[New+] Hide existing new - remake by cgaarden · Pull Request #44979 · microsoft/PowerToys

cgaarden · 2026-01-22T23:46:20Z

Summary of the Pull Request

Add the ability for users and admins (GPO) to control whether to display built in New on the context menu.
Changes to the setting are immediately reflected in the experience.
Built-in New is restored on uninstall.

PR Checklist

Note: Supersedes #39843

Closes: [New+] Replace default New entry [New+] Replace default New entry #37545 and Replace "New" with New+ option Replace "New" with New+ option #37946
Communication: Discussed with @niels9001 - 1/22/2025
Tests: Completed manual test pass see highlight below
Localization: All end-user-facing strings can be localized
Dev docs: Updated "doc\devdocs\modules\newplus.md"
[n/a] New binaries: Added on the required places
- [n/a] JSON for signing for new binaries
- [WXS for installer] Updated installer (uninstall custom action)
- [n/a] YML for CI pipeline for new test projects
- [n/a] YML for signed pipeline
[No] Documentation updated: Pending, coming soon. (original PR
New+ Feature - Doc Update - Option to hide the built-in New context m… MicrosoftDocs/windows-dev-docs#5473)

Detailed Description of the Pull Request / Additional comments

Added the ability for users' admins' to display Windows built-in New or not

I'm NOT aware of an official supported way to do this, so I'm achieving this by adding an invalid context menu handler in place of New in the Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Directory\background\ShellEx\ContextMenuHandlers\New

Changes are immediate, after applying the change, built-in New is shown/hidden accordingly

Updates to New+ Settings UI
	New setting introduced to track user' preference (saved to newplus/settings.json) 
	GPO setting introduced for control New visibility via GPO (GPO wins over user preference)

Updates to New+ power_module.cpp
	When runner is running new plus will also apply built-in New admin GPO and user preference (GPO wins over user preference) to ensure correct behavior on setting restore and GPO application.
	
Updates to installer 
	Uninstall always reenable built-in "New" context menu 

Updated DevDoc
	Added a note on how to manually restore built-in New

Validation Steps Performed

Windows 11 x64
Settings UI
New+ enabled
New+ disabled
GPO setting enabled
GPO settings disabled
Manually updating newplus/settings.json

Windows 11 ARM64
I tested the reg hack manually, but didn't go through a full pass.

Windows 10 x64
NOT tested.

Windows 11, Settings, New+ Disabled and no GPO

Windows 11, Settings, New+ Enabled and no GPO

Hide built-in New: Off (the default)

Hide built-in New: On

Modern

Classic

Disabling New+ also unhide New

Windows 11, Settings, New+ Enabled and with GPO

Hide built-in New: GPO enabled

Hide built-in New: GPO disabled

POPUPWINDOW POSITIONITEM POWERRENAMECONTEXTMENU

…remake)

cgaarden · 2026-02-01T18:40:11Z

Hi @niels9001 and @yeelam-gordon, do you have feedback, suggestions, ideas on how I'm hiding/restoring the built-in New? The approach? Things missing? GPO policy changes (Am I using the correct version numbers etc.) Thank you!

…remake)

yeelam-gordon · 2026-02-12T23:47:43Z

/azp run

azure-pipelines · 2026-02-12T23:47:53Z

Azure Pipelines successfully started running 1 pipeline(s).

cgaarden · 2026-02-26T16:04:41Z

Hi @yeelam-gordon

Super n00b - is there somewhere I can see why the "azp run" failed so that I can help address any outstanding issues? And other things that you want me to address?

Thank you!

cc: @niels9001

Copilot

Pull request overview

This pull request adds functionality to New+ that allows users and admins to hide the Windows built-in "New" context menu when New+ is enabled. This addresses user requests to avoid duplicate "New" entries in the context menu. The implementation uses a registry manipulation approach to disable the built-in handler by writing an invalid value to its registry key.

