Windows 11 is Finally Fixing Its Worst Feature: The Right-Click Menu
If you ask any Windows 11 user what their biggest daily annoyance is, there is a very high chance they will say: the right-click menu.
While the modern Windows 11 context menu looks beautiful and matches the operating system's sleek, rounded design, it has one major flaw. To access most of your favorite options, you are forced to click a button labeled "Show more options." This extra click loads the old, classic Windows 10 style menu, meaning you essentially have to deal with two completely different right-click menus just to get your work done.
Because of this, many of us have relied on third-party tools or registry hacks to get the classic menu back. But we have some incredible news: Microsoft is finally fixing this natively.
The Big News: Customization is Coming!
Recently, Marcus Ash (VP of Design and Research for Windows & Devices at Microsoft) responded to a user complaint on X (formerly Twitter) with some highly anticipated news. He confirmed that Microsoft is officially working to fix this headache:
"Working on making context menus faster, simpler by default, configurable to what you use most. More will be shared on our approach soon."
This is a massive deal! It means Microsoft is officially building a native right-click menu editor into Windows 11. Soon, you won't need hacks or technical workarounds to clean up your menu. You will be able to easily add or remove items to make the menu fit your personal workflow.
Why Third-Party Alternatives Aren't Cutting It
Until this official feature rolls out, users have had to rely on third-party software. While some are decent, almost all of them come with frustrating trade-offs:
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WindHawk (Classic Right-Click Mod): This is what many of us use to bypass the Windows 11 menu entirely. It works perfectly, but the downside is that it forces you back to the outdated, older-looking classic menu.
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Nilesoft Shell: This is a free, open-source context menu manager. It looks beautiful and modern, but it doesn't have a visual user interface (GUI). To customize it, you have to edit code in a configuration file—something the average user doesn't want to do.
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Easy Context Menu: A beloved tool since the Windows 7 era that lets you easily check and uncheck menu items. Unfortunately, it hasn't been updated since 2015 and doesn't support the new Windows 11 menu.
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Store and GitHub Apps: Programs like Context Cleaner cost money ($8), while older GitHub tools like Context Menu Manager haven't been updated in years and only work on the classic menu.
Because none of these external options are perfect, having a built-in, native customizer from Microsoft is exactly what the community needs.
Part of a Bigger Plan to "Win Back" Users
This right-click menu update isn't an isolated change. It is part of a larger push by Microsoft to make Windows 11 faster and highly customizable.
In recent test builds of Windows 11, Microsoft has already quietly introduced major upgrades:
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Taskbar Customization: You can finally move the taskbar to different positions (top, left, right, bottom).
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Start Menu Upgrades: You can now make the Start menu smaller and turn off recommended sections for a cleaner, completely empty look if you prefer.
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Under-the-Hood Speed: Under the "K2" initiative, Microsoft is moving toward fully native UI components to make the entire system run much faster.
Why is Microsoft suddenly listening?
In short: competition. Users have more choices than ever. With Google pushing Android on larger screens, and Linux distributions like Ubuntu and CachyOS becoming incredibly easy to use and fast (even for dual-booting), Microsoft knows it can no longer take its massive user base for granted. They are actively putting in the effort to win back our trust.
We are crossing our fingers that this new context menu editor will be simple, clean, and easy to use—perhaps with straightforward toggles like the classic tools used to have.
I’ve also made a video on this topic — you can watch it below.
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