Microsoft is testing a new system for Windows 11 right-click menus, allowing users to personalise actions and layouts, promising a faster, more adaptable experience.
Microsoft is preparing a significant rethink of Windows 11’s right-click menus, with a new customisation system that should make them quicker to use and easier to adapt to individual workflows. Windows Central, which first tracked the overhaul, says the feature has now appeared in recent preview builds and includes a dedicated “customise” entry at the foot of the menu that opens the relevant settings page.
The change goes beyond simple decluttering. Users will be able to switch individual actions on or off, including options such as “Send to”, “Create shortcut”, “Copy as path”, “Rotate image”, app extensions and cloud-storage actions. Microsoft is also adding controls for how the primary commands, such as cut, copy and paste, are presented. By default, those actions appear in a horizontal strip at the top of the menu, but the new setting allows them to return to the older vertical layout familiar from Windows 10.
That matters because the current Windows 11 context menu has often been criticised for hiding useful commands behind extra clicks and for feeling slower than the version it replaced. Windows Central says Microsoft is treating the new design as the default experience, with most optional items turned off unless users choose to add them back. The result should be a lighter menu out of the box, with more depth available only for people who want it.
The legacy context menu is still present, according to Windows Central, although it is no longer exposed in the default interface. Users will reportedly still be able to enable it, but Microsoft is not offering a way to make it the system-wide default. The changes fit a wider effort to modernise Windows 11’s interface, with Microsoft also updating other parts of the operating system to be more consistent and responsive. Windows Central says an official announcement could come within the next week or two.
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