Microsoft breaks down context menu changes in Windows 11

Much of Windows 11 is an entirely new design language. The Start menu and taskbar are redesigned and centered, and the operating system has a whole new look. One of the smallest changes to Windows 11 is that there are new context menus. In a blog post today, the company talked a bit about what has changed, why it has been changed, and best practices for developers extending the existing context menu.

Microsoft says the context menu is one of the most popular shell extensions. And it turned out that there was a lot to improve on with the context menu in Windows 10. For example, commonly used commands are strangely at the bottom of the context menu list. If I right-click on an image in File Explorer, I have to scroll through things like “Create New Video”, “Edit with Paint 3D” and dozens of other options before I access them. basic commands such as copy, paste, delete, and rename.

It’s also super long. As Microsoft notes in the blog post, it has grown since the introduction of Windows XP 20 years ago. But that’s also how problems arise. Windows 10’s context menu has a ton of stuff that is hardly ever used. If I open a menu and have to scroll through 25 items to get to where I need to go, and those 25 items are things I never use, then there is a problem with the user interface.

There is more too. Microsoft has noted that sometimes common commands like “Open” and “Open With” are not grouped together. And sometimes third-party commands can break inbox commands. Finally, Microsoft noted that there may be performance issues because these processes are inside Explorer.

These are the issues Microsoft aimed to resolve in Windows 11. Now, common commands are at the top of a row of icons. The point is, for the things that users do the most, these should take the least amount of effort. Therefore, in the Windows 11 context menu, these commands are closer to where the pointer is already located. You can see that the third-party extensions are bundled together, so they don’t interrupt things. In addition, “Open” and “Open with” are actually side by side.

If you need some of those rarely used commands that Microsoft has exorcised, or if you just want the old Windows 10 context menu, you can hit “Show more options.” You can also raise it by pressing Shift-F10.

Microsoft has also touted some improvements to the Share dialog box. The first entry on the contact list will be you, just in case you want to email the item to yourself. And while the company says nearby sharing is easier to use, the biggest news is that all apps can now use the Share dialog. This includes Win32 applications and uncompressed web applications.