Remove "Set as desktop background" from Windows context menu

Question

When I right click an image file in Windows, one of the context menu options is "Set as desktop background". I know some entries can be hidden with registry edits, so I'd like to know if it's possible to remove the "Set as background" option.

Note that while most context menu entries can be found under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\, the "set as background" option seems to be located somewhere else.

Stevoisiak · Accepted Answer · 2025-05-04T19:58:01.743

While it's possible to remove the "Set as desktop background" option by editing the registry manually, it's much easier to do using ShellMenuView.

Simply run the program, search for the Menu Key setdesktopwallpaper, select every matching entry with Shift+Click, right click the group, and select "Disable selected items".

If you do want to try manually editing the key with Regedit, it should be listed as HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\SystemFileAssociations\.‌png\Shell\setdesktop‌wallpaper. Be warned that removing this key may disable the ability to change your wallpaper altogether.

Source: The How-To Geek

Eric F · Answer 2 · 2017-03-14T19:34:42.600

Yes you can do it one of two ways:

Method 1

You can modify Windows Registry.

Press windows key + R to open Run
Type regedit and click ok.

Type the following:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers

Each folder inside this registry folder represents an item that is in the context menu. Simply delete the one you do not want. You may want to copy the registry value and save it somewhere else in case you ever want to get it back.