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How to Add Program Shortcuts and Other Useful Shortcuts with Icons in Desktop Context Menu in Windows 7 and Later?

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UPDATE: This tutorial will also work in Windows 8 and later OS versions.

Today we’ll learn how to add any desired program shortcut in Desktop context menu. Also we’ll learn to add other useful shortcuts like “Change Wallpaper”, “Screensaver”, etc.

We have posted a few similar tutorials long time back:

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Above tutorials do the same job but there is some difference between these old methods and the new one which we’ll discuss today.

In old method, we can’t define program icon and the option position in context menu but this new method will allow you to set an icon for the shortcut as well as define its position like on top or bottom.

So here we start the tutorial:

1. Type regedit in RUN or Start Menu search box and press Enter. It’ll open Registry Editor.

2. Now go to:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\DesktopBackground\Shell

3. Now we’ll need to create a new key under “Shell” key. Right-click on “Shell” key and select “New -> Key“. Give the new key any desired name e.g. “Registry Editor” (without quotes).

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4. Now we’ll need to create another new key. Right-click on the new key which we created in the last step e.g. Registry Editor and select “New -> Key“. Give the new key name of command.

5. Now select “command” key and in right-side pane, you’ll see “Default” String value. Double-click on it and set its value to the path of desired program’s EXE file. For example, if you want to add “Registry Editor” shortcut, then set value of “Default” to regedit.exe

Adding_Program_Key.png

NOTE: If you want to add a shortcut to any desired folder for example E:\Downloads, then put explorer “E:\Downloads” in value of (Default) under command key. Here double-quotes “” are necessary.

6. Now the new shortcut will start appearing in Desktop Context Menu.

New_Program_Shortcut.png

7. Now some advanced options!

You can now define the shortcut icon and position.

To set an icon for the shortcut, select the key created in Step 3 and in right-side pane, create a new String value “Icon“. Set its value to your desired icon or simply put the path of program’s EXE file and it’ll automatically show its default icon.

To set its position in the context menu, create a new String value “Position” and set its value to:

Top (To show it at top)
Bottom (To show it at bottom)

Adding_Program_Key2.png

That’s it. Now you’ll see an icon near the program shortcut and its new position.

New_Program_Shortcut2.png

8. If you want a ready-made registry script to do the task automatically, then copy paste following code in Notepad and save the file with name “AskVG.REG” (including quotes).

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\DesktopBackground\Shell\regedit]
@="Registry Editor"
"Icon"="regedit.exe"
"Position"="Bottom"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\DesktopBackground\Shell\regedit\command]
@="regedit.exe"

Run the file and it’ll add the program shortcut in Desktop context menu.

To add shortcut of a folder, use following registry code:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\DesktopBackground\Shell\downloads]
@="Downloads"
"Position"="Bottom"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\DesktopBackground\Shell\downloads\command]
@="explorer \"D:\\Downloads\""

If you want to add other program shortcut, then simply change the BOLD part in the script.

NOTE: You can use this method to add any desired program shortcut or to add various useful shortcuts in Desktop context menu. You just need to simply change the Key name and the value of “command” key to the correct path.

Change_Wallpaper.png Change_Screensaver.png System_Properties-1.png

PS: Also check out our exclusive tools to add useful shortcuts in Desktop context menu quickly and easily:

Right Click Context Menu Adder: Freeware to Add Useful Shortcuts in Desktop Context Menu

DeskIntegrator: Portable Utility to Add Program Shortcuts in Desktop Context Menu

Also Check:

Add Cascading Menus for Programs in Desktop and Computer Context Menus in Windows

Published in: Windows 7, Windows 8

About the author: Vishal Gupta (also known as VG) has been awarded with Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) award. He holds Masters degree in Computer Applications (MCA). He has written several tech articles for popular newspapers and magazines and has also appeared in tech shows on various TV channels.

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Comments

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  1. i have a file having extension .blt . i have created one application through which u can open this file . Now my application can be opened in 2 mode , one is GUI mode and other is console mode …so to make the user comfortbale with my application i want to add this 2 option in my context menu .
    could you please give me some idea how to do it

    please do reply soon……..

