How to add ‘Settings’ Cascading Context Menu in Windows 10?

A context menu gives you quick access to settings or programs that you frequently use so that you don’t have to go to their default location. Think of it as a shortcut to a Windows feature or setting. In Windows, the context menu can be accessed with a right mouse click.

When Microsoft introduced Windows 10, most of the settings in the Control Panel were moved to the ‘Settings’ app, and by the look of things, Microsoft may be planning to do away with the good old Control Panel in future.

The Settings user interface is organized into different categories and subcategories, including Cortana, Ease of Access, Privacy, Devices, System, Phone, Network & Internet, Personalization, Accounts, Time & Language, Gaming, Apps, and Update & Security.

Today’s tutorial will show you how to create cascade menus and add them to the Windows 10 Desktop.

How to Add “Settings” Cascading Context Menu on the Desktop in Windows 10

To access ‘Settings’ directly from your Desktop context menu, you need to make several changes to your Registry. But before you proceed, you need to understand that changes to Windows Registry can modify or delete values, which might cause some components to stop functioning correctly.

However, to prevent you from making a mistake, we’ve provided you with a ready script that you will copy and paste into Notepad before implementing it.

So, here’s what you need to do:

1. Press “Start” and type notepad.
2. Select the top result, which should be “Notepad”.
3. Copy and paste the following script onto a blank “Notepad” page:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\DesktopBackground\Shell\Settings]

“Position”=”Middle”

“Icon”=”SystemSettingsBroker.exe”

“SubCommands”=””

; Settings home

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\DesktopBackground\Shell\Settings\shell\01subcmd]

“Icon”=”SystemSettingsBroker.exe”

“MUIVerb”=”Settings”

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\DesktopBackground\Shell\Settings\shell\01subcmd\command]

@=”explorer ms-settings:”

; System

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\DesktopBackground\Shell\Settings\shell\02subcmd]

“CommandFlags”=dword:00000020

“MUIVerb”=”System”

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\DesktopBackground\Shell\Settings\shell\02subcmd\command]

@=”explorer ms-settings:display”

; Devices

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\DesktopBackground\Shell\Settings\shell\03subcmd]

“MUIVerb”=”Devices”

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\DesktopBackground\Shell\Settings\shell\03subcmd\command]

@=”explorer ms-settings:bluetooth”

; Network & Internet

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\DesktopBackground\Shell\Settings\shell\04subcmd]

“MUIVerb”=”Network && Internet”

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\DesktopBackground\Shell\Settings\shell\04subcmd\command]

@=”explorer ms-settings:network”

; Personalization

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\DesktopBackground\Shell\Settings\shell\05subcmd]

“MUIVerb”=”Personalization”

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\DesktopBackground\Shell\Settings\shell\05subcmd\command]

@=”explorer ms-settings:personalization”

; Apps

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\DesktopBackground\Shell\Settings\shell\06subcmd]

“MUIVerb”=”Apps”

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\DesktopBackground\Shell\Settings\shell\06subcmd\command]

@=”explorer ms-settings:appsfeatures”

; Accounts

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\DesktopBackground\Shell\Settings\shell\07subcmd]

“MUIVerb”=”Accounts”

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\DesktopBackground\Shell\Settings\shell\07subcmd\command]

@=”explorer ms-settings:yourinfo”

; Time & language

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\DesktopBackground\Shell\Settings\shell\08subcmd]

“MUIVerb”=”Time && language”

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\DesktopBackground\Shell\Settings\shell\08subcmd\command]

@=”explorer ms-settings:dateandtime”

; Gaming

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\DesktopBackground\Shell\Settings\shell\09subcmd]

“MUIVerb”=”Gaming”

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\DesktopBackground\Shell\Settings\shell\09subcmd\command]

@=”explorer ms-settings:gaming-gamebar”

; Ease of Access

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\DesktopBackground\Shell\Settings\shell\10subcmd]

“MUIVerb”=”Ease of Access”

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\DesktopBackground\Shell\Settings\shell\10subcmd\command]

@=”explorer ms-settings:easeofaccess-narrator”

; Cortana

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\DesktopBackground\Shell\Settings\shell\11subcmd]

“MUIVerb”=”Cortana”

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\DesktopBackground\Shell\Settings\shell\11subcmd\command]

@=”explorer ms-settings:cortana”

; Privacy

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\DesktopBackground\Shell\Settings\shell\12subcmd]

“MUIVerb”=”Privacy”

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\DesktopBackground\Shell\Settings\shell\12subcmd\command]

@=”explorer ms-settings:privacy”

; Update & security

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\DesktopBackground\Shell\Settings\shell\13subcmd]

“MUIVerb”=”Update && security”

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\DesktopBackground\Shell\Settings\shell\13subcmd\command]

@=”explorer ms-settings:windowsupdate”

; Mixed Reality

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\DesktopBackground\Shell\Settings\shell\14subcmd]

“MUIVerb”=”Mixed Reality”

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\DesktopBackground\Shell\Settings\shell\14subcmd\command]

@=”explorer ms-settings:holographic”

4. Open File > Save As.
5. Give the file this name: settings –menu.reg.
6. When you’re done, double-click the file you just created to apply these settings to the Registry.
7. Select “Yes”.
8. You’ll be asked to confirm if you want to add the information to the registry. Click “Yes”. A message saying the operation was successful will be displayed.
9. Now, right-click the Desktop, and you’ll see the “Settings” cascading context menu listed there.
10. If you want, you can change where you want the “Settings” menu to appear. In the script, our value is ‘Middle’. You can modify this by replacing the value ‘Middle’ with ‘Top’ or ‘Bottom’.

How to Remove ‘Settings’ Context Menu in Windows 10

1. Press the Windows Key+R simultaneously, and type regedit in the “Run” dialog box.
2. Open this path: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\DesktopBackground\Shell\Settings
3. Right-click ‘Settings” and select “Delete”.
4. You’ll be asked, “Are you sure you want to permanently delete this key and all of its subkeys?” Choose “Yes”.
5. Exit the Registry Editor.

When you right-click your Desktop, you will not see the “Settings” menu.

That’s it! You now know how to add and remove the ‘Settings’ cascading context menu in Windows 10.

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