Edit context menu in Windows 10 - how it works

The context menu in Windows 10 grows with every newly installed program. You can also edit the menu and delete unnecessary entries. We show you how to do this.

Edit Windows 10 context menu: delete entries

To change entries from the context menu, you have to edit the registry. Since the context menu entries are distributed over many different registry keys, we explain the procedure here as an example for one of them:

1. Open the Run window with the key combination [Win] + [R], type "regedit" and confirm with [Enter].
2. Open the key "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT" in the registry by clicking on the small arrow next to it.
3. Now change to the path "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT / AllFileSystemObjects / shell /" in the same way.
4. There is a separate folder for each entry in the context menu. Click on the desired folder and open the file contained in it with a double click.
5. Complete the entry under "Value" with any letter sequence, for example "ABC" and confirm with "OK".
6. The entry is now invalid, the entry in the context menu should have disappeared. If this is not the case, you should undo the change and try another key.

Delete context menu entries: The correct registry keys

The context menu entry that you want to delete is in one of the following keys. Search through all of the directories listed here until you find the key you want:

• HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ * \ shellex \ ContextMenuHandlers
• HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ AllFileSystemObjects \ shell
• HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ AllFileSystemObjects \ shellex \ ContextMenuHandlers
• HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ Folder \ shell
• HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ Folder \ shellex \ ContextMenuHandlers
• HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ Directory \ shell
• Do the same with these keys as in our example.

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In the next practical tip, we will show you how to clean up your computer with the CCleaner.