    Thankx in adv .

  3. I want to have a context menu specifically for when I right-click on certain files anywhere in windows.

    For example, if I click on a .zip or .rar file, I automatically get “extract here”, “extract to folder”, “extract to…” options in the right-click menu. I want to add a right-click option whenever I click on .png, .gif, .pdf files to add the file to pngwinout to automatically shrink the png. How would I do this?

  5. Hey Vishal!
    Just created my first custom W 7 Ultimate x64 Disc using RT Seven Lite, since installing to my new SSD only certain reg files will work. Ones that work are: Take ownership, restore ownership, open with notepad and restart explorer with a batch file in the root of my drive, also open in new window and copy to as well as move to both work as well.

    The other entries have been properly added to the registry but no item appears in right click context menu! Lots of these are scripts downloaded from your site and I have double checked to be sure they are correct and even taken permissions on the registry key (properly) that Ive needed to, such as the example below:
    I have tried Under H_K_L_M\Software\Classes\CLSID\20D04FE0…..\shell entries I have tried adding to this key are windows update, services, reg edit, device manager,
    the items appear in the registry but nothing shows in my computer context menu. Very confused even tried researching to no avail. Please help! Sorry if I should have contacted another way rather than comment, your team and you FREAKING rock! ANY help would be so kindly appreciated.

    Keep up the good work Vishal and team! Amazing stuff!

  6. ^^ Sorry to say but there is nothing to do when you install a customized version of Windows. Did you remove any component from Windows setup? It might be possible that some Registry keys or files are missing from your Windows installation which are causing this issue.

  8. omg this worked!!!!! 😀 Stuff you start menu, my new friend CONTeXT MeNU is here mwahahahahaha!

  9. Hi VG,

    I created a context menu which launches Google Chrome with a hard-coded url (all good)
    The command looks like this:”C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\new_chrome.exe” oracle.com

    it works fine

    I would like to launch the browser by right-click in a textbox which contains a url and pass it to Google Chrome. something like this
    “C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\new_chrome.exe” https:// & parameterFromTextbox

    Is it possible?

  10. ^^ Sorry but I dont think its possible. May be achieved by writing some programming code but I cant help much.

  14. How can I create a context menu item to open My computer in windows 7?
    I had followed your steps but still when I type explorer.exe computer or explorer.exe “computer” or
    my computer & my computer’s name, it opens Documents, & when I type explorer.exe , it opens libraries.
    What to do in this case?
    Thanks in advance

  16. I’ve added two context menus “Select” and “Compare” to a particular file type and this is the order of menu:
    Open
    Compare
    New
    Print
    Select
    …
    But I want them to be in this order
    Open
    Select
    Compare
    Other default options

    I tried using Top value for Position but it is making “Open” to come down. Is there any way to
    get the desired order of Menu

    thanks in advance

  17. ^^ When you create new key, set its name starting with a number such as 1, 2 and so on. It’ll put those options at top of others in context menu.

  18. I have custom software which pops up when I use the keyboard shortcut “Alt+C”. I would like to put the “Alt+C” feature in the right click menu. I understand how to add this to the right click menu but I don’t know how to get the “Alt+C” command to work. Also, how can I execute this by hovering instead of clicking?
    I would appreciate any suggestions.
    Thank you.
    Ken

  19. How can I create a desktop context menu for a game in steam is it at all possible?

    I can get steam to load no problems, But I want it to open the game directly. Normal way I have done it is I create a desktop shortcut for the game from steam and click.

    this is the URL (steam://rungameid/230410

    Thanks Gleb

  21. Hi,

    I have a question and I hope you can help me out. I want to add my own logo to my PC desktop without using an APP . Is there a way in registry maybe or something else how to control my logo. It is simple I want to add my logo in the right top corner but I can not find a way. I hope you will contact me. Ty once again.

    Kind regards,
    Nevzet Imsirovic

  22. ^^ You can modify the current wallpaper image in Adobe Photoshop or any other image editing software and then put the desired logo on desired position. After that set the image as Desktop wallpaper.

  23. The ready-made registry script to add the download shortcut does not open the download folder it opens up the documents folder can you tell me how to fix this please??

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