- Microsoft is working to optimize Windows 11 context menus
- However, this is only for the context-sensitive options available to applications.
- However, the hope is that it can eventually be applied more broadly in Windows 11 in File Explorer.
There’s a hint that Microsoft might at least be thinking about addressing one of the biggest complaints about Windows 11’s interface: the long list of options presented when you right-click a file.
As Windows Latest reports, this is a change to the context menu that offers a bunch of context-sensitive options and is available for certain applications; Additionally, there is a possibility that it can be applied to File Explorer (universally in Windows 11).
The concept was shown in a WinUI community call on YouTube (see the video below with the corresponding section starting at the 21st minute).
The work means that developers of WinUI 3-based apps can take advantage of a ‘Split Context Menu’ feature that does pretty much what it says, allowing them to split certain options into a secondary menu.
This means that an app’s main right-click menu can have fewer options and be more streamlined, with some of the other options hidden in secondary drop-down menus outside of that main list.
An example of right-clicking on an image file shows a context-sensitive option to ‘Open in Photos’ and then, outside of that, the ability to use other apps (Paint, Snipping Tool) is hidden away in a secondary menu, rather than having those listed in the main menu, further cluttering it up.
Additionally, many other options are removed from the top-level context menu, such as the ability to rotate the image (left or right), the copy option, and OneDrive is also shown removed from the context menu.
Look
Analysis: right click, okay?
Before you get too excited, this is just a change that WinUI 3 app developers are working on for now (present in the Windows App SDK). As Windows Latest points out, it’s unclear whether this concept will apply to all of Windows 11 or be limited to those specific apps.
We can certainly expect the first scenario, as the Windows 11 context menu has become more complicated as time goes by. The idea was that Windows 11 would offer something more streamlined than Windows 10 in this department, and in fact, there are fewer right-click options on the newer operating system, albeit because some options are hidden behind the “Show more options” button. However, the context menu is still too busy for my taste, and more unnecessary bloat has recently been introduced regarding Copilot, quick actions for AI and the like (not to mention multiple options for editors, especially with images).
In short, Microsoft could apply the concept outlined here to apps more broadly, addressing general complaints about Windows 11’s context menu being too cluttered. (And he also complains that it’s slow, which is also a long-standing complaint.)
However, it would really be nice if Microsoft provided a Settings panel for the context menu in Windows 11 where you could remove certain options from system-wide use (to get rid of all mentions of OneDrive, for example, or Copilot, although the prospect of banishing AI is perhaps one reason why Microsoft wouldn’t go down this route).
It’s a shame, as you can use registry hacks or third-party software to modify the context menu, but that can be tricky and risky, so why isn’t this capability available as a native piece of desktop customization in Windows 11?
If Microsoft is worried about less technical types accidentally breaking functionality and turning off core interface elements without realizing what they’re doing, it could always limit the customization options a bit. Alternatively, please consign these capabilities to PowerToys and at least give us an official add-on solution for modifying the context menu.
Still, this work for WinUI 3 apps is at least an indication that Microsoft is considering removing some of the more complicated aspects of this context-sensitive functionality, and perhaps it will end up being applied more widely in Windows 11.
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