Changes:

Added a toggle setting in New+ Settings UI to hide/show the built-in "New" context menu
Implemented GPO policy to allow administrators to control this behavior
Added installer custom action to restore the built-in "New" menu on uninstall

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 19 out of 19 changed files in this pull request and generated 16 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
src/settings-ui/Settings.UI/ViewModels/NewPlusViewModel.cs	Adds HideBuiltInNew property with registry manipulation methods to enable/disable built-in New context menu
src/settings-ui/Settings.UI/Strings/en-us/Resources.resw	Adds localized string for the new toggle setting
src/settings-ui/Settings.UI/SettingsXAML/Views/NewPlusPage.xaml	Adds UI control for hiding built-in New with GPO support
src/settings-ui/Settings.UI.Library/NewPlusProperties.cs	Adds BuiltInNewHidePreference property to persist user setting
src/modules/NewPlus/NewShellExtensionContextMenu/settings.h	Declares methods for getting/setting hide built-in New preference
src/modules/NewPlus/NewShellExtensionContextMenu/settings.cpp	Implements settings serialization for hide built-in New preference with GPO support
src/modules/NewPlus/NewShellExtensionContextMenu/powertoys_module.cpp	Applies hide built-in New setting when module initializes
src/modules/NewPlus/NewShellExtensionContextMenu/new_utilities.h	Implements C++ registry manipulation functions to disable/enable built-in New
src/modules/NewPlus/NewShellExtensionContextMenu/constants.h	Adds constant for settings JSON key
src/gpo/assets/en-US/PowerToys.adml	Adds GPO policy descriptions for hiding built-in New
src/gpo/assets/PowerToys.admx	Adds GPO policy definition for hiding built-in New
src/common/utils/gpo.h	Adds GPO policy constant and getter method
src/common/GPOWrapper/GPOWrapper.idl	Adds WinRT method declaration for GPO wrapper
src/common/GPOWrapper/GPOWrapper.h	Adds GPO wrapper method declaration
src/common/GPOWrapper/GPOWrapper.cpp	Implements GPO wrapper method
installer/PowerToysSetupVNext/Product.wxs	Adds custom action to restore built-in New on uninstall
installer/PowerToysSetupCustomActionsVNext/CustomAction.def	Exports new custom action function
installer/PowerToysSetupCustomActionsVNext/CustomAction.cpp	Implements custom action to restore built-in New registry value
doc/devdocs/modules/newplus.md	Adds documentation on manually restoring built-in New context menu

Copilot · 2026-02-27T02:11:50Z

src/settings-ui/Settings.UI/ViewModels/NewPlusViewModel.cs

+                using (var newKey = Registry.CurrentUser.OpenSubKey(BuiltInNewRegistryPath, writable: true))
+                {
+                    string builtInNewHandlerValue = newKey.GetValue(null, null) as string;
+
+                    if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(builtInNewHandlerValue) && builtInNewHandlerValue.StartsWith(NewDisabledValuePrefix, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+                    {
+                        // Already disabled
+                        return;
+                    }
+
+                    // Any string value will disable the built-in New handler
+                    string newDisabledValue = NewDisabledValuePrefix + builtInNewHandlerValue;
+                    newKey.SetValue(string.Empty, newDisabledValue);
+                }


OpenSubKey can return null if the registry key doesn't exist, but the code doesn't check for this before calling GetValue and SetValue on newKey. This will cause a NullReferenceException if the registry key doesn't exist. Add a null check after OpenSubKey.

Copilot · 2026-02-27T02:11:50Z

src/modules/NewPlus/NewShellExtensionContextMenu/powertoys_module.cpp

    void init_settings()
    {
        powertoy_new_enabled = NewSettingsInstance().GetEnabled();
+
        UpdateRegistration(powertoy_new_enabled);
+
+        if (powertoy_new_enabled)
+        {
+            // NOTE: This requires that the runner is running and have loaded the new plus module.
+            // It's not enough for user to just invoke the context menu.
+            if (NewSettingsInstance().GetHideBuiltInNew())
+            {
+                newplus::utilities::disable_built_in_new_via_registry();
+            }
+            else
+            {
+                newplus::utilities::enable_built_in_new_via_registry();
+            }
+        }
    }


When New+ is enabled (enable() method at line 111-124), the built-in New context menu state is not updated according to user preference. The enable() method registers New+ but doesn't call the logic to hide/show the built-in New based on settings. This means if a user previously set HideBuiltInNew=true, then disabled New+, then re-enabled New+, the built-in New won't be hidden until init_settings() is called again. Consider checking NewSettingsInstance().GetHideBuiltInNew() and calling the appropriate registry function in the enable() method.

