How to suppress the menu bar in explorer

ceo54 · Jan 9, 2026

Hello,

On Windows 11 Explorer, enabling the legacy command infrastructure (via StartAllBack or Open-Shell) causes Explorer to permanently instantiate a top command surface.

Once this happens, reverting to stock Win11 binaries does not remove the bar — Explorer continues to allocate the command host, which is then rendered using the Win11 WinUI CommandBar.

Key observations:

The bar is not drawn by StartAllBack or Open-Shell
Swapping Win10 explorerframe.dll breaks the nav pane but does not remove the bar
shellstyle.dll hacks (height=0) no longer apply
This confirms the surface exists independently of explorerframe and classic theming

I’m not trying to stop legacy commands from being registered — I’m looking for a way to suppress or collapse the WinUI CommandBar host (height/visibility/layout), even if the surface itself still exists.

Does anyone know:

which component owns the WinUI CommandBar layout for Explorer?
or whether it’s possible to force-collapse it (analogous to shellstyle hacks in Win7–10)?

Any pointers (symbols, classes, binaries) would be appreciated.

Brink · Jan 9, 2026

Hello,

Just to confirm, have you already tried this below?

Add or Remove Menu Bar in File Explorer in Windows 11

The menu bar is no longer available in File Explorer. Starting with Windows 11 build 25136 and build 22621.160, File Explorer has been updated. To help you work across multiple locations at the same time, the title bar of File Explorer now has tabs. File Explorer also has a new refreshed...

www.elevenforum.com

ceo54 · Jan 9, 2026

Brink said:
Hello,

Just to confirm, have you already tried this below?

Add or Remove Menu Bar in File Explorer in Windows 11

The menu bar is no longer available in File Explorer. Starting with Windows 11 build 25136 and build 22621.160, File Explorer has been updated. To help you work across multiple locations at the same time, the title bar of File Explorer now has tabs. File Explorer also has a new refreshed...

www.elevenforum.com

Hello Mr. Brink

I don't have the option to show/hide the bar in question in file explorer options and registry tweak didn't work either. I don't know what's causing it, my assumption is half-baked explorer, Microsoft yet to remove but the switch to turn it on/off is gone, hence it sticks even when the user wants to turn it off.

Thank you for your response. I'm still waiting to switch but I can't seem to get rid of it.

Kind regards

Brink · Jan 9, 2026

As a test, does the menu bar still show if you use light mode instead of dark mode?

ceo54 · Jan 9, 2026

It's not there unless StartAllBack / Explorer Patcher / Openshell is installed. Once any of those legacy Win 7 commandbar enabling extensions are installed, it's always there, with seemingly no way to hide it. Changing dark / light mode has no effect.

Brink · Jan 9, 2026

I'm not sure you'll get around it with one of those apps installed.

Edwin · Jan 9, 2026

It seems to be an obscure old Explorer remnant, hiding somewhere in the system,
I have the ability to hide or show it at will, but only with an old version of QTTabBar...

I doesn't show at all if I disable StartAllBack.

spapakons · Jan 11, 2026

Brink said:
Hello,

Just to confirm, have you already tried this below?

Add or Remove Menu Bar in File Explorer in Windows 11

The menu bar is no longer available in File Explorer. Starting with Windows 11 build 25136 and build 22621.160, File Explorer has been updated. To help you work across multiple locations at the same time, the title bar of File Explorer now has tabs. File Explorer also has a new refreshed...

www.elevenforum.com

I have Open Shell and Explorer Patcher installed. For some reason this didn't work in "Windows 11 Command Bar (default)" or "Windows 11 Command Bar (Classic Address Bar)" or "Windows 10 Ribbon" settings for File Explorer in Explorer Patcher. Once I switched to "Windows 7 Command Bar", it worked, see proto below:

The red "X" button is from Aero Lite theme (available in Winaero Tweaker or elsewhere) and the cut/copy/paste buttons are from Open Shell. The Windows 8.1 drive and folder icons were injected in the appropriate file with Customizer God. Read my posts in Personalization section.

