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

166 answers

Sort by: Oldest
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Deleted

    This answer has been deleted due to a violation of our Code of Conduct. The answer was manually reported or identified through automated detection before action was taken. Please refer to our Code of Conduct for more information.

    Comments have been turned off. Learn more

  2. Deleted

    This answer has been deleted due to a violation of our Code of Conduct. The answer was manually reported or identified through automated detection before action was taken. Please refer to our Code of Conduct for more information.

    Comments have been turned off. Learn more

  3. Anonymous
    2023-01-29T11:57:57+00:00

    While yea it's annoying to have to relearn something having the most commonly used items closer to your cursor is quite literally just more efficient. If we had the icons from the get-go then you would be making the opposite argument of "why did they remove the buttons and add a long menu." As soon as you get used to it which I believe you can since you're a big girl you'll understand that it's a fair bit faster. I've never seen so many people so upset that something was improved upon like is it actually that hard to remember what a pair of scissors mean? Microsoft made a number of **** with windows 11 but this just seems like pure incompetence on the consumer side.

    p.s windows 11 works and feels nothing like a mac. Spend a day using mac os and realize you have to spend 20 dollars for an app that gives you the ability to drag split screen and you'll realize quickly. Not to mention it doesn't even auto-resize the window you have to do that yourself.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2023-01-29T11:58:24+00:00

    The most used items have literally been moved from the bottom......to the top. That's all they did, they moved them from the bottom....to the top. You don't even have to click the sub-menu. They literally just moved them CLOSER to your cursor. How are people actually confused by this?

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  5. Anonymous
    2023-01-29T15:54:51+00:00

    As soon as we get used to it, they'll change it to something else. Luckily, there's a registry entry you an make that fixes this nonsense. The copy icon could easily mean paste and vice versa. The icons used are not intuitive and perhaps you're not actually copying and pasting anything important, but I am and I don't want to copy something I intended to paste over.... especially if I just cut it.

    Moving the menu to the center is nice for an option, but now I have to help each user change it.

    "It has to be said: Windows 11 looks more like macOS than ever: plonked right at the bottom of the screen is what looks like the Dock from macOS; application windows have rounded corners just like in macOS and Mac OS X before it;" -MacWorld

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments