Explore Windows 11’s New Customizable Right-Click Menu

Windows has long offered users the ability to access commands quickly with a simple right-click. While convenient, the right-click menu often becomes bloated and hard to manage as more applications are installed. Microsoft recognizes this issue, and to address it, they have introduced a new customizable right-click menu feature in Windows 11.

A Fresh Take on the Right-Click Experience

The right-click menu in Windows 11 has undergone a makeover. The updated menu is not only smaller but also aims to offer a cleaner layout. However, many users found that this redesign sometimes omitted the commands they frequently needed, prompting Microsoft to create a customizable option to allow users more control.

How to Access the Custom Menu Feature

Since the latest Windows 11 Insider Beta update, users can test the customizable right-click menu. This feature allows you to personalize which commands and applications appear, helping to declutter the interface. To start using this feature, you’ll need to join the Windows Insider Program, opting for the Beta channel, and download the most recent updates.

Given the potential instability of these Insider builds, it’s wise to test them on a secondary device, a dual-boot system, or inside a virtual machine—like I do with VMware Workstation Pro.

Customizing Your Menu

After installing the latest updates, open File Explorer and right-click on a file or folder. A new option to customize the menu will appear. Alternatively, you can navigate to Settings, select Personalization, and then click on Context menu.

The customization options allow you to:

• Toggle File Actions: Enable or disable actions like Send to, Print, Create shortcut, and Rotate image that display contextually based on the file type.
• Manage App Visibility: Choose which apps—such as Paint, Notepad, and third-party applications—appear frequently in the menu.
• Organize Standard Commands: Decide whether essential commands like Cut, Copy, and Paste will be displayed at the top of the menu or grouped within a submenu.

Additionally, you can adjust where cloud-storage actions are located, rearrange the Properties command, and opt to show an option for the classic menu, ensuring you have the flexibility to revert if needed.

The Importance of Feedback

According to Microsoft, they are focused on refining this new context menu based on user feedback. Their aim is to create a more responsive, intuitive, and uniquely tailored right-click experience, reducing clutter while keeping frequently used actions easy to access.

So far, my own experience with this customizable menu has been quite positive. It definitely enhances usability compared to the previous layout. However, I hope for a complete transition away from the older menu format, as the dual-system approach can be confusing.

The Road Ahead

This feature is currently in the Beta stage, inching closer to an official release. The timeline for launching it broadly depends largely on the input from Windows Insiders. If you’d like to join the conversation about the menu, use the Feedback Hub in Windows and select the My Feedback option. If reactions are favorable, the new customizable menu is anticipated to become available to all Windows 11 users by year-end.