by Jason Garland

Created on: January 09, 2009

As a professional computer technician, I can always tell a Windows power user from your average user by how at ease they are with using the context menu. The context menu is that little box of options you get when you right-click on something, and that little box is often the portal to a host of shortcuts and advanced configuration options that the average user totally misses out on.

The context menu can be opened in several different ways, right-clicking only being the most obvious choice for mouse-heavy Microsoft Windows. In addition you can use the shortcut keys SHIFT+F10 or you can opt for the one-button option on most keyboards called the menu key. The menu key can be found between the ALT and CTRL key on the bottom right of the keyboard, and it has a little emblem on it that is supposed to represent a mouse pointer hovering over a menu box.

Go ahead and try it right now if you have one. If you're in your browser (which you should be if you're reading this article), you'll notice that a menu pops up in the upper left hand corner of the screen giving you some very useful options that you've probably never seen consolidated into one menu before. If that's what you saw, great! You're on your way to power user status. But don't stop there. Context menus are available for just about every icon, object, window and program on your computer.

Try right-clicking out on the Windows desktop. You'll notice you get a host of options related to how the desktop and display look. Now click on an icon or file and hit the menu key. Yet another series of options specific to those objects. Probably the most convenient and least used option on that particular menu is the "Send To" option, which allows you to send the selected file to a variety of different place such as hard drives, USB drives, CD-Rs for burning, or even to the desktop as a shortcut. No need to drag and drop all the time when all you have to do is hit the menu key or right-click to get the job done.

One last interesting use of the context menu is the options you can get from the desktop icons for My Computer, My Network, and Internet Explorer. By accessing the context menu and clicking on Properties for each, you'll be shuttled directly to the same menus you would get if you were to access System, Network Connections, and Internet Options in the Control Panel. If you find yourself accessing these Control Panel applets as often as I do, then you see how this saves you an immense amount of time and effort.

So now that you've learned a new trick you can start exploring the world of the context menu. You'll be a power user in no time!

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