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How to Disable ‘Show More Options’ in Windows 11

By Bibek

How to Disable ‘Show More Options’ in Windows 11

One of the UI redesigns Microsoft did while going from Windows 10 to Windows 11 was a different right-click context menu. You no longer see familiar options such Refresh in the new Windows 11 right-click context menu. To see these menu options, you now have to first select “Show more options.”

Having the context-menu UI redesigned this way does make it feel less cluttered and more organized. However, accessing some frequently used options has now become a two-step process. You can, of course, use the shortcut Shift + F10 to access the full right-click context menu, but then that’s one more thing to remember and not very conducive to a GUI-based experience now, is it?

If you are a frequent right-click context menu user and have grown tired at the sight of “Show more options,” worry not, for we will show you how to rid yourself of it and get the old menu back. All you need to do is stay with us and read along.

Disabling “Show More Option” via the Command Prompt

You can input a registry command via the command prompt which will make the “Show more options” in right-click context menu go away and you will get the same old context menu in the style of Windows 10. How do you do that, you say? Well, worry not. Here’s how you do it:

  1. Launch the elevated command prompt. (Press Win + R, type in cmd and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter)
  2. Input the following code in the command prompt and press enter:
    reg add HKCU\Software\Classes\CLSID\{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}\InprocServer32 /ve /d "" /f
    DisableShowMoreOptionsCommandPrompt
  3. Restart Windows Explorer.

This will then disable “Show more options” in right click context menu,

If you want to go back and enable “Show more options,” please follow these steps:

  1. Launch the elevated command prompt.
  2. Input the following code in the command prompt and press enter:
    reg delete HKCU\Software\Classes\CLSID\{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}\InprocServer32 /f
    EnableShowMoreOptionsCommandPrompt
  3. Restart Windows Explorer
Note: Some users have reported that reg add ... and reg delete ... commands have not worked. In that case, try reg.exe add ... and reg.exe delete ... instead.

Disabling “Show More Options” via Registry Editor

Another method of disabling “Show more options” is by editing the registry.

Note: It might be a good idea to back up your registry before making some changes to it in case you make a mistake.

Please follow the steps below to edit the registry to disable “Show more options”:

  1. Press Win + R and type in regedit.
  2. Navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\CLASSES\CLSID.
  3. Right-click CLSID and click on New > Key.
    RegistryCLSIDDisableRightClickShowMoreOptionsWin11
  4. Rename the new key to: {86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}
  5. Right click on {86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2} and click on New > Key.
    RegistryCLSIDNewKeyNewKeyDisableRightClickShowMoreOptionsWin11
  6. Rename this new key to: InprocServer32.
  7. Double click on the Default registry within InprocServer32 and make sure that entry Value data is empty.
    RegistryCLSIDNewKeyInprocServer32DefaultDisableRightClickShowMoreOptionsWin11
  8. Restart Windows Explorer.

To Enable “Show more options” Back in the Right-Click Context Menu:

  1. Press Win + R and type in regedit.
  2. Navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\CLASSES\CLSID.
  3. Delete the key: {86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}.
  4. Restart Windows Explorer.

How Do I Enable Classic Explorer in Windows 11

If you are missing the file explorer ribbon in Windows 11, you will have to modify the registry. As usual, we recommend backing up the registry before you foray in there. Please follow the steps below:

  1. Press Win + R and type in regedit
  2. Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Shell Extensions
  3. Right-click Shell Extension and create a new key.
  4. Rename the new key Blocked
  5. Add new String value to Blocked and rename it to {e2bf9676-5f8f-435c-97eb-11607a5bedf7}
    RegistryEnableClassicRibbonExplorerWin11
  6. Restart Windows Explorer
Note: As an added bonus, you will find that “Show more options” has been disabled from file and folder specific context menus.

To remove the classic ribbon in windows explorer, simply delete the registry key “Blocked” and restart Windows Explorer.