There are no second thoughts the right-click menu or the context menu is extremely important. It offers you additional options and lets you perform tasks quickly. However, if you notice that the context menu has functionalities that you don’t even use or need. Instead, it would be much better if you could customize the menu and add the features that you use most. So the question is, how to edit context menu items in Windows 11/10? Let’s figure this out in this easy guide.
How to Edit Context Menu items in Windows 11/10?
There are two ways to edit the context menu in Windows 11/10. The first method requires you to make some changes to the registry editor. For the second method, you have to use third-party tools. So in this article, we are going to talk about the following way and tools:
- Registry Editor
- Easy Context Menu
- Filemenu Tools
- Right Click Enhancer
- MenuMaid
Now let’s talk about the registry method and other tools one by one:
1. Registry Editor
Using the Registry Editor, you can make changes in the right-click menu. However, editing registry keys can be harmful to your computer. Hence, we advise that you take a backup of your registry keys. So in case you want to undo your action, you would be able to do so.
Anyway, here are the steps that you have to follow:
- Go to Windows search, search for regedit and launch Registry Editor.
- Now navigate to the following path:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers
- It will list down all the right-click menu options. Delete the ones you don’t need, and you are good to go.
However, editing the context menu using the registry editor can be complicated. Hence, below are a few tools that make the job easy.
2. Easy Context Menu
As you can see in the name, the Easy Context Menu does what it says. It allows you to add a wide range of useful commands and tweaks to your desktop. As a result, you can perform different tasks quickly and easily. Also, the software is straightforward to use and free to download.
It comes with six main categories and three sub-categories. These include the Desktop context menu, My Computer context menu, Drives context menu, folder context menu, and EXE file context menu.
Pros:
- You can clean up the context menu.
- Add programs to the context menu.
- Drag and drop context menu editor.
- Free to download.
Cons:
- The user interface isn’t excellent.
To use the software, you can follow these steps:
- At first, extract the zip file.
- Then select your desired context menu entries by tricking an adjacent checkbox.
- Finally, click on Apply changes button.
3. Filemenu Tools
With Filemenu Tools, you can easily customize your context menu of Windows Explorer. It helps you to add built-in utilities so you can use Windows smoothly. You can add files and folders or add custom commands.
Pros:
- Support adding built-in utilities that perform operations on files and folders.
- You can add custom commands which run a specific action.
- Enable/disable commands by other applications.
- Features lots of built-in utilities
Cons:
- Too many options to confuse newbies.
The software is free to download, and here is how you can use it:
- Launch Filemenu tools, and it will display all the right-click menu options.
- Use the sidebar to add new commands to the context menu.
- If you wish to delete a command, select it and click on Delete from the sidebar menu.
4. Right Click Enhancer
Next, you can check out Right Click Enhancer. It allows you to add apps, files, and folder shortcuts to the context menu. So you can keep your desktop more organized. You can also create submenus inside the right-click menu. This way, you can add a lot of functionalities without making the right-click menu look messy.
However, this tool is not free. The premium license gives you access to features like adding new shortcuts to the right-click menu, editing existing right-click menu entries, and removing or disabling unwanted right-click menu entries.
Although, there is a free version of it. But that won’t be enough to edit the right-click menu entries.
Pros:
- Add new shortcuts to right-click menu.
- Edit existing entries of the context menu.
- Remove or Disable the unwanted right-click menu entirely.
Cons:
- The free version does not let you edit the context menu.
5. MenuMaid
MenuMaid is another simple tool that helps optimize Windows’s context menu. It has a simple user interface giving you only two main sections – Internet Explorer and Windows Explorer. Each of them is devoted to cleaning up the context menu in their respective areas.
Pros:
- Free to download.
- The changes get applied immediately.
- Straightforward to use.
Cons:
- It can only edit options for Internet Explorer and Windows Explorer.
To use the tool, follow the below steps:
- Launch MenuMaid.
- Switch to the Windows Explorer tab.
- From here, unselect the options that you don’t need in your context menu.
However, unlike most other tools, this doesn’t allow you to add newer functionalities to the context menu. But if you want to remove existing functionalities from the right-click menu, this will work.
So that was all for how to edit context menu items in Windows 11/10. Now go ahead and try out the tools and registry editor and see if you can customize your context menu. Suppose you are stuck at anything; comment below.
