How to Customize Right-click Context Menu in Windows 10

When you install certain software on your Windows PC, they add some extra items to right-click the context menu. These items help you process specific files via that software. Now, with time, your right-click menu might get cluttered by these third-party extensions. And some of the items will still stay there even after you uninstall that specific software. So, at times you might need to customize your right-click context menu to remove unnecessary extensions.

There are two ways to edit or modify your right-click context menu in Windows 10. The native but more complex method uses Registry Editor to remove or delete extra items from the right-click menu. The simpler method uses a third-party app to customize the right-click menu in Windows 10. So, if you are not very much into computers and don’t want to mess with Windows Registry, you may opt for the second method.

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Remove and Restore Items from Right Click Menu in Windows 10

So, in this tutorial, we will show you how to remove or delete items from right-click menu and restore them. We will show you the native method first i.e. Registry Editor. After that, we will show you the software utility method. So, let’s start with the Registry Editor method.

A) Remove and Restore Items from the Right-Click Context Menu using the Registry Editor

Let us warn you that messing with the registry in the wrong way may make your PC inoperable. So, make sure to take a backup of the registry or create a restore point before proceeding.

Step 1: Open Registry Editor

So, first of all, open the Registry Editor in Windows 10. Go to RUN, type regedit and press Enter to open Registry Editor.

It will open Registry Editor in Windows 10. We will use it to customize the right-click context menu in Windows 10.

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Step 2: Go to Context Menu Registry Key in Registry Editor

Now, go to the following path in Registry Editor. You can also copy and paste it into the address bar of the Registry Editor.

KEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers

Here, you will see the list of third-party extensions added to the context menu.

Step 3: Take a Backup of the Registry Key Before Deleting it

Now, before you delete the specific registry key to remove items from the right-click menu, take its backup. Using this backup you will be able to restore it later if you wish so.

So, right-click on the registry key and select Export. In this tutorial, we are taking the example of Notepad++.

Now, save it to the desired destination. Give it a recognizable name and save it to the desired destination.

Step 4: Delete the Registry Key to Remove Items from Right-Click Menu

Now, after taking the backup, you can delete the desired Registry key to remove the specific item from the right-click context menu and customize it.

Simply, right-click on the key and select Delete.

You might see a confirmation dialog box, click Yes to continue.

Step 5: Verify the Removed item from the Right-Click Menu

Now, you have successfully removed the selected item from the right-click menu. To verify, you can right-click on any file and see if it is still there. Remember, you might need to restart your PC if changes don’t reflect.

Step 6: Restore Items to Right-Click Context Menu using Registry Editor

So, if you think that you have mistakenly removed that item from the right-click menu, you can still restore it. The backup we created for the specific key in Step 3 above, will help us now.

To restore the deleted right-click context menu item, go to the folder where you saved the exported Registry key. Here, double-click on the Registry key to merge it with the Registry.

You will see a confirmation dialog after successfully merging the registry key.

Step 7: Verify the Restored Item in the Right-Click Menu

Now, right-click on any file and see if the specific item has been restored or not. Voila, you will see that your deleted item has been restored. If you don’t see it there, try restarting your PC.

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B) Customize the Right-click Menu in Windows 10 with ShellExView Utility

Now, after you have checked the Registry editor method, let’s see a simpler method. But remember, it requires you to download a third-party app called ShellExView. It is an open-source utility developed by NirSoft and it is pretty popular.

ShellExView allows you to customize the right-click context menu in Windows 10. Using it, you can easily remove specific items from the context menu. The best part is that you can also restore those items with ease. So, let’s check the steps.

Step 1: Download and Install ShellExView

So, first of all, you need to download and install the ShellExView utility on your Windows 10 PC. You can download it from here. After downloading, install it on your PC.

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Step 2: View Third-Party Right-Click Items on your PC

After installing, run the ShellExView utility. It will display all the extensions in your Windows 10. So, to view only third-party extensions, click Options from the menu and select Hide All Microsoft Extensions.

Step 3: Disable Specific Item to Remove it from Right Click Menu

Now, you will only see third-party extensions. So, won’t need to worry about accidentally deleting any important Microsoft extensions.

Here, right-click on the item that you want to remove from the right-click context menu and select Disable Selected Items.

You will see a confirmation dialog box. Click Yes to continue.

Step 4: Restart Explorer to Make Changes Effective

After disabling specific items from the context menu, you need to restart Explorer to make changes effective. So, click on Options again and select Restart Explorer.

Now, click the Yes button on the confirmation dialog box to continue restarting Windows Explorer.

Step 5: Verify Changes in Right-Click Context Menu

After restarting the Explorer, right-click on a file again. You can see that the specific right-click menu item has been removed.

Step 6: Restore Right-Click Context Menu Items using ShellExView

Just like the Registry Editor method, you can restore removed context menu items using ShellExView. Go back to ShellExView and you will see that disabled items are also there. Simply right-click on it and select Enable Selected Items.

Click Yes when you see the confirmation dialog box.

Step 7: Check Restored Context Menu Items

After that Restart the explorer again from Options > Restart Explorer. Once, you have restarted the explorer, right-click on any file to see if the selected item has been restored or not.

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Edit the Right-click Context Menu in Windows 10 and Remove Stale Items

The above tutorial explained two methods to modify the right-click menu in Windows 10. While the first method is native and doesn’t require any third-party utility, the second method uses the ShellExView utility by NirSoft. The second method is well suited for new users while advanced users can make use of the Registry Editor method.

Well, hope you liked this tutorial. In case you still have some suggestions and queries, feel free to share them in the comment section down below. You may also subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates directly in your inbox.