This article will introduce 4 ways to get old right-click (context menu) back on Windows 11 PC. The last one is the easiest way to restore get old right-click (context menu) back on Windows 11 PC.
Windows 11 could have big changes in the Start Menu, Context Menu, Taskbar, Settings, and File Explorer. One of the Windows 11 changes involves File Explorer and the desktop’s new modern right-click or context menu. The new minimized context menu is designed to be simpler and prevent third-party applications from adding more options to the menu, and it includes the most commonly used options such as cut, copy, rename, sort, properties, and delete.
While the new contextual or right-click menu is simpler and cleaner, it’s still a bit confusing for many users. However, users can still access legacy or old right-click (context menu) by clicking the “Show more options” option on the right-click menu.
Next, we’ll walk through four different ways to use Windows 10’s old right-click (context menu) on Windows 11 in turn.
1 Access the old right-click (context menu) on Windows 11
Windows 11 is backward compatible, which means Windows 11 didn’t do away with the old right-click (context menu), so you can still revert to the old right-click (context menu).
The easiest way to access the old right-click (context menu) is to right-click anywhere on File Explorer and select “Show More Options”.
Then you will see the old right-click (context menu):
2 Show more options by default in Windows 11 with Registry Edit
There is no way to set the old right-click (context menu) directly in Windows 11, you can get old right-click (context menu) back by tweaking the Registry Editor.
2.1 Backup the Windows registry
Before restoring old right-click (context menu), it is recommended to back up the registry before modifying it.
Search Windows Search for “Registry Editor” and open the Windows “Registry Editor”.
Then, if User Account Control asks for permission, click Yes.
Once the Registry Editor opens, right-click Computer in the left panel and select Export.
Select the desired location to store the backup, enter a name, click Save to save the backup file.
2.2 Enable “Show more options” in the context menu by default
In Registry Editor, navigate to the following folder:
Copy and paste the folder path:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\CLASSES\CLSID
into the address bar of Registry Editor and press Enter.
Next, right-click the CLSID folder, click New and select Key.
A new key (folder) will be generated under the CLSID folder.
Rename the key to:
{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}
Right-click the newly created key, click New again, and select Key.
Name the new subkey InprocServer32.
Double-click the “Default” registry key in the right pane of InprocServer32.
In the Edit String dialog box, make sure the Value Data field is blank, then click OK or press Enter. Remember that the value field must be left blank instead of 0.
Close Registry Editor and restart your computer. Then, right-click in File Explorer or on the desktop and you’ll see the classic right-click menu.
If you want to go back to the new Windows 11 context menu, just follow the steps below to delete the new registry key and restart your computer.
Find the newly created key:
86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2
via the path:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\CLASSES\CLSID.
Right-click the key and select Delete to delete it and restart the system. Then you’ll restore Windows 11’s default context menu.
3 Command Prompt Shortcut Creates Required Registry to Enable “Show More Options” by Default
You can also enable Show More Options by default in File Explorer using Command Prompt:
First, click on the start menu and search for “Cmd” or “Command Prompt”, then select “Run as administrator” under “Command Prompt”.
Run the following command in CMD to return to the old context menu:
If you want to frequently switch between the old context menu and the new context menu. You can create two simple registry files with specific script commands. When you execute these registry files, it automatically changes the right-click menu. Here’s how to create these registry files:
3.2 Get the old File Explorer context menu on Windows 11 using registry files
First create a registry file to restore the old context menu:
Please create a new text document by right-clicking on the desktop or in File Explorer, selecting “New Project” from the context menu, and then selecting “Text Document” and giving the file a name: “Classic Context”.
Open the newly created text document, copy and paste the entire code below, as shown below:
Click the File menu and choose Save As.. to change the file type.
Click the “Save as type:” drop-down menu and select “All files (*.*)”.
Change the file extension “.txt” at the end of the file name to “.reg” and click the “Save” button.
Delete “.txt” and change the file extension to “.reg” and press Enter to apply.
Note: To unhide a file extension before you can change it, find Folder Options in File Explorer and deselect the “Hide extensions for known file types” option in Advanced Settings.
After changing the extension you will get a registry file.
Double-click or press Enter on the newly created registry file.
When you receive a message box, the keys and values contained in the registry file have been successfully added to the registry. Click OK.
Restart File Explorer or PC to use the old context menu.
4 Using third-party apps to revert to the old context menu in Windows 11
You can restore the old context menu on Windows 11 using the third-party program Winaero Tweaker. The steps to revert (restore) the old context menu in Windows 11 with are Winaero Tweaker as follows:
Visit the official website and download Winaero Tweaker for free. Unzip the downloaded ZIP file and run the EXE file to install the program.
After completing the installation, launch the Winaero Tweaker application.
Click the Classic Full Context Menu option in the Windows 11 section in the left pane.
Check the “Enable classic context menu” box in the right pane.
Click the “Restart Explorer” button at the bottom to restart File Explorer.
After File Explorer restarts, you’ll be able to use the classic context menu on your Windows 11 PC.
If you want to revert to the default Windows 11 context menu, just uncheck the “Enable classic context menu” option and click “Restart Explorer” at the bottom.
