7-Zip does not show in Context menu

[Spongeware CodeBob]

Seen this as a prevalent issue for many users. I'm running up-to-date Windows 11, 64-bit. When I right click to open the context menu, it isn't showing, nor if I go a level deeper under "show more options.: nothing. Same issue with AESCrypt. FWIW OneDrive and Dropbox options DO appear in menu. I've tried virtually every "fix" suggested online to no avail. Both apps (7 zip and AESCrypt) show in the context menu of my wife's and a friends laptop, both with same Windows build as mine. I experimented and installed WinRAR, and it shows up in context menu no problem!!?? So why would 7 Zip or AESCrypt not show up? Need help diagnosing how and why - do NOT want to reinstall Windows.

[John]

I know this may not help but I've seen the same issue with 7zip. I am beginning to think it's a "day of the week" type of thing. The last windows install(about 3 weeks ago) I did not have 7zip context menu but this latest install I did. I also notice this time around I had to tell Windows to use 7zip to open zip,7z,etc.. files. The previous install I did not. Make no sense.
I'm sure you have 7zip context menu on, right?

[Spongeware CodeBob]

Yes mine is configured just like yours.

[John]

I looked up what AESCrypt was then installed it. It does display in the context menu. The only thing I might add is I have configured Windows context menu back to classic.

Run this in a command prompt. Classic ContextMenu.

reg add HKCU\Software\Classes\CLSID\{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}\InprocServer32 /ve /d "" /f

This will only be for the current user(not system wide) so admin rights are not needed.

And if you ever want the new crappy ContextMenu back

reg delete HKCU\Software\Classes\CLSID\{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2} /f

Windows restarts(explorer.exe really) are require for the commands to take effect.

Hope that will help.

[Spongeware CodeBob]

Thanks...tried that and it doesn't make a difference. Even the developer of AESCrypt is totally stumped by this. I considered refreshing Windows but I use Bitlocker and Yubikey to log on and don;t want to have to go through all that hassle. Apparently in searching for a fix I've discovered this is an issue for a lot of people and I've not found a fix that works.

[John]

You may need to get a 3rd party app to control and maintain the context menu.
There are a few listed here(some free, some not)
https://www.techpout.com/best-context-menu-editors-for-windows

[Spongeware CodeBob]

Thanks John, I'll check into these although I think most just modify the menu, not support proper installation of apps like 7 Zip

[John]

although I think most just modify the menu

True that but it might reintegrate what is already there(should be there that is), a sort of refresh the menu so to speak.

[Kirito丶城]

I think Windows 11 right-click menu is the biggest failure

[John]

I disagree, most of windows 11 is the failure, lol. Again with Microsoft telling us, the user, what standard we should use. Give us the option to decide what and how the OS should look, feel, and respond without doing silly registry hacks, or patching .dll's. The sheer arrogance of Microsoft. You're NOT making Windows for yourself. It's for everyone else. Stop coding like it's your little home project.

But it's all moot anyways, cause new users to Windows will never know what they are missing and the old users will simply die off.

[Turquoise Hexagon Sun]

OP, I just ran into this myself today after having no issue with 7zip on Windows 11. I was trying to unzip multiple zip files and 7zip did not show up in the context menu. I went through typical troubleshooting to no avail.

Upon closer inspection I noticed that the zip files were actually from from a cloud folder on onedrive. The files had not yet been downloaded to my local machine. Once I downloaded them locally by selecting "always keep on this device" , 7zip was enabled in the context menu. Hope this helps!

[Spongeware CodeBob]

That's an interesting observation! I eventually gave up and switched to Nanazip which is identical to 7zip and with some features.
*"NanaZip is an open source file archiver intended for the modern Windows experience, forked from the source code of well-known open source file archiver 7-Zip"

https://apps.microsoft.com/store/detail/nanazip/9N8G7TSCL18R

[Eden Wheeler]

Hello,
In my knowledge, When you right-click, the options for 7-Zip and AESCrypt don't show up, even though you've tried different solutions from the internet. Strangely, OneDrive and Dropbox options appear fine, and when you installed WinRAR, it worked without a problem.

Before jumping to reinstalling Windows, let's try to figure out why 7-Zip and AESCrypt aren't showing up. Check if there are any other programs or settings causing this issue. Also, compare your computer settings with your wife's and friend's laptops where everything works. This might help us find what's going wrong without the need for a drastic solution like reinstalling Windows. If you can share more details about your computer and the programs you have, it would be helpful.
You can also check this: https://www.reddit.com/r/Windows11/comments/12alrgw/move_7zip_from_show_more_options_to_appear_in/gcp training

I hope this will help you.
Regards
Eden Wheeler

[BretAB]

Hi,

I realize this is a very old thread, but I had the same "no 7-Zip right-click Context Menu entries" problem, also on a Win 11 Pro (64bit) machine. The 7-Zip version is up to 12-04 as of today. Here's what worked for me:

1. Uninstall the 7-Zip v12.04 64bit that was only recently installed from the 64bit msi download.
2. Install the 7-Zip v12.04 64bit from the available exe, instead of the msi.
3. Joy! 7-Zip right-click Context Menu options are now back : )
   I hope that works for you.

Btw, I didn't try just to uninstall/reinstall the msi. Maye that would have worked, but I'm short on debugging time today. An msi to exe attempt has worked for me in the past for other softwares.

Regards . . .

[Spongeware CodeBob]

Appreciate the follow up on this, but I eventually abandoned 7Zip and installed Nanazip instead. Identical in every way to 7Zip and it worked immediately. Would still like to get AESCrypt to work.

[arhfk]

i just wanted to add, windows 10 x64 here, all updates, that after YEARS, today, with the help on UnigetUI, 7-zip MSI updated from 23.01 to 24.05 and 7-zip is BACK to the context menu. i hope it will be there after the next restart. libreoffice templates still are missing in context menu.

unigetui just used winget upgrade 7zip.7zip

restarted windows one time so far, and 7-zip is still in the context menu

the MSI has the extra word "edition" in it (exe: x64 /// MSI: x64 edition)