Microsoft is developing a 'Split ContextMenu' for its WinUI 3 applications on Windows 11, aiming to streamline the sometimes cluttered right-click menus. Revealed in a WinUI Community call on 2025-11-05, this feature helps keep the primary menu concise by moving less frequently used options to a secondary, extendable menu.
Details of the New Feature
The 'Split ContextMenu' feature allows developers to organize options efficiently. An example demonstrated 'Open in Photos' as a primary choice while redirecting less commonly used applications like Paint and Snipping Tool to a second fly-out menu. Some standard options like rotate, copy, and OneDrive entries were absent from the demo's primary menu.
Current Scope and Potential Changes
The new feature is expected to initially affect WinUI 3-based applications. It's implemented via the Windows App SDK, a toolkit for developing Windows apps. The company has not confirmed whether similar changes will apply to File Explorer's context menus or system-wide menus in the future.
Currently, users resort to tricky registry tweaks or third-party tools for menu customization. An integrated system settings panel for right-click menu alterations could be a welcome improvement.
This update indicates Microsoft might be moving toward reducing clutter in Windows 11's context menus, enhancing user experience by providing more straightforward navigation.