Copilot · 2026-02-27T02:11:50Z

src/settings-ui/Settings.UI/ViewModels/NewPlusViewModel.cs

+                    }
+
+                    // Null key default value enables built-in New handler
+                    newKey.DeleteValue(null, true);


The DeleteValue call passes 'true' for throwOnMissingValue, which will throw an exception if the value doesn't exist. However, you already check if the value is null at line 452 and return early, so the value should exist. The 'true' parameter seems unnecessary and could be changed to 'false' for more defensive coding, or removed entirely since false is the default.

Suggested change

newKey.DeleteValue(null, true);

newKey.DeleteValue(null);

Copilot · 2026-02-27T02:11:50Z

src/settings-ui/Settings.UI/ViewModels/NewPlusViewModel.cs

        private const string ModuleName = NewPlusSettings.ModuleName;

+        private const string BuiltInNewRegistryPath = @"Software\Classes\Directory\Background\ShellEx\ContextMenuHandlers\New";
+        private const string BuiltNewCOMGuid = "{D969A300-E7FF-11d0-A93B-00A0C90F2719}";


The constant name "BuiltNewCOMGuid" should be "BuiltInNewCOMGuid" to match the naming convention used elsewhere (BuiltInNewRegistryPath, BuiltInNewHidePreference, etc.) and for consistency with "built-in" terminology.

Suggested change

private const string BuiltNewCOMGuid = "{D969A300-E7FF-11d0-A93B-00A0C90F2719}";

private const string BuiltInNewCOMGuid = "{D969A300-E7FF-11d0-A93B-00A0C90F2719}";

Copilot · 2026-02-27T02:11:51Z

src/settings-ui/Settings.UI/ViewModels/NewPlusViewModel.cs

+                    if (_disableBuiltInNew)
+                    {
+                        EnableBuiltInNewViaRegistry();
+                    }
+                    else
+                    {
+                        DisableBuiltInNewViaRegistry();


The logic for updating registry based on the toggle is inverted. The code checks the OLD value (_disableBuiltInNew) to decide which registry function to call, but it should check the NEW value (value parameter).

Currently:

If _disableBuiltInNew is true (currently hidden), it calls EnableBuiltInNewViaRegistry()

If _disableBuiltInNew is false (currently shown), it calls DisableBuiltInNewViaRegistry()

This is backwards. It should be:

If value is true (user wants to hide), call DisableBuiltInNewViaRegistry()

If value is false (user wants to show), call EnableBuiltInNewViaRegistry()

Change line 256 from "if (_disableBuiltInNew)" to "if (value)" and swap the method calls.

Suggested change

if (_disableBuiltInNew)

{

EnableBuiltInNewViaRegistry();

}

else

{

DisableBuiltInNewViaRegistry();

if (value)

{

DisableBuiltInNewViaRegistry();

}

else

{

EnableBuiltInNewViaRegistry();

Copilot · 2026-02-27T02:11:52Z

src/gpo/assets/en-US/PowerToys.adml

+
+If you enable this policy, then the built-in New context menu will be hidden, and user can only create new files and folders using New+ and the explorer toolbar New button.
+
+If you disable this policy, then the build-in New context menu will be displayed as normal in Windows.


Typo in comment: "build-in" should be "built-in".

Suggested change

If you disable this policy, then the build-in New context menu will be displayed as normal in Windows.

If you disable this policy, then the built-in New context menu will be displayed as normal in Windows.

