This Microsoft app update reminded me how much I hate the Windows 11 context menu

PowerToys New+ feature.

What you need to know

• Microsoft PowerToys has received an update that brings the app to version 0.85.
• The update adds a New+ utility that allows you to use templates to create files and folders through File Explorer.
• PowerToys 0.85 also ships several fixes to the app.

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Microsoft PowerToys just received an update that adds a new utility to the app. Version 0.85 of PowerToys ships the New+ feature, which lets you use templates to quickly create files and folders through File Explorer. The update also adds the ability to select the UI language used by PowerToys utilities.

As is usually the case with an update to PowerToys, version 0.85 includes a lengthy list of changes and fixes that improve the app. I recommend installing PowerToys to just about anyone that will listen, and now is a great time to hop on board if you've never used the app.

While the latest version of PowerToys and its added New+ feature work well, testing them highlighted a frustration I've had with Windows 11 for years. If you're only interested in what's new in PowerToys 0.85, you can jump to the change log below, which was shared on the PowerToys GitHub page.

Windows 11's horrible context menu

The New+ feature in PowerToys is fine on its own. It works as advertised and makes it easier to create folders from templates. But testing it out reminded me how much of a mess the default context menu in Windows 11 is. The context menu is cluttered, has multiple layers, and mixes how it displays options.

I'm hardly the first person to complain about the Windows 11 context menu. That thing has been a mess since Microsoft first introduced it. In a way, the context menu on Windows 11 is the perfect example of how difficult it is to blend a modern interface with legacy support.

I believe Microsoft's intention was to create a context menu that shows the most commonly used options on a first click while maintaining more niche options behind the "Show more options" section. But the end result is a menu with two different designs that scale differently.

When you click an item in File Explorer or on your desktop, a context menu with a mixture of text and icons appears. While I learned what all the icons mean quickly, the layout of the menu hardly seems to line up with Microsoft's push for accessibility.

Microsoft worked to improve the context menu when making Windows 11, and there are some key improvements, but I think the feature is far from where it should be. I suppose it takes time to fix a feature that grew "in an unregulated environment for 20 years, since Windows XP, when IContextMenu was introduced," which Microsoft highlighted several years ago.

PowerToys 0.85

Highlights

• New utility: New+ - allows setting a personalized set of templates to quickly create files and folders from a File Explorer context menu. Thanks @cgaarden!
• Language selection - it's now possible to select which UI language should be used by PowerToys utilities.
• Lots of quality fixes for Workspaces, improving the number of supported applications.
• Reduced Peek memory usage by fixing image leaks. Thanks @daverayment!

General

• Added a general setting to select which UI language should be used in PowerToys utilities.
• Fixed internal code of some policies for Group Policy Objects, that were reading registry entries using the wrong internal functions, and structured code better to avoid future mistakes of the same kind. Thanks @htcfreek!

Advanced Paste

• Fixed some telemetry calls to signal Advanced Paste activation on the cases where a direct shortcut is being used without showing the UI.
• User-defined custom actions can only be used with AI turned on, so custom actions were disabled on Settings when AI is disabled and were hidden from the Advanced Paste UI.

Awake

• Fixed tray icon behaviors, not appearing and showing incorrect time. Thanks @dend!

Environment Variables Editor

• Added the _NT_SYMBOL_PATH, _NT_ALT_SYMBOL_PATH and _NT_SYMCACHE_PATH as variables that are shown as lists. Thanks @chwarr!

FancyZones

• Allow snapping applications that were launched by Workspaces.

File Locksmith

• Fixed an issue causing File Locksmith to be triggered by unrelated verbs in the context menu.

Mouse Pointer Crosshairs

• Allow crosshairs radius to be 0 pixels. Thanks @octastylos-pseudodipteros!

New+

• New utility - Allows setting a personalized set of templates to quickly create files and folders from a File Explorer context menu. Thanks @cgaarden!
• Added missing entry for New+ policy state reporting in the Bug Report tool. Thanks @htcfreek!
• Added a policy for enabling/disabling whether filename extensions should be shown. Thanks @htcfreek!

Peek

• Properly show file's modified date instead of creation date in the file previewer. Thanks @daverayment!
• Fixed memory leak caused by unmanaged bitmap images not being freed. Thanks @daverayment!
• Fixed an issue causing Peek to not be displayed the first time when using a preview handler to display files. Thanks @davidegiacometti!
• Prevent tooltip in file previewer from overlapping with title bar controls. Thanks @daverayment!
• Fixed memory leaks in thumbnails and refactored image previewer. Thanks @daverayment!

PowerToys Run

• Improved the message boxes to be more specific when PowerToys Run failed to initialize itself or any plugin. Thanks @davidegiacometti!
• Use capital letters when showing degree results in the Unit Converter plugin. Thanks @PesBandi!

Quick Accent

• Add the Middle Eastern Romanization character set. Thanks @PesBandi!
• Add the degree sign, integral and vertical ellipsis when "All Languages" is selected. Thanks @rddunphy!

Settings

• Fixed the link to the Workspaces documentation. (This was a hotfix for 0.84)
• Fixed flyout issues after the Windows App SDK upgrade. Thanks @davidegiacometti!
• Fixed initialization for the New+ settings page. Thanks @htcfreek!
• Fixed enabled state of a control on the New+ settings page if the module is enabled by policy. Thanks @htcfreek!
• Fixed a crash when cancelling the template folder selection in the New+ settings page.

Workspaces

• Fixed detecting and snapping applications like Discord. (This was a hotfix for 0.84)
• Fixed detecting and snapping applications like Steam. (This was a hotfix for 0.84)
• Fixed button visibility in the UI. (This was a hotfix for 0.84)
• Fixed an issue launching the wrong project when the editor was closed without saving or cancelling a new project.
• Properly handle repositioning windows running as administrator.
• Properly handle cases where the monitor where a workspace was saved is no longer present.
• Fixed the workspace launcher restarting itself in a loop without success.
• Properly handle standalone applications.
• Fixed issues causing icons to not show.