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Windows XP - Disable right-click on the desktop

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Right-click is an important option that allows the user to view properties, access other options and rename, copy or delete a particular file or folder. Sometimes one may want to avoid making any changes to files or folders on the desktop and disable right-click for desktop only. For someone using Windows XP as their OS, this can be achieved by accessing the Windows XP registry and using a registry editor. After making the necessary changes to the Explorer options, the computer needs to be restarted to implement the changes.

Disable right-click on the desktop

To disable the right-click (context-menu) on the desktop, you must go through the registry:
  • Click on the Start button. In the search field, type the command "regedit" and press Enter.
  • Locate the following entry: HKEY_CURRENT_USER> Software> Microsoft> Windows> CurrentVersion> Policies> Explorer.
  • Click on the Edit menu> New > DWORD Value > 32 bits.
  • Name it as "NoViewContextMenu" and double-click on it.
  • Enter 1 in the Value Data field. Click on OK.
  • Close the Registry Editor and restart your computer for the changes to take effect.
  • To restore this feature, you can simply delete the "NoViewContextMenu" or set its value to 0.
Jean-François Pillou

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