Windows 11 is getting a right-click editor: a Customize menu link at the bottom of the context menu that opens a context menu page in Settings. Microsoft is rolling it out in phases, first to Windows Insiders and, since the optional October 28, 2026 preview update for 25H2 and 26H2, to regular PCs, so many PCs don’t have it yet. Without it, you use Show more options, each app’s settings, the Send to folder and an undocumented registry value.
Pick the fix by what you want
“Changing the right-click menu” covers several different jobs. Find yours here, then go to the matching section.
| You want to | Quickest fix | Changes anything permanently? |
|---|---|---|
| See an old command once | Shift + right-click, or Show more options | No |
| Always get the full Windows 10-style menu | An undocumented registry value from third-party guides (your account only) | Yes, until you undo it |
| Hide Send to, Create shortcut or app entries | The new Context menu page (rolling out gradually; not on every PC yet) | Yes, toggles you can flip back |
| Remove a command an app added | That app’s settings, or uninstall the app | Yes |
| Add your own folder or app shortcut | The Send to folder | Yes, delete the shortcut to undo |
| Rearrange the order of items | No free reordering; the new Context menu page can move app commands into a submenu and Properties to the bottom | Not applicable |
If you only need an old command now and then, stop at the shortcut section. Most people never need the registry.
Microsoft first tested the redesigned menu with Windows Insiders, described in an August 2026 Windows Insider blog post about the File Explorer context menu and the Beta Channel release notes for build 26220.9757. It then appeared as a gradual rollout in the October 28, 2026 preview update (KB5127936) for Windows 11 versions 25H2 and 26H2. Because it arrives in phases, a PC can have that update and still not show the new menu.
To check your own PC:
- Right-click any file in File Explorer and look at the bottom of the menu for Customize menu. Microsoft’s update notes say selecting it opens the menu’s Settings page.
- If it isn’t there, open Settings > Personalization and look for a Context menu page. That location comes from Microsoft’s Insider blog post; the KB5127936 notes don’t name the Settings path.
- If neither appears, check whether the update is installed. Open Settings > Windows Update > Update history and look for KB5127936, or open Settings > System > About and check that the OS build is 26200.9818 or 26300.9818 or later.
- If the update is there but the menu isn’t, the phased rollout hasn’t reached your PC yet. If the update isn’t there, the feature can’t appear yet. Either way, nothing is wrong with your PC; use the other sections of this article in the meantime.
Where the page exists, Microsoft’s post describes three groups of options:
- Built-in commands: turn Send to and Create shortcut on or off, and add Print to the menu.
- App extensions: choose whether an app’s commands sit in the main menu or in a submenu, or hide that submenu.
- Common commands: show text labels for the cut, copy and similar actions, and move Properties to the bottom of the menu.
Microsoft’s Insider release notes warn that features tested there might change, be removed or never be released, and the KB5127936 notes name the options but not the Settings path. If something looks different on your PC, trust what you see in Settings.
Windows 11’s first menu shows the most-used actions and the commands from apps that support the new design. Older app commands still exist; they live one step down.
- Right-click a file or folder. The row of icons at the top covers actions such as cut, copy, rename, share and delete.
- Select Show more options at the bottom to open the classic menu, where older apps add their commands.
Two keyboard shortcuts help here. Microsoft’s Windows keyboard shortcuts list says Shift + right-click displays the Show more options menu for the selected item, and Shift + F10 displays the context menu for the selected item. Shift + right-click is the one to learn if you mainly want old commands; Shift + F10 is handy when your hands are on the keyboard.
If you open Show more options many times a day, a single registry value makes File Explorer show the classic menu straight away. Microsoft doesn’t document this value; it comes from widely shared third-party guides, and an update could stop it from working. It applies only to your own user account.
Before you start, create a restore point (search the Start menu for Create a restore point) so you can roll back if anything misbehaves.
- Open Terminal from the Start menu. Administrator rights aren’t needed because the value sits under your own account’s part of the registry.
- Paste this command exactly, including the braces, and press Enter:
reg add "HKCU\Software\Classes\CLSID\{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}\InprocServer32" /f /ve- Restart File Explorer or sign out and back in. Restarting File Explorer in Windows 11 takes a few seconds from Task Manager.
- Right-click a file to confirm the classic menu now opens first.
