Windows updates are released by Microsoft regularly. They can be a part of “Patch Tuesday,” where the cumulative updates are released on the second Tuesday of every month, type C/D optional updates, or might be Insider releases. Either way, it is something that happens regularly.
Even though both Windows 11 and Windows 10 automatically download and install the updates, you may want to manage them and their relevant settings, like block updates, view update history, etc. For that, you can now add a shortcut to these settings directly in your desktop’s context menu instead of navigating around the Settings app.
In this post, we are going to show you how to add a “Windows Update” shortcut directly into your context menu so you can quickly access the respective Settings page.
Note that this method only adds these shortcuts to the desktop’s context menu and no other. This means that you will only see these options when you right-click on a space on the desktop.
You can add shortcuts to Windows Update by making changes to the Windows Registry. This can be done both manually and by using a .REG file that will make the necessary changes to the Registry.
The manual method given below only adds one shortcut to the Windows Update Settings page to the context menu, whereas using the .REG file will add multiple shortcuts to different sub-pages of Windows Update.
Add Single Windows Update Shortcut
If you only want to add one shortcut to the Windows Update page, you can use the guide given in these steps:
Note: Misconfiguration of critical values in the system’s registry could be fatal for your operating system. Therefore, we insist that you create a system restore point before proceeding forward with the process.
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Open the Windows Registry editor by typing in regedit in the Run Command box.
Open Registry editor -
Paste the following in the navigation bar at the top for quick navigation:
Computer\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\DesktopBackground\Shell
Paste path for quick navigation -
Right-click the “Shell” key on the left side, expand New from the context menu, and then click Key.
Create new key Name this key “Check for updates.”
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Now right-click the “Check for updates” key, expand New from the context menu, and then click Key again.
Create new key Name this key “command.”
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Now right-click the “Check for updates” key again, expand New, and click String Value.
Create a new String Value Name this String Value “SettingsURI.”
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Double-click “SettingsURI” and assign the following Value Data:
ms-settings:windowsupdate-action
Assign Value Data to SettingsURI -
Now right-click the “command” key again, expand New, and then click String Value.
Create new String Value 2 Name this String Value “DelegateExecute.”
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Double-click “DelegateExecute” and assign the following Value Data:
{556FF0D6-A1EE-49E5-9FA4-90AE116AD744}
Assign Value Data to DelegateExecute
Once done, you can close the Registry editor and proceed to check the “Check for updates” in the desktop’s context menu.
Clicking this option will open the Windows Update Settings page.
If you want to remove this shortcut in the future, simply delete the “Check for updates” key from the Registry editor.
If you wish to add more Windows Update shortcuts to the desktop’s context menu, continue to the next section.
Add Multiple Windows Update Shortcuts
If you wish to get quick access to the Windows Update Settings page as well as other relevant pages, you can use the .REG files given below to add their shortcuts to the context menu.
All you need to do is download and extract these files and execute the .REG file within. When prompted for a UAC and confirmation, click Yes.
For Windows 10:
Add Windows Update To Context Menu Windows 10 (646 bytes, 191 hits)
This .REG file will add the following options to the context menu. The page’s complete path is also mentioned:
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Windows Update
Path:
Settings app >> Update & Security >> Windows update
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Schedule the restart
Path:
Settings app >> Update & Security >> Windows update >> Schedule the restart (When an update is available)
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Update History
Path:
Settings app >> Update & Security >> Windows update >> View update history
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Advanced options
Path:
Settings app >> Update & Security >> Windows update >> Advanced options
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Optional updates
Path:
Settings app >> Update & Security >> Windows update >> View optional updates (when available)
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Delivery optimization
Path:
Settings app >> Update & Security >> Delivery optimization
For Windows 11:
Note: In Windows 11, you will need to click “Show more options” before you are able to see the Windows Update shortcuts in the context menu. Alternatively, you can disable the “Show more options” entirely, enabling direct access to these shortcuts.
Add Windows Update To Context Menu Windows 11 (710 bytes, 196 hits)
This .REG file will add the following options to the context menu. The page’s complete path is also mentioned:
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Windows Update
Path:
Settings app >> Windows update
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Schedule the restart
Path:
Settings app >> Windows update >> Schedule the restart (when an update is available)
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Update History
Path:
Settings app >> Windows update >> Update history
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Advanced options
Path:
Settings app >> Windows update >> Advanced options
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Optional updates
Path:
Settings app >> Windows update >> View optional updates (when available)
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Delivery optimization
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Delivery Optimization
Path:
Settings app >> Update & Security >> Windows update >> Delivery Optimization
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Advanced options
Path:
Settings app >> Update & Security >> Windows update >> Delivery Optimization >> Advanced options
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Activity Monitor
Path:
Settings app >> Update & Security >> Windows update >> Delivery Optimization >> Activity monitor
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As you can see from the lengthy paths above, it can take a while to navigate and find all the important Windows Update and relevant pages through the Settings app. You can save time by adding the shortcuts directly to the context menu.
In the future, if you wish to remove these shortcuts from the context menu you can download and execute the .REG file given below to remove them. This works for both Windows 11 and Windows 10.
Remove Windows Update From Context Menu (318 bytes, 184 hits)
Final Thoughts
For those who are not too keen on updating their operating systems, this whole article may be moot. However, if you keep a close eye on which updates are available and which to install, you can use these context menu shortcuts and save time in managing these updates at the click of a few buttons.
