Windows 11’s context menu gets a vital overhaul: it’s now faster and you can get rid of options you don’t want
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- Windows 11 has a new preview update (optional)
- This introduces the ability to completely customize the context menu (right click) to your liking, as well as speeding up its performance.
- That’s great, but it’s best to avoid a preview update and wait for the full release in less than two weeks, but even then, this feature will be rolled out gradually.
Windows 11 now has one of the interface capabilities most sought after by many people, namely the ability to customize the context menu, but it is not completely finalized yet (although it is imminent).
The menu that appears when you right-click a file (or folder) is also known as a ‘context’ menu, as it presents a bunch of options that vary contextually depending on the type of file being clicked, but in Windows 11, it’s currently an expanding affair.
Those who hate the extensive context menu will now be able to customize it after installing a new Windows 11 update, although this is an opt-in version, meaning it’s still in preview. However, this feature will be in next month’s patch, the November update, so you won’t have to wait long for the full release (less than two weeks, in fact).
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Customization settings for the context menu include the ability to remove Windows commands that you don’t like, like ‘Send To’, for example, or add capabilities that you would like to have, and also choose which applications you want to appear in the context menu.
It’s a full range of customization and you can also choose to have the top menu panel (cut, paste, rename, etc.) directly integrated, so that these functions appear alongside everything else (in a Windows 10 style, and you can also change the layout, by moving Properties to the bottom of the menu, for example).
Microsoft boasts that the new context menu is faster, too: “The updated menu opens faster, reduces clutter, and gives you more control over the commands and application extensions that appear when you right-click.”
As you may have noticed, all of this work has been in testing for a while now.
Analysis: Continuous frustrations and a long wait
The immediate response on companies like Reddit seems positive, and there are Windows 11 users who have jumped on this preview update and are noticing that the context menu is much faster.
One Redditor raves: “The new context menu is so good! Much faster, customization is great.”
Others acknowledge that this is certainly a good move, but don’t understand why it took Microsoft so long to get here: “Not bad in my opinion. It’s crazy, even though it took them 5 years.”
While feedback is generally positive, there are complaints from those who installed the update but did not receive the new context menu. This is because the right-click revamp was rolled out via a gradual rollout, so it’s only drip-feed to a certain number of PCs at a time (those that have installed the optional update). As another Redditor says: “Those gradual implementations, however…”
You can force the feature to be implemented on your PC using a Windows setup utility (ViVeTool), but I wouldn’t recommend that approach. Microsoft tests the waters in a limited way for good reasons, especially with features still in preview, so you run a higher-than-normal risk of some nasty bug ruining your day.
Anyway, you’ve waited five years for this performance and options tweak, as those on Reddit are keen to point out, so what’s a couple more weeks? I would wait until the official November update, staying away from this preview, but even then, it will still be a gradual rollout and you may need some patience.
Still, the good news is that the context ball is rolling and hopefully it won’t be long before most Windows 11 users get access to this important update for a key piece of the UI.
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