ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The new customizable right-click menu is now available for testing.
- You can add and remove entries in the menu to reduce clutter.
- The new menu could officially debut before the end of the year.
The right-click menu in Windows seems like a great idea. Quickly access various commands, settings, and apps by clicking on a folder, file, or other item in File Explorer or on your desktop. But as you install more applications, the menu becomes more disorganized and difficult to navigate.
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With Windows 11, Microsoft has redesigned the menu with a smaller and simpler layout. But this approach doesn’t work well either, as it often excludes commands and apps that you use frequently. With another mouse click you can see the menu in the old style, but that brings us back to the original problem.
How to try Windows 11’s new customizable right-click menu
With the latest Windows 11 Insider Beta preview, you can try the new customizable menu for yourself. You can add or remove specific commands. You can move different items to different places. And you can include entries for different actions, such as editing a text file with Notepad or opening an image in the Photos app. The goal is to reduce the clutter and confusion of the current menu.
To try this for yourself, you’ll need to join Microsoft’s Windows Insider program if you haven’t already. Select the beta channel and then download the latest updates. As these insider builds can be unstable, do not install this on your primary PC. Instead, use a spare computer, a dual-boot setup, or a virtual machine. I run the insider builds in a VM through VMware Workstation Pro.
With the latest update installed, open File Explorer and right-click on a folder or file. You will now see a new entry to customize the menu. Select this to change the context menu. Otherwise, go to Settings, select Personalization, and then click Context Menu.
Also: Microsoft shows customizable context menu for Windows users – as it tests
First on the list, you can enable or disable various file actions, such as send to, print, create shortcut, copy as path, and rotate image. As always, the actions that appear are context sensitive. So, the rotate image command only appears when you click on an image file.
Next, you can choose which apps to open all the time, either in the main menu or in a sub-menu. These include Copilot, Clipchamp, Notepad, OneDrive, Paint and Photos. But the list also includes any third-party apps you install, so you can easily decide whether they should appear or not.
Finally, under additional options, you can choose to show the standard file commands (Cut, Copy, Paste, Rename, Delete) either at the top of the menu or in the menu. You can choose to put cloud storage actions in their own section, show the Customize menu command in the menu itself, and move the Properties command to the bottom of the menu. You can also use a show command to show more options, which will show the old style menu.
Also: How to Join the Microsoft Windows Insider Program (and Why You Should)
“We’re rolling out an updated context menu experience in File Explorer, designed to be faster, cleaner, and easier to customize as you work,” Microsoft said in an article about the latest preview build. “The new design reduces top-level clutter, keeps commonly used actions easily accessible, and adds a new settings experience that gives you more control over what appears in the menu. As we continue to refine this experience with insider feedback, our goal is to make right-click more responsive, predictable, and personal.”
A necessary change
I tried the new menu, and it certainly offers a much-needed change to the otherwise cluttered and complicated right-click menu. However, I would like to see Microsoft finally get rid of the kludgy old style menu completely. Otherwise, you’re still stuck with the dual-personality approach, which gets in the way of using the current menu more fluidly.
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As the new customizable menu is currently in the beta channel, it is one step closer to its official debut. This timeframe depends in part on feedback from Windows Insiders. To share your own thoughts about the feature, open the Feedback Hub in Windows and select the My Feedback option. If the overall feedback is positive, we can certainly see the new menu reaching all Windows 11 users before the end of the year.