Folder commands missing from "background" right click when I click on empty space next to folder

[lukevan]

Hi there,

previously, one was able to right click in empty space on a folder and have the same commands show up that show when right clicking on a folder:

These are the options that show when right clicking ON the folder.

And as of a recent update, these are not available when right clicking in blank space:

I dug around in the registry to see if it was possible to link the command, but it shows in Directory/shellex as normal, so I imagine this is something that has changed on Dropbox side.

Is it possible to bring this back at all?

Thanks,
Luke

[Megan]

Hey @lukevan, happy Monday! 

What is the current OS version you're using, and how long has this behavior been going on? 

Feel free to also let me know the version of the Dropbox app that you have installed on your device. 

Thanks!

[lukevan]

Hey Megan!

I am on Windows 11 21H2, Dropbox App version v159.4.5870, and I can't say exactly but I think it was from about last week. I know something happened as I regularly grab the dropbox link with a right click as I mentioned in the main post.

Thanks

[Hannah]

Hey @lukevan, sorry to jump in here.

Does the folder get selected, when you right-click on the blank space next to it?

And what do you see when you right-click on files (both on the name and on the blank space) outside of Dropbox?

[lukevan]

Hey Hannah, no problem.

Here is a link to a screen recording to show what I mean.

Specifically:
- Right clicking ON a folder shows Dropbox menu as normal.
- Previously, going into the folder and right clicking in empty space would also show the same menu (that being the options of the parent folder being right clicked in step one). This has since changed.

Thanks!

[Nancy]

Hi @lukevan, and apologies for the late reply. 

Can you please let me know if the same issue still persists, so that we can check this further?

[Rich]

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@lukevan wrote:

previously, one was able to right click in empty space on a folder and have the same commands show up that show when right clicking on a folder

---

Dropbox doesn't control this; your operating system does.

Dropbox has no control over how your clicks are interpreted. All Dropbox can do is register its options in the system registry so that Windows knows what to display in the context menu for various actions. The issue here is that a right-click in the white space doesn't first select the folder before Windows shows the available options on the context menu, so Windows presents the options for the parent folder, since that is what's selected when the context menu appears. Dropbox can't change that.

The following shows Windows 10 so it's not the same as your operating system, but it also shows that this likely hasn't changed. (Sorry for the speed. I had to keep it short to fit under the max size for the attachment.)

I'm in a folder called Test. Within it, I first right-click on the white space next to a folder called PowerPoint. You can see that the folder doesn't get selected in the process, so Windows treats this as though I'm right-clicking on the background of the Test folder; not the PowerPoint folder.

I then right-click on the name of the PowerPoint folder itself. You can see that the folder is selected and Windows gives me the appropriate Dropbox options for that folder.

And finally I first left-click the white space next to the Capture folder which selects the folder, and then I right-click the white space and get the expected Dropbox options.

All of this is controlled by the operating system.

[Paltik]

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@Rich wrote:

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@lukevan wrote:

previously, one was able to right click in empty space on a folder and have the same commands show up that show when right clicking on a folder

---

Dropbox doesn't control this; your operating system does.

Dropbox has no control over how your clicks are interpreted. All Dropbox can do is register its options in the system registry so that Windows knows what to display in the context menu for various actions. The issue here is that a right-click in the white space doesn't first select the folder before Windows shows the available options on the context menu, so Windows presents the options for the parent folder, since that is what's selected when the context menu appears. Dropbox can't change that.

The following shows Windows 10 so it's not the same as your operating system, but it also shows that this likely hasn't changed. (Sorry for the speed. I had to keep it short to fit under the max size for the attachment.)

I'm in a folder called Test. Within it, I first right-click on the white space next to a folder called PowerPoint. You can see that the folder doesn't get selected in the process, so Windows treats this as though I'm right-clicking on the background of the Test folder; not the PowerPoint folder.

I then right-click on the name of the PowerPoint folder itself. You can see that the folder is selected and Windows gives me the appropriate Dropbox options for that folder.

And finally I first left-click the white space next to the Capture folder which selects the folder, and then I right-click the white space and get the expected Dropbox options.

All of this is controlled by the operating system.

---

But how about if you want to Copy the dropbox link of the TEST folder? In Windows 10 you can just right click on an empty space and get the option "Copy Dropbox link" which on your example video is the dropbox link of the TEST folder. But in Windows 11, that is no longer possible. Any workaround for this? Thank you.

[Walter]

Hey @Paltik - sorry to jump in here, but it's not quite clear why you're unable to right click on the test folder's name on your Windows 11 device to get the shared link to it. Could you elaborate a tad so that we can assist further?

[Paltik]

Hi @Walter , thanks for responding. SOrry for the confusion. I'll try to explain as much as possible. Screenshots attached as an example.

Let's say for example I have this folder called Test Folder. I upload a lot of files and sub folders in there to share to my teammates.  In Windows 10, after putting files in that folder, out of habit, I just RIGHT CLICK on an empty space inside that folder and the option to "Copy Dropbox link" (folder link) would appear from the menu that I could then copy and paste to an email. Which is for me is fast and efficient. 

But as soon as I switched to Windows 11, I'm starting to get frustrated with this right click options of this OS. I can no longer just right click on an empty space of a folder to copy its Dropbox link. I have to now go back one level higher so I could right click on the folder itself to get the option "Copy Dropbox link" (screenshot 2).