One of the most controversial changes Microsoft made in Windows 11 was the complete redesign of the right-click context menu. Instead of showing all available options when you right-click a file, Windows 11 hides most of them behind an extra button called “Show more options” (or Shift + F10).
If you rely on third-party software like 7-Zip, Notepad++, or custom Git commands, this new menu doubles the number of clicks required to perform basic tasks. Fortunately, you can bypass the modern menu and force Windows 11 to display the classic, fully expanded Windows 10 context menu by default using a single Registry command.
How to Restore the Classic Context Menu via Terminal
Instead of manually clicking through the Registry Editor, the safest and fastest way to apply this specific tweak is by running a single line of code in the Command Prompt.
- Click the Start button, type cmd, and run the Command Prompt as Administrator.
- Copy the following command exactly as it is written below:
reg add "HKCU\Software\Classes\CLSID\{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}\InprocServer32" /f /ve - Paste the command into the terminal window and press Enter.
- You should see a message stating “The operation completed successfully.”
Apply the Changes
The Registry has been updated, but the Windows Explorer shell is still using the old settings in its memory cache. You must restart Explorer to see the change.
- Open the Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc).
- Locate Windows Explorer in the list of background processes.
- Right-click it and select Restart.
Your taskbar will disappear for a second and then reload. Now, right-click on any file or folder on your desktop. The annoying “Show more options” button is gone, and the classic, fully expanded context menu will instantly appear on the very first click.