Remove Open Folder in new window context menu option in Windows File Explorer

Today, when I was browsing my files, I observed that for every folder, in its right-click context menu, there is an option to open it in a new window. I have never used this option. Some of you may find it useful, while some of you may not.

Open folder in new window

You can set your folders to open in the same window or in different windows from the Folder Options as follows-

Search for Folder Options in Start Search and open it. Then under the General tab, ensure that this option is seleced – Open each folder in the same window.

But if you wish, you can also remove the Open in new folder entry from the context menu in Windows File Explorer.

As I am a big fan of modifying registry entries, I decided to remove this option Open in new window from that Explorer context menu in Windows 10/8. Luckily I found the registry key which manages this option – and finally, I was successful in removing that option. The way which worked for me is being shared below.

Do remember to back up your registry or create a system restore point first so that you can always revert, should you wish to.

Manual Registry Method

1. Press Windows Key + R combination, type Regedt32.exe in Run dialog box and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor.

2. Navigate here:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell\opennewwindow

3. Now two cases are possible – either you delete/erase Open in new window option or disable its functionality.

4. If you want to delete that option, simply make a backup of key opennewwindow in the left pane highlighted with green and then delete it. It will remove Open in new window option from context menu.

5. If you want to simply disable its functionality, look out for the DWORD named LaunchExplorerFlags, in the right pane as shown in the image above.

6. Double click on it or Modify it and use following data for Value Data section:

• Insert 0 – To disable Open in new window function
• Insert 1 – To Enable Open in new window function (Default)

7. Close the Registry Editor, restart explorer.exe and you’ll get to see the results.

Automatic Registry Fix

If you do not want to follow the manual method, then to help you more we have created a direct registry file fix which can perform same operations without doing any extra work. You can download it from HERE.

Now read: How to open a folder in a new process. Open in New Process is different from Open in New Window.