How to Set Menus to Open Aligned to Left or Right in Windows 10


In Windows, you can change where menus appear on the screen by indicating which hand you write with.

If you set right-handed, then menus appear to the left of your hand (pointer).

If you set left-handed, then menus appear to the right of your hand (pointer).

This tutorial will show you how to have menus open aligned to the left or right by default for your account in Windows 10.

If you open a menu near the display border and the menu doesn't have enough space, it will automatically open aligned to the other side by default.

Contents

• Option One: To Set Menus to Open to the Left or Right in Tablet PC Settings
• Option Two: To Set Menus to Open to the Left or Right in Pen & Windows Ink Settings
• Option Three: To Set Menus to Open to the Left or Right using a REG file

EXAMPLE: Menus opening aligned to left or right

OPTION ONE

To Set Menus to Open to the Left or Right in Tablet PC Settings

1 Press the Win + R keys to open Run, copy and paste the location below into Run, and click/tap on OK to open Tablet PC Settings.

%windir%\explorer.exe shell:::{80F3F1D5-FECA-45F3-BC32-752C152E456E}

2 Click/tap on the Other tab in Tablet PC Settings, select (dot) Right-handed (default - open to left) or Left-handed (open to right) for what you want, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)

OPTION TWO

To Set Menus to Open to the Left or Right in Pen & Windows Ink Settings

This option is only available if your Windows 10 device has a pen.

1 Open Settings, and click/tap on the Devices icon.

2 Click/tap on Pen & Windows Ink on the left side, and select Right Hand (default - open to left) or Left Hand (open to right) in the Choose which hand you write with drop menu for what you want on the right side. (see screenshot below)

3 You can now close Settings if you like. (see screenshot below)

OPTION THREE

To Set Menus to Open to the Left or Right using a REG file

The downloadable .reg files below will add and modify the DWORD value in the registry key below.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows

MenuDropAlignment DWORD

0 = Open to right (left-handed)
1 = Open to left (right-handed)

1 Do step 2 (open to right) or step 3 (open to left) below for what you would like to do.

2 To Set Menus to Open to the Right - Left Hand

A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.

Open_menus_aligned_to_right.reg

Download

3 To Set Menus to Open to the Left - Right Hand

This is the default setting.

A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.

Open_menus_aligned_to_left.reg

Download

4 Save the .reg file to your desktop.

5 Double click/tap on the downloaded .reg file to merge it.

6 When prompted, click/tap on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK to approve the merge.

7 Sign out and sign in to apply.

8 If you like, you can now delete the downloaded .reg file.

That's it,
Shawn

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• How to Change Menu Show Delay Time in Windows 10
• How to Change Text Size for Menus in Windows 10
• How to Turn On or Off Underline Access Key Shortcuts in Menus in Windows 10
• How to Turn On or Off Show Cursor and Visual Effects when using Pen in Windows 10

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