Vista - Menu Bar

Information

This is the toolbar at the top of a Windows Explorer window with menus. By default, Vista has the Menu bar disabled.

Note

The Menu bar includes the File, Edit, View, Favorites (In IE7), Tools, and Help menus.

Tip

To enable or disable the Menu bar in Internet Explorer, right click on a empty area of the tool bar and click on Menu Bar to check (enable) or uncheck (disable) it.

• How to Underline Keyboard Shortcuts in Vista
• How to Speed up the Menu Show Delay Time in Vista
• How to Change the Menu to Appear to the Left or Right of a Click in Vista
• How to Put the Menu Bar on Top in Internet Explorer 7
• How to Change the Windows Explorer Columns and Sort Order in Vista
• How to Turn the Preview Pane On or Off in Vista
• How to Enable or Disable the Preview Pane in Vista
• How to Turn the Navigation Pane On or Off in Vista
• How to Restore or Remove File from the Vista Explorer Menu Bar

Note

This will temporarily show the Menu bar in Windows Explorer. It will go away as soon as you click on something other than the menu. To turn it on all the time, see the section below.

1. Press the Alt key to just see the Menu bar to click on a menu item to open it.

OR

2. Press the Alt + (underlined letter) keys to open the menu item with that underlined first letter.

1. Open a Windows Explorer window.

2. Click on Organize and Layout. (See screenshot below)

3. To Enable the Menu Bar -

A) Click on Menu Bar to check it.

4. To Disable the Menu Bar -

A) Click on Menu Bar to uncheck it.

1. Open Folder Options.

2. Click on the View tab. (See screenshot below)

3. To Enable the Menu Bar -

A) Check Always show menus.

B) Go to step 5.

4. To Disable the Menu Bar -

A) Uncheck Always show menus.

5. Click on OK.

Through a Download:

1. To Add the Menu Bar -

A) Click on the download button below to download the Add_Menu_Bar.reg file.
B) Go to step 3.

2. To Remove the Menu Bar -

A) Click on the download button below to download the Remove_Menu_Bar.reg file.

3. Click on Save, and save the .reg file to the Desktop.

4. Right click the .reg (On Desktop) file and click Merge.

5. Click on the Run button for Security Warning pop-up.

6. Click on Continue (UAC), Yes, and then OK when prompted.

7. Logoff and logon, or restart the computer to apply the changes.

8. When done, you can delete the .reg file (On Desktop).

The Manual Way:

1. Open the Start Menu.

2. In the white line (Start Search) area, type regedit and press Enter.

3. Click on Continue in the UAC prompt.

4. In regedit, go to: (See screenshot below)
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

5. To Add the Menu Bar -

A) In the right pane, right click on a empty area and click on New and DWORD (32-bit) Value. (See screenshot above)

B) Type NoLogoff and press Enter.

C) Right click on AlwaysShowClassicMenu and click on Modify. (See screenshot below)

D) Type 1 and click on OK. (See screenshot below)

E) The registry will now look like this. (See screenshot below)

F) Go to step 7.

6. To Remove the Menu Bar -

A) In the right pane, right click on AlwaysShowClassicMenu and click on Delete. (See screenshot above)

B) Click on Yes to confirm deletion.

C) In regedit, go to: (See screenshot below)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

D) In the right pane, repeat steps 7A and 7B if AlwaysShowClassicMenu is there to.

7. Close regedit.

8. Logoff and logon, or restart the computer to apply the changes.