ExplorerClassicContextMenu

Restore the classic Windows 10 style Explorer context menu on Windows 11.

What it does

On launch (or when called), the script:

1. Checks the registry to determine whether the classic context menu is currently enabled or not
2. Displays a status dialog:
   • Already enabled → "Status: ENABLED — Do you want to re-apply it anyway?" (Yes / No)
   • Not enabled → "Status: NOT ENABLED — Do you want to restore the classic menu?" (Yes / No)
3. Yes → writes the required registry key and restarts Explorer to apply changes
4. No → exits with no changes made

Usage

Standalone (run directly)

Just run ExplorerClassicContextMenu.exe (or ExplorerClassicContextMenu.ahk). The status prompt appears automatically.

As a library

Add to your AHK library path, then call from your main script:

#Include <ExplorerClassicContextMenu>

; Default — no tray notifications
ExplorerClassicContextMenu()

; With tray notifications
ExplorerClassicContextMenu(true)

Hotkeys (active when the script window or VS Code is focused)

Hotkey	Action
Ctrl+Alt+Win+E	Run / re-apply classic context menu
Ctrl+Shift+Win+R	Restart Explorer
Ctrl+S	Reload script

Registry key

The script writes an empty REG_SZ value to:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}\InprocServer32

This is the standard, documented method to re-enable the classic context menu — no third-party tools required.

Requirements

• Windows 11
• AutoHotkey v2.0+