spapakons · Jan 14, 2026

Microsoft did it again! My computer updated to build 26200.7623 and I discovered that not only the menu doesn't show any more, but also the Open Shell cut/copy/paste etc buttons disappeared! I have already tried to reinstall Open Shell, restart File Explorer, apply the Registry file to show the menu, change styles for File Explorer in Explorer Patcher, nothing works! One thing I haven't done yet is to restart the whole computer because it is currently busy rendering some video, but I don't think it will make any difference. Any workaround appreciated.

glasskuter · Jan 14, 2026

spapakons said:
I have already tried to reinstall Open Shell,

Just curious if you have tried removing open shell completely, then restart. There's a chance open shell won't work with latest windows update until its developers release an update for open shell.

spapakons · Jan 14, 2026

glasskuter said:
Just curious if you have tried removing open shell completely, then restart. There's a chance open shell won't work with latest windows update until its developers release an update for open shell.

Just tried that. It didn't work. It doesn't show the cut/copy/paste buttons (see photo) as it did before and doesn't have the option to add them either. Also I change the Registry key from 1 to 0 as suggested here, but it keeps reverting back to 1 every time I restart File Explorer to see the result.

Cannot re-enable classic explorer ribbon · Open-Shell Open-Shell-Menu · Discussion #2032

I was messing around with some settings and unchecked the "show classic toolbar" in windows explorer and now I have no way to show it again AND I found NOTHING about how to get it back (I even rein...

github.com

I used to click on the buttons and now I have to use the keyboard shortcuts which is not always convenient.

Windows 11 with working Classic Explorer.webp

It's driving me crazy! Any solution appreciated. Last time there were bugs with Open Shell and Explorer Patcher or other utility there was a new version released to fix them. If any Open Shell Developer reads this thread, please release a fix. Thanks!

PS: In case it is related, new version of File Explorer also disabled the menu. I tried to import the Registry patch but it just doesn't show the menu, no matter which style I have selected for File Explorer in Explorer Patcher. And a minor bug, if I select either of the two Windows 11 styles, there is a horizontal black area which was supposed to show something, don't know, but it's all black.

spapakons · Jan 16, 2026

FOUND A SOLUTION! I downloaded ViVeTool and run the command vivetool /disable /id:57048216 restarted my PC and worked! Just hope there will be a new Open Shell version with the bug fixed so we don't have to do this workaround every time.

Classic Explorer Bar option missing · Issue #2365 · Open-Shell/Open-Shell-Menu

Describe the bug After Windows 11 Insider 25H2 Build 26220 (7070), Classic Explorer Bar Option is missing. Now I am not up-datings Windows 11. I am using 4.4.196 Area of issue Windows Explorer To r...

github.com

Releases · thebookisclosed/ViVe

C# library and console app for using new feature control APIs available in Windows 10 version 2004 and newer - thebookisclosed/ViVe

github.com

PS: I have discovered a bug that I am not sure if it was there before. If I select the "Windows 7 Command bar" in "Control Interface" in File Explorer settings of Explorer Patcher, after some minutes or after I open a new File Explorer window or close one, all the open windows switch to the desktop! Weird, why is that? If I click on the back button they return to the previous folder I had open. I have now switched to "Windows 10 Ribbon" and I haven't seen this bug again. It only happens if I select "Windows 7 Command bar". According to Google AI this means some incompatibility or conflict of settings, not sure. I prefer the Windows 10 style anyway, so I switched to that. Just curious what causes the bug. I remind that the "Windows 7 Command bar" is the only style that the Menu appears.

ceo54 · Jan 19, 2026

I was trying to do the exact opposite, hide the menu bar but I couldn't get it done. It was in the Mickysoft To-Do list to completely remove the bar, that will come in the newer builds but for now, it sticks and I couldn't find any way around it. Hence, I decided to go back to Windows 10 where the shellstyle is still consulted before rendering so hiding this bar is possible with custom shellstyle.

Windows 11 is more like a transition OS, too many changing goalposts for a deterministic and predictable system. I have a life outside of computers. I hope Windows 12 will be cohesive, optimized and stability grounded in rock like Windows 7 but hoping something good from Mickysoft is crying in the vacuum. Many thanks to Shawn and all the awesome people who took interest in my issue and dedicated their time to help me out.

