Windows 11 keeps adding clutter to the context menu with KB5046745 & KB5046746

• Windows 11 receives the update KB5046745 and KB5046746) in the Beta and Dev Channels.
• The biggest changes in the Beta Channel are the new entry points in the context menu.
• The Dev Channel only adds a new shortcut to open apps as admin from the Start menu and Taskbar.
• In both of these previews, you will find several fixes and minor improvements.

Microsoft is now rolling out two new previews of Windows 11, including build 22635.4445 (KB5046745) in the Beta Channel and build 26120.2222 (KB5046746) in the Dev Channel. These are minor updates but introduce several fixes and some visual improvements.

Windows 11 build 22635.4445 (Beta)

The update KB5046745 available in the Beta Channel is the release that rolls out the most changes. According to the official notes, in File Explorer, the context menu for items in the left pane has been updated to include a “New” entry point to create folders on a specific location.

In addition, the context for image files now includes an “Edit with Paint” entry to open the file directly into the Microsoft Paint. Actually, this option is part of the latest update for the image editing app (I’m actually seeing this option in the Dev Channel), which also includes new features, such as generative erase and generative fill.

The generative erase feature allows you to remove unwanted objects from an image and fill up the background so that it appears that the object was never there. On the other hand, generative fill uses AI to create objects you can integrate into the image canvas.

Furthermore, it’s been discovered that Microsoft plans to add more entry points to share files within the desktop experience. For example, on build 22635.4445, you can now find a “Share” option in the context for files in the “Recommended” section of the Start menu.

In addition, a new “Share” option can now be found in the list of recent files when you right-click an app in the Taskbar.

Although these new improvements in the context menus across the operating system could make it a little easier to perform specific actions, such as creating folders, editing images, and sharing files, the point of the modern version of the context menu was, among other things, to remove the clutter. However, it now appears that Microsoft is falling back into the same habits.

At least, the good news is that most options will only appear when they make sense. For example, if you right-click a Microsoft Word document, you won’t find the option to edit it with Paint. However, the context menu for images is a different story since you will find some odd options for opening the file with Clipchamp and Notepad.

If you want to try the new Share entry points, you will have to enable them manually by running the vivetool /enable /id:46493758,45738940,48433719 command using the ViveTool.

Finally, in the Beta Channel, the Windows 11 build 22635.4445 also pushes several fixes for the Taskbar, File Explorer, and Snipping Tool.

Windows 11 build 26120.2222 (Dev)

In the Dev Channel, the update KB5046746 doesn’t include a lot of changes. In this release, you can launch applications as administrator when you hold the “Shift” and “Ctrl” keys in the jump list from the Taskbar or Start menu.

This rollout also makes available fixes for File Explorer, input, windowing, and Registry Editor when it gets unresponsive.

Installation process

To download and install this Windows 11 build, enroll your device in the Beta or Dev Channel through the “Windows Insider Program” settings from the “Update & Security” section. Once you enroll the computer in the program, you can download the build from the “Windows Update” settings by turning on the “Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available” option and clicking the “Check for Updates” button.

Microsoft is currently previewing builds in the Beta Channel for version 23H2 and previews in the Dev Channel for version 24H2 development for a few reasons, including parallel development since version 23H2 will be supported until November 2025, and it will continue to receive new features and improvements through its lifecycle through monthly cumulative updates. Also, you can expect improvements from version 23H2 to be ported to version 24H2 at some point.