When working with Windows 7 RC this week, I stumbled upon another nice and useful feature which I thought I should write about. Windows 7 allows you to add icons to your custom right-click (static) menu entries. Usually, to display a right-click command with an icon, one needs to write a context menu handler Shell Extension (DLL). Now, you can assign icons for static menu items as well, without having to program anything.

For example, when you add a custom right-click command "Print Directory" using the instructions in article How to add the Print Directory feature for file system folders in Windows 7 & Vista, you see this when you right-click on a directory.

So far so good. Now, you can mention an icon reference which either points to an icon resource inside a DLL/EXE file, or an .ico file.

Add an Icon to a Right-Click Menu Entry

1. Click Start, type Regedit.exe and press ENTER

2. Navigate to the corresponding registry key for the menu item. For example, if you used the previously mentioned link to add the Print Directory command to the context menu, navigate to the following key:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ Directory \ Shell \ PrintDir

3. In the right-pane create a String value (REG_SZ) named Icon

4. Double-click Icon and type the path to an icon (.ico) file, or mention the icon library file name and the icon index.

5. Exit the Registry Editor.

Now, right-click on a directory and you’ll see a printer icon near the Print Directory command.

How cool is that?

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3 Responses to “How to Add Icons to Custom Right-Click Menu Options in Windows 7” Subscribe to comments!

  1. said this on Sunday, September 13th 2009 4:36 am

    What to do to change the icons for SendTo. I tried this guide, but did not work.

  2. hashem
    said this on Monday, August 3rd 2009 11:03 pm

    not work on windows vista

  3. Jim
    said this on Tuesday, June 23rd 2009 6:59 pm

    Good trick, but can this be replicated in WinXP

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