How to Reconfigure the Hidden Context Menu and Unlock Power Tweaks in Windows

Windows has always tucked away powerful features behind menus and toggles that most people never discover. One of the handiest—but often overlooked—is the “Show hidden items” toggle in File Explorer. Pair that with customizing the new Windows 11 context menu, and you can speed up your workflow dramatically.

In this post, I’ll show you how to:

Reconfigure the Windows 11 hidden context menu (aka the “classic right-click menu”).
Add the “Show hidden items” toggle to a quick-access shortcut.
Apply a few bonus tweaks for faster navigation.

1. Understanding the Hidden Context Menu in Windows 11

If you’ve upgraded to Windows 11, you’ve probably noticed the simplified right-click menu. Many familiar options like “Open with” or “Properties” are hidden behind the “Show more options” button (or pressing Shift + F10).

This streamlined menu looks modern, but power users may prefer having direct access to the old context menu.

How to restore the classic right-click menu:

Open Registry Editor (press Win + R, type regedit, hit Enter).
Navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID
Right-click CLSID → New → Key. Name it: {86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}
Inside that new key, create another key called: InprocServer32
Double-click the (Default) value in InprocServer32 and leave it blank (hit OK).
Restart Windows Explorer (or reboot).

Now, every right-click will bring up the full classic context menu by default—no extra clicks needed.

2. Adding a Shortcut for “Show Hidden Items”

In File Explorer, the “Show hidden items” toggle is buried under the View → Show submenu. Power users often need it quickly, especially when digging into system folders.

Here are two ways to speed it up:

Option A: Keyboard Shortcut

Open File Explorer.
Press Alt + V (opens the View menu).
Then press H.

This sequence toggles hidden items instantly. You can train your muscle memory to make it second nature.

Option B: Quick Access Toolbar

Open File Explorer.
Click the down-arrow at the top (Customize Quick Access Toolbar).
Select More Commands….
Under “Choose commands from,” pick View Tab.
Add Hidden items to the Quick Access Toolbar.

Now you’ll have a one-click toggle button pinned above Explorer, always visible.

3. Bonus Tweaks for Faster File Management

While you’re tweaking, here are two other handy tricks:

Assign a hotkey to File Explorer views:
Right-click File Explorer’s shortcut → Properties → Shortcut tab. In “Shortcut key,” set something like Ctrl + Alt + E for instant Explorer access.
Enable file extensions quickly:
Press Alt + V, F in Explorer to toggle “File name extensions.” Another small but mighty shortcut.

With a few tweaks, you can take Windows’ hidden menus and toggles from annoying to empowering:

Restore the classic context menu for speed.
Use a keyboard shortcut or toolbar button to toggle hidden items instantly.
Layer on additional quick-access tweaks for file extensions, Explorer views, and more.

These changes don’t require third-party tools—just a little configuration. Once you set them up, everyday file management feels smoother and snappier.