Get Copy Path Always Visible in Context Menu in Windows 10

You can add Copy Path context menu command in Windows 10 without even the requirement to hold down the Shift key when right clicking. With a simple Registry tweak, you can make Copy Path menu item always visible in the right click menu of File Explorer. This is very convenient and time saving. Let's see how it can be done.

In Windows 10, there are several ways to use the copy as path command. It is available directly on the Ribbon user interface, on the Home tab:

Alternatively, you can press and hold the Shift key and right-click a file or folder in File Explorer. A hidden command Copy as path will appear in the context menu.

If you prefer to use the context menu method, you might want to save your time and add the command permanently without having to hold down the Shift key. This can be done with a simple Registry tweak.

Get Copy Path Context Menu Always Visible in Windows 10

The easiest way to add any Ribbon command to the context menu is to use Winaero's Context Menu Tuner. It has an easy-to-use interface and will allow you to add any command you want.

If you prefer doing it manually by editing the Registry yourself, read on.

Here are the contents of the *.reg file that you need to apply.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Allfilesystemobjects\shell\windows.copyaspath]
"CanonicalName"="{707C7BC6-685A-4A4D-A275-3966A5A3EFAA}"
"CommandStateHandler"="{3B1599F9-E00A-4BBF-AD3E-B3F99FA87779}"
"CommandStateSync"=""
"Description"="@shell32.dll,-30336"
"Icon"="imageres.dll,-5302"
"InvokeCommandOnSelection"=dword:00000001
"MUIVerb"="@shell32.dll,-30329"
"VerbHandler"="{f3d06e7c-1e45-4a26-847e-f9fcdee59be0}"
"VerbName"="copyaspath"

Run Notepad. Copy and paste the text above into a new document.

In Notepad, press Ctrl + S or execute the File - Save item in the menu. This will open the Save dialog.

There, type or copy-paste the following name "Copy_as_path.reg" including quotes. Quotes are important to ensure that the file will get the "*.reg" extension and not *.reg.txt. You can save the file to any desired location, for example, you can put it in your Desktop folder.

Now, double-click the file Copy_as_path.reg you created.Confirm the UAC prompt.

The command will appear in the context menu instantly. See the following screenshots:

To save your time, I made ready-to-use Registry files. You can download them here:

Download Registry Files

The undo file is included, so you can avoid manual Registry editing completely.

If you are interested in learning how the tweak works, refer to the following article:

How to add any Ribbon command to the right click menu in Windows 10

I wrote it some time ago. It explains the magic behind the trick perfectly.

Tip: If you prefer the Quick Access Toolbar instead of the context menu, read How to add any Ribbon command to the Quick Access toolbar in Windows 10.

Actually, the tweak is not new. We covered it last year in the article How to add any Ribbon command to the right click menu in Windows 8.

That's it.

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Author: Sergey Tkachenko

Sergey Tkachenko is a software developer who started Winaero back in 2011. On this blog, Sergey is writing about everything connected to Microsoft, Windows and popular software. Follow him on Telegram, Twitter, and YouTube.

8 thoughts on “Get Copy Path Always Visible in Context Menu in Windows 10”

  1. @Sergey: Thank you for the entries. This more effective other methods (because no need localized text in REG_SZ). A small contribution; as a BATch file:

    Reg.exe add “HKCR\Allfilesystemobjects\shell\windows.copyaspath” /v “CanonicalName” /t REG_SZ /d “{707C7BC6-685A-4A4D-A275-3966A5A3EFAA}” /f
    Reg.exe add “HKCR\Allfilesystemobjects\shell\windows.copyaspath” /v “CommandStateHandler” /t REG_SZ /d “{3B1599F9-E00A-4BBF-AD3E-B3F99FA87779}” /f
    Reg.exe add “HKCR\Allfilesystemobjects\shell\windows.copyaspath” /v “CommandStateSync” /t REG_SZ /d “” /f
    Reg.exe add “HKCR\Allfilesystemobjects\shell\windows.copyaspath” /v “Description” /t REG_SZ /d “@shell32.dll,-30336” /f
    Reg.exe add “HKCR\Allfilesystemobjects\shell\windows.copyaspath” /v “Icon” /t REG_SZ /d “imageres.dll,-5302” /f
    Reg.exe add “HKCR\Allfilesystemobjects\shell\windows.copyaspath” /v “InvokeCommandOnSelection” /t REG_DWORD /d “1” /f
    Reg.exe add “HKCR\Allfilesystemobjects\shell\windows.copyaspath” /v “MUIVerb” /t REG_SZ /d “@shell32.dll,-30329” /f
    Reg.exe add “HKCR\Allfilesystemobjects\shell\windows.copyaspath” /v “VerbHandler” /t REG_SZ /d “{f3d06e7c-1e45-4a26-847e-f9fcdee59be0}” /f
    Reg.exe add “HKCR\Allfilesystemobjects\shell\windows.copyaspath” /v “VerbName” /t REG_SZ /d “copyaspath” /f

  2. any way to remove the baked in/default “copy AS path” entry from the extended context menu? It becomes redundant with this excellent addition.

    1. Remove this key and it will be gone!Computer\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AllFilesystemObjects\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\CopyAsPathMenu

  3. This is all good and cool but I don’t like the fact that {f3d06e7c-1e45-4a26-847e-f9fcdee59be0} COM-object is a black box. I don’t know how is it implemented, I don’t know if its well optimised. So I made my own C++ program to handle this clipboard copying. I just added simple shell verb and passed %V as an argument to the program. One great advantage is that I can control exactly what is copied. I made it smart, so that it returns unquoted path if it has no spaces in it and quoted if it has spaces!

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