Add Item Check Boxes Context Menu in Windows 10

You can add the Item Check Boxes command to the context menu in File Explorer to enable or disable check boxes to select files in File Explorer. The command will be available in a folder's context menu and in the context menu of the folder background (the white area). Here is how you can do this.

When check boxes are enabled, you can select multiple items in File Explorer by hovering over a file or a folder, so the check box will become visible to select or unselect it.

With a simple Registry tweak, the Item Check Boxes command can be added to the context menu in File Explorer. It will be visible in the context menu of the folders and folder backgrounds. Once you apply the tweak, you won't need to use the Ribbon or the Folder Options dialog to enable or disable check boxes. Instead, you can toggle the visibility of check boxes directly from the context menu.

To add Item Check Boxes Context Menu in Windows 10, do the following.

Apply the Registry tweak listed below. Paste its contents inside Notepad and save as a *.reg file.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Background\\shell\Windows.SelectionCheckboxes]
"CommandStateSync"=""
"Description"="@shell32.dll,-37589"
"ExplorerCommandHandler"="{56a91da5-5051-49f5-8d23-1f050a63e966}"
"MUIVerb"="@shell32.dll,-37588"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell\Windows.SelectionCheckboxes]
"CommandStateSync"=""
"Description"="@shell32.dll,-37589"
"ExplorerCommandHandler"="{56a91da5-5051-49f5-8d23-1f050a63e966}"
"MUIVerb"="@shell32.dll,-37588"

n Notepad, press Ctrl + S or execute the File - Save item in the File menu. This will open the Save dialog. There, type or copy-paste the name "item check boxes.reg" including quotes. Double 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.Double click the file you created, confirm the import operation and you are done!

Now, you can right-click in the empty white space in any folder and select Item Check Boxes to toggle their visibility.

To understand how this tweak works, refer to my previous article where I explained how to add any Ribbon command to the Context menu in Windows 10. See

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

In short, all the Ribbon commands are stored under this Registry key

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CommandStore\shell

You can export the desired command and modify the exported *.Reg in order to add it to the context menu of files, folders, or any other object visible in File Explorer.

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

Download Registry Files

Alternatively, you can use Context Menu Tuner. It will allow you to add any Ribbon command to the context menu.

Select "Item Check Boxes" in the list of available commands, select "Folder" on the right side and click the "Add" button. See the screenshot above. You can get the app here:

Download Context Menu Tuner

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