Looking Forward to 26H2 Customizable Context Menu

My favorite feature coming to 26H2

from Stardock Forums

It looks like Microsoft is finally going to let us customize the Context Menu in Windows 11 - 26H2.

There have always been ways to make adjustments to the context menu using Registry settings or third party software, but this looks very promising. I have included a few pics to show the new settings that will be available, unless they change their minds.

What are your opinions on this new feature?

CUSTOMIZE MENU

FILE ACTIONS

ADDITIONAL OPTIONS

APP EXTENSIONS

(Images credit: Mauro Huculak)
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Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top

If it happens, it'll be better than the present, but I can't help wondering if MS loosens its death grip on the context menu, could RightClick make a come back? Wishful thinking, I suppose...

Interesting post, pelaird. Thanks. :thumbsup: 

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Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top

I have managed to somewhat customize my Context menu using the Registry and a third party utility, but I am really looking forward to this new feature. I use the Context menu hundreds of times everyday.

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Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top
Quoting DrJBHL, reply 4145423

If it happens, it'll be better than the present, but I can't help wondering if MS loosens its death grip on the context menu, could RightClick make a come back? Wishful thinking, I suppose...

Interesting post, pelaird. Thanks.

End of DrJBHL's quote

Tried installing Right-Click this morning. It installed okay but totally non-functional. Explorer kept restarting and Fences turned itself off, and DeskScapes wouldn't work. Uninstalled it immediately.

I don't see any reason this couldn't be updated to work with Windows 11. It's still very easy to add items to the Right-click > Show more options menu in the Registry by creating a new Key and Command String at Computer\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Background\shell.

Here's looking forward to more customization features. :grin: 

Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top
Quoting pelaird, reply 4145496
Quoting DrJBHL, reply 4145423

If it happens, it'll be better than the present, but I can't help wondering if MS loosens its death grip on the context menu, could RightClick make a come back? Wishful thinking, I suppose...

Interesting post, pelaird. Thanks.

End of DrJBHL's quote

Tried installing Right-Click this morning. It installed okay but totally non-functional. Explorer kept restarting and Fences turned itself off, and DeskScapes wouldn't work. Uninstalled it immediately.

I don't see any reason this couldn't be updated to work with Windows 11. It's still very easy to add items to the Right-click > Show more options menu in the Registry by creating a new Key and Command String at Computer\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Background\shell.

Here's looking forward to more customization features.

End of pelaird's quote

Agreed...not sure why it was allowed to die. It was a great app...and increased productivity.

Reply #5 from Stardock Forums Top

Customize Menu, File Actions, Additional Options, App Extensions. All four are about what sits in the menu, and not one of them is about there being two menus.

Some of my applications put themselves in the top menu and the rest sit under Show more options, so I right-click, do not find the thing, and click through to the old one anyway. Reordering the first list does not fix that. One menu would be worth more to me than all four of those pages.

Reply #6 from Stardock Forums Top
Quoting NeoX, reply 4146180

Customize Menu, File Actions, Additional Options, App Extensions. All four are about what sits in the menu, and not one of them is about there being two menus.

Some of my applications put themselves in the top menu and the rest sit under Show more options, so I right-click, do not find the thing, and click through to the old one anyway. Reordering the first list does not fix that. One menu would be worth more to me than all four of those pages.

End of NeoX's quote

This would be an acceptable option in the settings, but sometimes the Context menu gets too long to be usable. Here is an example of a context menu of an image. 43 vs. 21 items. Unless you have a large screen, you're scrolling.

   

Reply #7 from Stardock Forums Top

43 against 21 is a fair hit, and the settings pages are the answer to it. If Customize Menu can take items out rather than just reorder them, that is worth having and I waved it off too quickly.

The split is the part I would still complain about, because it costs differently. A long menu is slow in a way you can see. Two menus are slow in a way you cannot, since you check the first one, miss, and click through to the second, and you pay for that guess whether or not it lands.

Reply #8 from Stardock Forums Top
Quoting NeoX, reply 4146361

The split is the part I would still complain about, because it costs differently. A long menu is slow in a way you can see. Two menus are slow in a way you cannot, since you check the first one, miss, and click through to the second, and you pay for that guess whether or not it lands.

End of NeoX's quote

I usually know which menu I need before I click the mouse. I use the MX Master 4 mouse and have a button programmed "Shift + right-click" to go strait to the "Show more options" menu. It took a long time to get the muscle memory adjusted to the new Cut, copy, paste, rename, delete section, but now I love it.

Reply #9 from Stardock Forums Top

Fair enough, and that is a better answer than mine. Put the second menu on a button and the guess never happens, which was the whole of what I was complaining about.

It is still a mouse and however long that took to retrain rather than anything Microsoft did. But you have it working and I do not, so I will take the loss on this one.