Windows 11 users, who have been demanding fixes for years, have finally received a response from the developers. Microsoft has officially confirmed that it is working on a redesign of the right-click context menu. The updated version will not only be faster and simpler but also customizable to suit individual user habits.
Five years of dissatisfaction
Windows 11 premiered in June 2021, and that is when mass dissatisfaction with the interface began. Developers radically changed the familiar menu, removing most useful functions from it. Instead of instant access to tools, users were forced to deal with the "Show more options" item, where Microsoft hid the main actions.
This logic has led to the fact that performing simple tasks now requires extra clicks. The situation is exacerbated by performance speed: unlike previous versions of the OS, where the menu appeared instantly, in Windows 11 its loading is often accompanied by delays. Furthermore, system updates regularly add items to the menu that most users do not need, bloating the interface.
Microsoft admits the mistake
Official confirmation of work on fixing the problem was given by Marcus Ash, head of the Windows Design and Research division. In his post on the social network X, he stated that the company intends to make context menus faster, simpler by default, and customizable depending on which functions the user uses most often.
"We are working to make context menus faster, simpler by default, and customizable based on what you use most often," Ash wrote, promising to share details of the company's approach soon.
Why Microsoft was late
The idea of simplifying the menu by hiding items was born out of a desire to solve a problem that had accumulated since the days of Windows XP. Over the years, the context menu grew as third-party software developers added their own functions for quick access. In Windows 11, Microsoft tried to solve the problem of interface "cleanliness," but in the end, they hid not "additional" but the most necessary tools under a button.
Moreover, the menu itself began to take up more space on the screen due to increased margins between items, which developers called a design feature rather than a mistake. However, over the five years since the release, users did not wait for the developers' mercy. The market has been filled with dozens of third-party utilities that restore the menu to its familiar look, making the official fix from Microsoft a factually belated solution.