Copilot · 2026-02-27T02:11:52Z

src/modules/NewPlus/NewShellExtensionContextMenu/new_utilities.h

+    inline bool disable_built_in_new_via_registry()
+    {
+        // This is implemented to support where New+ GPO is configured to 
+        // hide the built-in New context menu but Settings UI hasn't been launched
+        // Mirrors the logic in DisableBuiltInNewViaRegistry in .cs
+
+        HKEY key{};
+
+        if (RegCreateKeyExW(HKEY_CURRENT_USER,
+                            built_in_new_registry_path,
+                            0,
+                            nullptr,
+                            REG_OPTION_NON_VOLATILE,
+                            KEY_ALL_ACCESS,
+                            nullptr,
+                            &key,
+                            nullptr) != ERROR_SUCCESS)
+        {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        const auto built_in_new_registry_disabled_value_prefix_len = lstrlenW(built_in_new_registry_disabled_value_prefix);
+
+        if (RegSetValueExW(key, nullptr, 0, REG_SZ, reinterpret_cast<const BYTE*>(&built_in_new_registry_disabled_value_prefix), built_in_new_registry_disabled_value_prefix_len) != ERROR_SUCCESS)
+        {
+            RegCloseKey(key);
+            return true;
+        }
+
+        RegCloseKey(key);
+        return false;
+
+    }


The return value logic is inverted. The function returns true on RegSetValueExW failure (line 479) and false on success (line 483). This contradicts the boolean return type semantics where true typically indicates success. This should return false on RegSetValueExW failure and true on success to be consistent with standard C++ conventions and the enable_built_in_new_via_registry function which also has inverted return logic.

Copilot · 2026-02-27T02:11:52Z

src/settings-ui/Settings.UI/ViewModels/NewPlusViewModel.cs

+                using (var newKey = Registry.CurrentUser.OpenSubKey(BuiltInNewRegistryPath, writable: true))
+                {
+                    string builtInNewHandlerValue = newKey.GetValue(null, null) as string;
+
+                    if (builtInNewHandlerValue is null)
+                    {
+                        // Already enabled
+                        return;
+                    }
+
+                    // Null key default value enables built-in New handler
+                    newKey.DeleteValue(null, true);
+                }


OpenSubKey can return null if the registry key doesn't exist, but the code doesn't check for this before calling GetValue and DeleteValue on newKey. This will cause a NullReferenceException if the registry key doesn't exist. Add a null check after OpenSubKey.

Copilot · 2026-02-27T02:11:52Z

src/settings-ui/Settings.UI/ViewModels/NewPlusViewModel.cs

            InitializeEnabledValue();
            InitializeGpoValues();

+            _disableBuiltInNew = !IsBuiltInNewEnabled();


The initialization at line 59 reads the current state from the registry via IsBuiltInNewEnabled(), but doesn't consider the saved user preference in Settings.Properties.BuiltInNewHidePreference. This could cause a mismatch where the UI shows a different state than what the user last saved if the registry was modified externally or during uninstall/reinstall. Consider reading from Settings.Properties.BuiltInNewHidePreference.Value first, or reconciling the two sources during initialization. Note that the C++ module (powertoys_module.cpp line 182) uses GetHideBuiltInNew() which reads from settings, not registry.

Suggested change

_disableBuiltInNew = !IsBuiltInNewEnabled();

_disableBuiltInNew = Settings.Properties.BuiltInNewHidePreference.Value;

Copilot · 2026-02-27T02:11:53Z

src/settings-ui/Settings.UI/ViewModels/NewPlusViewModel.cs

+                using (var newKey = Registry.CurrentUser.OpenSubKey(BuiltInNewRegistryPath, writable: false))
+                {
+                    string builtInNewHandlerValue = newKey.GetValue(null, null) as string;
+
+                    if (builtInNewHandlerValue is null || string.Equals(builtInNewHandlerValue, BuiltNewCOMGuid, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+                    {
+                        // If no default value for key, or GUID is BuiltNewCOMGuid then built-in New is enabled
+                        return true;
+                    }
+
+                    return false;
+                }


OpenSubKey can return null if the registry key doesn't exist, but the code doesn't check for this before calling methods on newKey. This will cause a NullReferenceException if the registry key "Software\Classes\Directory\Background\ShellEx\ContextMenuHandlers\New" doesn't exist. Add a null check after OpenSubKey, similar to the pattern used in KeyboardManagerViewModel.cs line 322-329.