To undo it, run this command and restart File Explorer again:
reg delete "HKCU\Software\Classes\CLSID\{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}" /fSome guides suggest ExplorerPatcher, an open-source tool that restores several Windows 10 behaviors at once, including the menu. It isn’t a Microsoft product, some antivirus tools have flagged it, and Windows updates can break it, so treat it as an option for experienced users only. If you want the wider Windows 10 look, making Windows 11 look like Windows 10 collects the built-in settings and tools, and making File Explorer look like Windows 10 covers the Explorer window itself.
Archive tools, cloud storage clients, antivirus programs, code editors and media players are the usual sources of extra menu entries. Remove them at the source rather than hunting through the registry.
- Look in the app’s own settings. Many apps have an option named something like “Show in context menu”, “Integrate with File Explorer” or “Shell integration”. Turning it off removes the entry for that app only.
- Uninstall apps you no longer use. Go to Settings > Apps > Installed apps, select the three dots next to the app, and choose Uninstall. Its menu entries leave with it.
- Use a menu-cleaning tool only as a last resort. Third-party utilities such as ShellExView can switch off individual shell extensions. Download them only from the developer’s own site, create a restore point first, and change one entry at a time so you know what to switch back if File Explorer starts acting up.
An example: a laptop with both a ZIP tool and a cloud backup client shows two long submenus on every file. Turning off the ZIP tool’s shell integration and leaving the backup client alone removes one submenu without losing the backup feature. Windows 11’s built-in zipping (Show more options > Send to > Compressed (zipped) folder) still handles everyday ZIP files.
Add your own shortcuts with Send to
Send to is the safest way to add your own destinations to the right-click menu, because it is just a folder of shortcuts. On PCs without the new Context menu page, it appears under Show more options.
- Press Windows key + R, type
shell:sendto, and press Enter. A folder of shortcuts opens. - To add a destination, right-click inside the folder, choose New > Shortcut, and browse to a folder or app you send files to often, such as a shared project folder or an image editor.
- To remove an entry, delete its shortcut from this folder.
- Right-click a file, select Show more options, and point to Send to to see the change.
Deleting a shortcut here removes only the menu entry, never the folder or app it points to. A student who sends every finished assignment to the same school folder, for instance, can add that folder once and skip the copy-and-paste routine.
- The classic menu didn’t appear. Restart File Explorer or sign out. Then check that the command ran without an error and that the braces and quotation marks were copied exactly.
- The classic menu worked, then stopped after an update. Windows updates can ignore or reset the value. Run the reg add command again; if it no longer has any effect, Microsoft has changed the behavior and Shift + right-click is the fallback.
- An app command vanished. It is most likely under Show more options. If your PC already has the new Context menu page (it is still rolling out), check whether that app’s extension was hidden there.
- Right-clicking is slow. A misbehaving shell extension is often the cause. Update or uninstall recently added apps that add menu entries, one at a time, and test after each.
- File Explorer keeps closing after a cleanup tool change. Turn the last extension you disabled back on, or use the restore point you made.
If you are also reshaping the taskbar to match a classic setup, changing the Windows 11 taskbar to look like Windows 10 is a natural next step.
How do I know if my PC has the Customize menu page?
Right-click a file and look for Customize menu at the bottom, or check Settings > Personalization for Context menu. If neither is there, the phased rollout hasn’t reached your PC yet, even if KB5127936 is installed. Update history shows whether it is.
Does the registry tweak change the menu for every user on the PC?
No. The value is stored under HKEY_CURRENT_USER, so it affects only the account that ran the command. Other users keep the new menu unless they run it too.
Will a Windows update undo the classic menu?
It can. The value isn’t a documented Microsoft setting, so a future update may ignore it. Rerun the command if the menu reverts.
Can I rearrange the order of right-click items?
Not without the new Context menu page, which is still rolling out gradually and isn’t on every PC yet. Even that page has no free reordering: it lets you move app commands into or out of a submenu and move Properties to the bottom, which is the closest built-in option.
How do I get Print into the Windows 11 right-click menu?
On PCs that already have the new Context menu page, turn on Print under Built-in commands. Otherwise, select Show more options or press Shift + right-click, where Print appears for file types that support it.
Kermit Matthews runs Live2Tech from just outside Philadelphia. He is an IT specialist with over 20 years of experience, from a university help desk to small-business IT, IT management and his own consulting practice, and has written tech guides full time since 2020. Steps are checked against the current software on a real device or the maker’s official documentation. More about Kermit.