then I’d definitely suggest trying it out on a virtual machine first. That way you can check that it does work, and if you make a mistake, no harm done.
A virtual machine is perfect for this kind work. Testing out new settings to see if they work, and if you like them.