yeelam-gordon

Looks great

yeelam-gordon · 2026-02-27T13:44:04Z

/azp run

azure-pipelines · 2026-02-27T13:44:15Z

Azure Pipelines successfully started running 1 pipeline(s).

niels9001 · 2026-02-27T22:14:13Z

/azp run

azure-pipelines · 2026-02-27T22:14:24Z

Azure Pipelines successfully started running 1 pipeline(s).

niels9001 · 2026-02-27T22:15:46Z

@cgaarden can you run xaml styler and push the updated files? That should make the ci pass

…remake)

cgaarden

Updated XAML style using (note had to rename the branch as the script didn't like "(remake)"):

..pipelines\applyXamlStyling.ps1 -Main

cgaarden · 2026-02-28T18:27:13Z

@cgaarden can you run xaml styler and push the updated files? That should make the ci pass

Ran ..pipelines\applyXamlStyling.ps1 -Main

Thanks for the pointer Niels!

niels9001 · 2026-02-27T22:18:18Z

doc/devdocs/modules/newplus.md


 - For development and testing, using the Windows 10 handler can be easier since it doesn't require signing.
+
+## Restoring Built-in Windows New context menu


@cgaarden Would you mind opening a PR in the MS Learn docs too with this troubleshooting paragraph?

https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/windows-dev-docs/blob/docs/hub/powertoys/newplus.md

niels9001 · 2026-02-28T18:42:31Z

/azp run

azure-pipelines · 2026-02-28T18:42:41Z

Azure Pipelines successfully started running 1 pipeline(s).

cgaarden added 30 commits November 16, 2024 16:24

Update expect.txt

6ba8630

POPUPWINDOW POSITIONITEM POWERRENAMECONTEXTMENU

Merge branch 'microsoft:main' into main

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Merge branch 'main' of https://github.com/cgaarden/PowerToys

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997f846

Initial remake of Hiding Built-In New

de8abc4

Merge remote-tracking branch 'upstream/main' into Hide-existing-new-(…

c44e00b

…remake)

niels9001 mentioned this pull request Jan 28, 2026

New+ Feature - Option to hide the built-in New context menu (37545 and 37946) #39843

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Merge remote-tracking branch 'upstream/main' into Hide-existing-new-(…

f4d41d0

…remake)

Merge branch 'microsoft:main' into Hide-existing-new-(remake)

ec4977e

vanzue requested a review from Copilot February 27, 2026 02:04

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cgaarden added 2 commits February 28, 2026 09:58

Merge remote-tracking branch 'upstream/main' into Hide-existing-new-(…

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…remake)

Updated xaml styling

00441c7

cgaarden changed the title ~~[New+] Hide existing new (remake)~~ [New+] Hide existing new - remake Feb 28, 2026

cgaarden commented Feb 28, 2026

View reviewed changes

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niels9001 enabled auto-merge (squash) February 28, 2026 18:34

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niels9001 merged commit 90e81cb into microsoft:main Mar 1, 2026
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zateutsch added this to the PowerToys 0.98 milestone Mar 4, 2026

zateutsch added the Product-New+ Refers to the New+ PowerToys Utility label Mar 5, 2026

	private const string BuiltNewCOMGuid = "{D969A300-E7FF-11d0-A93B-00A0C90F2719}";
	private const string BuiltInNewCOMGuid = "{D969A300-E7FF-11d0-A93B-00A0C90F2719}";


		If you enable this policy, then the built-in New context menu will be hidden, and user can only create new files and folders using New+ and the explorer toolbar New button.

		If you disable this policy, then the build-in New context menu will be displayed as normal in Windows.

	_disableBuiltInNew = !IsBuiltInNewEnabled();
	_disableBuiltInNew = Settings.Properties.BuiltInNewHidePreference.Value;


		- For development and testing, using the Windows 10 handler can be easier since it doesn't require signing.

		## Restoring Built-in Windows New context menu

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Summary of the Pull Request

PR Checklist

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cgaarden commented Jan 22, 2026 •

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