Windows 11 File Explorer Right-click Menu was changed to include icons

Anonymous
2021-12-06T15:53:47+00:00

Who did this and why do they do it (see picture below)? The File Explorer right-click menu has had the options: Cut, Copy, Paste, Rename, Delete listed (as words) in this menu FOREVER and now some genius decided that after all these years, Windows users are too dumb to read. The words were replaced with icons. THIS IS SO ANNOYING. THE MUSCLE MEMORY IN MY HANDS IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO RETRAIN AFTER YEARS OF THE MENU BEING THE SAME WAY. Now I have to stop and think about something that I've done instinctively for years. I can get to the ORIGINAL right-click menu by selecting "Show More Options," shown in the photo below, but WHY SHOULD I HAVE TO, THAT'S AN EXTRA STEP? If I am intelligent enough to boot up a computer, then certainly I can read the words: Cut, Copy, Paste, Rename and Delete. I don't need you to create icons to represent those functions. IF IT'S NOT BROKEN THEN DON'T TRY TO FIX IT. STOP DUMBING DOWN THE SOFTWARE AND MAKING THINGS HARDER PLEASE.

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Files, folders, and storage

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments No comments

166 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
  1. Anonymous
    2023-07-26T15:56:16+00:00

    I wonder if anyone knows how to change the icons ( I mean i'm looking into it but I know it's a lot of messing about to find the DLL and make adjustments) It's just it would make more sense if the icons were more relevant.

    For instance the Copy Icon and the Paste icon are both two rectangles, one subtley looks like a clipboard (Paste). The problem of course is that they are similar and slow you up (if you are doing something quickly) everytime trying to work out if you are about to copy something or paste over something.

    What I would do is change the paste to look like a Gluepot (to reference paste) that way it's completely different from copy.

    Was this answer helpful?

    2 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments No comments
  2. Anonymous
    2023-06-27T03:07:26+00:00

    Bring the rename function back. This was a HORRIBLE user experience decision.

    Was this answer helpful?

    2 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments No comments
  3. Anonymous
    2023-05-02T23:15:53+00:00

    And ... stuff like this is why I dread every "upgrade" and avoid it as long as I can.

    Was this answer helpful?

    2 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments No comments
  4. Anonymous
    2023-03-16T22:08:55+00:00

    Agreed....STUPID MICROSOFT

    Was this answer helpful?

    2 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments No comments
  5. Anonymous
    2023-03-07T16:23:34+00:00

    I agree. Each day this change involves many more mouse actions than before and is extremely irritating. All-in-all I find the changes that WIndows 11 makes over Windows 10 irksome in the extreme.

    Was this answer helpful?

    2 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments No comments