Kind regards

spapakons · Jan 19, 2026

Like I have said before, WE decide how our system looks, not Microsoft.

hdmi · Jan 19, 2026

ceo54 said:
I was trying to do the exact opposite, hide the menu bar but I couldn't get it done. It was in the Mickysoft To-Do list to completely remove the bar, that will come in the newer builds but for now, it sticks and I couldn't find any way around it. Hence, I decided to go back to Windows 10 where the shellstyle is still consulted before rendering so hiding this bar is possible with custom shellstyle.

Windows 11 is more like a transition OS, too many changing goalposts for a deterministic and predictable system. I have a life outside of computers. I hope Windows 12 will be cohesive, optimized and stability grounded in rock like Windows 7 but hoping something good from Mickysoft is crying in the vacuum. Many thanks to Shawn and all the awesome people who took interest in my issue and dedicated their time to help me out.

I use both ExplorerPatcher 26100.4946.69.6 and DartVanya fork of Open-Shell on Windows 11 25H2 build 26200.7623. I don't have this menu bar that you are trying to remove, and I can't find a way to reproduce it. Repair install Windows 11 with an in-place upgrade to see if it helps.

spapakons · Jan 19, 2026

With the original Open Shell, the menu bar is only visible in Windows 7 Command Bar style of File Explorer in Explorer Patcher. In the other styles it doesn't appear.

hdmi · Jan 19, 2026

spapakons said:
With the original Open Shell, the menu bar is only visible in Windows 7 Command Bar style of File Explorer in Explorer Patcher.

I still can't reproduce it. The screenshot in the OP very clearly shows File Explorer with tabs and the Windows 11 Command Bar. Definitely NOT the Windows 7 Command Bar style option.

P.S., here's how mine looks like with the Windows 7 Command Bar and with the original Open-Shell (4.4.196). As you can see for yourself, there simply is no File, Edit, View, and Tools anywhere to be found in there:

spapakons · Jan 19, 2026

Probably you have to import the Registry file to enable menus, see older posts in this thread. There is a .reg file to enable the menu (not enabled by default) and a .reg file to disable it. Since you don't want it anyway, it's OK, I just reply here for anyone interested how to do it.

Here is how mine looks with the Windows 7 Command bar (Windows Lite theme, Windows 11 icons replaced with Windows 8.1 icons) :

ceo54 · Jan 19, 2026

@hdmi Many thanks for the valuable input but its hit or miss kinda thing, since Mickysoft can't do anything cleanly, deterministically. It's been four years since this was placed on their To-Do list, the toggle was instantly stripped but the legacy path continues to haunt. As @spapakons correctly notes, it shows up only when legacy Win 7 commandbar is enabled.

I tried every possible way to hide it but couldn't accomplish it without having to run another runtime injecting utilities like Windhawk which I don't want. Moreover, the Windows 11 shell when running in legacy mode, doesnt have that semi premium feel like Windows 10 had. It just "feels" right and as previously noted, too many chaging goalposts. I tend to inclined to use the systems past initial evolving stage, which sadly Windows 11 doesn't appear to be.

This in no way means your help and your time is underappreciated. I'm really grateful and highly obliged.

Kind regards

ceo54 · Jan 19, 2026

@spapakons Yes, I tried that solution @Brink suggested but to no avail. Its coming from a legacy COM object that enumerates the shell layout. I couldn't pinpoint the COM guid. Besides that I tried everything within my abilities. In newer Windows versions, shell stack is heavily protected. Those days of Windows 7 are behind us where we could bend the shelll to our liking.

There's this curious project GitHub - world-windows-federation/explorer7: The publicly-available version of explorer7's source code. Updated to match major releases accordingly.

It enables Windows 7 Explorer and other shell components on 10/11. But as 10 stands, I really don't see any need to modify the shell there in anyway besides blocking Control Panel links MS redirect to settings app.

Besides Personalization, Classic Control Panel project enables all the links/functions/applets.

These are phenomenally good projects that fix a lot what's wrong with Windows these days (personal opinion, don't quote me on this) the only issue being they are scattered all over the place, explorer patcher, open-shell, StartAllBack, Classic control panel, explorer7, classic UAC etc. It would be awesome if all of this would be one cohesive project.

One thing Mickysoft never understood is "choice"

Many thanks for your valuable inputs, your contribution is highly appreciated.

How to suppress the menu bar in explorer

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