Windows – Restore Missing “New” or “New Folder” Option in Desktop and Explorer Context Menu in Windows 7

context menuwindowswindows 7windows-explorerwindows-registry

I have gone through number of blogs and have seen the below steps to restore the new option.

Type regedit in RUN dialog box and press Enter. Now go to following key:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Background\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\
Now create a new key "New" under "ContextMenuHandlers" key.
Select "New" key and in right-side pane, set the value of Default to:

{D969A300-E7FF-11d0-A93B-00A0C90F2719}
Close Registry Editor and you'll get the missing "New" option back in context menu.

However I do not have the same structure. Currently the structure in my PC is –

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\DefaultIcon
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shellex

I have applied the changes under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\New. It does not resolve the issue. Please help me to fix the issue.

Best Answer

If the following branch does not exist, you need to create it.

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Background\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers

Alternately, use the following REG file to create the key and the (default) value data automatically.

Copy the following lines to Notepad, and save the file with .REG extension ("new.reg"). Double-click the file to apply the settings to the registry.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Background\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\New]
@="{D969A300-E7FF-11d0-A93B-00A0C90F2719}"

Related Solutions

Windows – How to add programs in context menu on desktop at one context name

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\DesktopBackground\Shell\MyMenu]
"MUIVerb"="&My Menu"
"SubCommands"="MyMenu.mycmd1;MyMenu.mycmd2;MyMenu.mycmd3"
"Icon"="shell32.dll,43"
"Position"="Bottom"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CommandStore\shell\MyMenu.mycmd1]
@="&Paint"
"Icon"="C:\\Windows\\System32\\Mspaint.exe"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CommandStore\shell\MyMenu.mycmd1\command]
@="C:\\Windows\\System32\\Mspaint.exe"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CommandStore\shell\MyMenu.mycmd2]
@="&Notepad"
"icon"="C:\\Windows\\System32\\Notepad.exe"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CommandStore\shell\MyMenu.mycmd2\command]
@="C:\\Windows\\System32\\Notepad.exe"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CommandStore\shell\MyMenu.mycmd3]
@="&Calculator"
"Icon"="C:\\Windows\\System32\\Calc.exe"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CommandStore\shell\MyMenu.mycmd3\command]
@="C:\\Windows\\System32\\Calc.exe"

The above saved as a .REG file and imported into the registry will result in the following being added to the Desktop's context menu only:

Modify as required and enjoy. :)

Windows – “Create new text document” option missing from context menu

I gained access to another PC running Windows 7, a computer on which the context menu was intact. I peeked at the registry of this machine and copied exactly what was entered. Doing so resolved the problem on my desktop with the broken context menu.

Following all the instructions listed above, the two Strings within the .txt key that I needed were Content Type and PerceivedType.

So then to recap, if you are facing a similar issue, here is what I did to fix this problem. Hopefully it works for you as well.

(First backup the Registry.)

Open regedit.exe
Expand HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT and look for a .txt key. If none exist, create one.
Within the .txt key, create two new Strings: Content Type and PerceivedType.
(Right click) Modify... and the value for Default should be txtfile.
(Right click) Modify... and the value for Content Type should be text/plain.
(Right click) Modify... and the value for PerceivedType should be text.
Create a new key with the name ShellNew within the .txt key.
Within the ShellNew key, create a new String with the name NullFile.
Within the ShellNew key, create a new Expandable String Value with the name ItemName.
(Right click) Modify... and the value for ItemName should be @%SystemRoot%\system32\notepad.exe,-470

Here are two screenshots of what the final outcome should be:

Enter image description here

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Windows – How to add programs in context menu on desktop at one context name

Windows – “Create new text document” option missing from context menu

Related Question