Another Cool Trick - Displaying "Show more options..." Menu Items in One Step

hsehestedt · Oct 25, 2023

I suspect that a whole lot of you already know this, and maybe I'm simply late to the party, but for those that don't I thought that this was helpful:

I edit files about a hundred times a day. I find it really annoying that to edit files for which the default action is not to open the file in notepad, I have to first right-click the file, then I need to select "Show more options", and finally I can select "Edit". Same holds true for any other operation listed on the "Show more options" menu.

I just learned that if you hold down the Shift key while right-clicking the file, it will automagically display the "Show more options" items. Mind blown

spapakons · Oct 25, 2023

Or you do a Registry hack to always show the expanded list. I think there is a .reg file in Tutorials that you can download and merge. Also you can use Winaero Tweaker that is easier and also has many more hacks.

Flashorn · Oct 25, 2023

I have the Edit entry in the right click on the front of it:

hsehestedt · Oct 25, 2023

spapakons said:
Or you do a Registry hack to always show the expanded list. I think there is a .reg file in Tutorials that you can download and merge. Also you can use Winaero Tweaker that is easier and also has many more hacks.

I'm actually fine with using the shift key. I like the more uncluttered menu, except for when I need one of those other functions. After about one day this will simply become second nature to me.

Ghot · Oct 25, 2023

I too opted for the registry edit. There are "other" registry edits to remove some of the other useless right click menu items.
Also... a lot of programs allow you to nix their right click menu entries during install.

Disable "Show more options" context menu in Windows 11 Tutorial

This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable having to click on "Show more options" to see the full context menu for your account or all users in Windows 11. When you right click on an item in Windows 11, you will see a new modern condensed context menu with Show more options...

www.elevenforum.com

The ones with the RED dots, I added or allowed to be added (during install), to my right click menu.

spapakons · Oct 25, 2023

I have the opposite issue, due to many applications adding items to the context menu, if I right-click on the desktop or in a folder I have to scroll down quite a bit to get to the bottom and click Properties. However I rather scroll a little than return to the annoying "Show more" version.

Ghot · Oct 25, 2023

For anyone with "long" context menus... this may be of some use.
I've not used it... so I don't really know how useful it is. But it "sounds" good.

Easy Context Menu v1.6

Easy Context Menu enables you to add a variety of useful commands and tweaks for the Desktop, My Computer, Drives ,File and folder context menus

www.sordum.org

Bree · Oct 25, 2023

spapakons said:
I have the opposite issue, due to many applications adding items to the context menu, if I right-click on the desktop or in a folder I have to scroll down quite a bit to get to the bottom and click Properties....

In File Explorer the ... menu at the top also lets you select Properties.

Bree · Oct 25, 2023

hsehestedt said:
I just learned that if you hold down the Shift key while right-clicking the file, it will automagically display the "Show more options" items. Mind blown

That was a new function first introduced with the release of 22H2, it wasn't available in 21H2.

johnlgalt · Oct 25, 2023

Yet another reason I prefer using 3rd party FMs lol. Nice to know about Shift, though, for the infrequent times I use Windows Explorer.

spapakons · Oct 25, 2023

I mostly right-click the desktop to access nVidia Control Panel, so I don't mind the long context menu as this is usually at the 10 first entries. I used the Registry hack in both 21H2 and 22H2. I haven't used the SHIFT method, I wasn't aware of that. I saw the hack in Winaero Tweaker but I didn't try it as I had already done the Registry hack. In Tutorials you can find two .reg files. One to enable the full menu (labelled Disable More Options) and the other to restore the default condensed version (labelled Enable More Options).