Adding Items to the "New" Context Menu

Written by Barry Dysert (last updated October 21, 2019)

If you right-click on an open area of the Desktop, you'll see a Context menu that includes the "New" menu item. By hovering your mouse over "New," a submenu appears, allowing you to create various items (e.g., a Microsoft Word document, a text document, etc.). (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Desktop's 'New' menu before changes.

It's possible to add your own document types to the "New" menu if you don't mind editing the Registry.

As an example, let's say that I have an application that processes PNG files that have a special file extension of ".bdd". I therefore want to be able to right-click the Desktop and create a new .bdd file.

To do this, click the Start button, type "regedit" (without the quotes), and press Enter. This launches the Registry Editor. (See Figure 2.)

Figure 2. The Windows Registry Editor.

In the Registry Editor, navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT and create a new key named .bdd. Set the value of its (Default) to be Bdd.Document. Create a sub-key to .bdd named ShellNew. In ShellNew create two string items named ~NullFile and NullFile. They should be empty.

Navigate again to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT and create a new key named Bdd.Document. Set the value of its (Default) to be JPEG File. Create a sub-key under Bdd.Document named DefaultIcon and set the value of its (Default) to be the file name of the icon you want to appear in the New menu. Exit the Registry Editor.

You may need to reboot or at least restart Explorer, but after you do, you'll have a new item listed in the Desktop's New menu. (See Figure 3.)

Figure 3. The Desktop's 'New' menu after changes.

 This tip (5836) applies to Windows 7, 8, and 10.

Author Bio

Barry Dysert

Barry has been a computer professional for over 35 years, working in different positions such as technical team leader, project manager, and software developer. He is currently a software engineer with an emphasis on developing custom applications under Microsoft Windows. When not working with Windows or writing Tips, Barry is an amateur writer. His first non-fiction book is titled "A Chronological Commentary of Revelation." ...

MORE FROM BARRY

Finding New Desktop Widgets

Although there are several widgets that come with Windows, a lot more are available if you're willing to do a little Web ...

Discover More

Process Explorer

Process Explorer is a very well built utility that does a lot, from helping you with performance analysis to finding the ...

Discover More

Microsoft Edge Extensions

Like all good browsers, Microsoft Edge supports extensions. Although getting and using them may be a little rough around ...

Discover More
More WindowsTips

Picking a Desktop Icon Size

Are the icons on your desktop displayed at the right size for your preference or needs? Windows provides three different ...

Discover More

Modifying the General Startup Process

Having problems getting Windows to start properly? You can try to track down what is causing the problem by using the ...

Discover More

Disabling Automatic Updates

If you don't like that Windows automatically downloads and applies updates in the middle of the night, you can gain some ...

Discover More
Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is four more than 7?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

Newest Tips
Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2026 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.