In Windows 11, the right-click menu has been simplified, hiding convenient items such as "Send to". In this article, we show you how to restore the classic Windows 10-style menu.

The Problem

The right-click menu in Windows 11 differs from earlier versions in the following ways, which can be somewhat inconvenient if you are used to the old behavior

• The "Send to" menu is hidden
• Frequently used commands are tucked away under "Show more options"
• You need to hold the Shift key while right-clicking

The Solution

You can change the setting using PowerShell

1. Prepare the PowerShell Script

Create the following code as a file named "restore_right_click_menu.ps1". Save it with SHIFT-JIS encoding

# Must be run with administrator privileges
if (-NOT ([Security.Principal.WindowsPrincipal][Security.Principal.WindowsIdentity]::GetCurrent()).IsInRole([Security.Principal.WindowsBuiltInRole] "Administrator")) {   
    Write-Warning "Please run this script as an administrator."
    break
}

# Define the registry path
$RegistryPath = "HKCU:\Software\Classes\CLSID\{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}\InprocServer32"

# Create the path if it does not exist
if (!(Test-Path $RegistryPath)) {
    New-Item -Path $RegistryPath -Force | Out-Null
}

# Set the (Default) value to an empty string
Set-ItemProperty -Path $RegistryPath -Name "(Default)" -Value "" -Force

Write-Host "Configuration complete. A PC restart is required to apply the change."
Write-Host "Restart now? (Y/N)"
$restart = Read-Host

if ($restart -eq 'Y' -or $restart -eq 'y') {
    Restart-Computer -Force
} else {
    Write-Host "Please restart manually later."
}

You can also download the script above from here

https://qualiteg.com/blog_downloads/restore_right_click_menu.zip

2. Run the Script

1. Open PowerShell with administrator privileges
2. Navigate to the folder containing the script

Change the execution policy

Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned

Run the script

.\restore_right_click_menu.ps1

3. Restart

• After running the script, a PC restart is required
• The script lets you choose whether to restart immediately

How to Revert the Change

If you want to go back to the original Windows 11 style, run the following command in a PowerShell session with administrator privileges

Remove-Item -Path "HKCU:\Software\Classes\CLSID\{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}" -Recurse

Summary

With this configuration change

• The classic right-click menu is restored
• The "Send to" menu is shown again
• You no longer need to hold the Shift key

With the steps above, we have brought back the familiar Windows 10-style right-click menu.