How to Add PDF-Tools to Main Shell Menu

[mCHSNUg5Pz8cPap]

I want to add PDF-Tools to the main shell menu. I have it added to the shell menu, but it is not on the main menu. Instead, it is on the menu that appears when I click "show more options". This is shown in the video below. I'd like to have PDF-Tools on the first menu like some of the other software that appears there (e.g., NanaZip).

Recording 2025-04-02 214840.gif

[Daniel - PDF-XChange]

Hello, mCHSNUg5Pz8cPap

Thank you for the report. At this time we are unable to offer this, but perhaps we will be able to add it sometime in the future. The process for getting items into that menu is a bit more involved than it was for the old/"more options" menu, and as far as I understand, it also comes with more restrictions.

It would be unfortunate if we added these items to this menu, only for half of our users to have an option toggled which prevents us from modifying this menu, and these users being unable to access our shell options at all. For this reason, it is something we need to be extra cautious with.

In the meantime we have a ticket for this:
RT#7415: FR: add Win11 shell support

Kind regards,

[mCHSNUg5Pz8cPap]

In the meantime we have a ticket for this:
RT#7415: FR: add Win11 shell support

Thanks for opening a ticket.

It would be ideal to have an entry in the Win 11 context menu for PDF-XChange Editor and a separate entry for PDF-Tools. In the video I provided above, you can see that NanaZip has entry in the Win 11 shell menu. One thing that is nice is about Nanazip is that the user can select the options that appear in the context menu (PDF-Tools does this as well but only for the older Win 10 context menu). It would be nice to have similar functionality for PDF-XChange and PDF-Tools.

It doesn't seem too difficult to support this. This is the guidance MS provides and there are really only two requirements—i.e., the context menu must be implemented using the IExplorerCommand interface and the app must be a packaged app. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/get-started/make-apps-great-for-windows#context-menus

Thanks again.

[Daniel - PDF-XChange]

[mCHSNUg5Pz8cPap]

In the meantime we have a ticket for this:
RT#7415: FR: add Win11 shell support

Any updates on this? I’ve been adding more and more shell menu items, and it would be great to have them directly on the main menu rather than hidden under the “Show more options” menu.

[Daniel - PDF-XChange]

Hello, mCHSNUg5Pz8cPap

Unfortunately, no news yet.

Kind regards,

[mCHSNUg5Pz8cPap]

The latest updates to Windows 11 include some updates to the context menu. This is what MS said (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/servicing/os/windows-11/2026/10/kb5127936-windows-11-25h2-26h2-update):

Context menu in File Explorer

• New! This update introduces an updated context menu that is faster, simpler, and more customizable. The updated menu opens more quickly, reduces clutter, and gives you more control over the commands and app extensions that appear when you right-click.
  • You can now customize the context menu to better fit how you use Windows. Select Customize menu at the bottom of the context menu to open its Settings page.
    • Turn built-in Windows commands, such as Send to and Create shortcut, on or off.
    • Add commands such as Print to the context menu.
    • Choose which app extensions appear in the main menu or a submenu or hide the app extensions submenu.
    • Display Cut, Copy, Paste, Rename, Delete, and Share directly in the menu instead of as a row of icons.
    • Move Properties to the bottom of the context menu.
  • To personalize the context menu, right-click and select Customize menu, then choose the commands, app extensions, and layout you prefer. No action is required to use the default configuration. To see more options, hold down Shift and right-click on your desktop.[]/list

It sure would be nice to have the PDF-XChange and PDF-Tools options in the main context menu. I have the new context menu and because PDF-XChange does not appear in it, I must enable the legacy "Show more options" menu. Here is an image of the context menu settings.

image.png

[Daniel - PDF-XChange]

Hello, mCHSNUg5Pz8cPap

I am glad to see the enthusiasm, but for now we will have to keep waiting.

Kind regards,