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Where is "open with" in the Explorer context menu?

Anonymous
2025-06-04T17:42:18+00:00

Pretty much daily, I need to open multiple graphic files at once in Photoshop.

But selecting two or more PNGs in Explorer and right-clicking invokes a menu that inexplicably lacks "open with," despite that being available for a single file.

This was a standard feature in Windows for years if not decades, but here we are in 2025 and it has disappeared. Why?

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Files, folders, and storage

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  1. Francisco Montilla 24,345 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2025-06-04T18:14:02+00:00

    Hello,

    In the modern Windows Explorer context menu, "Open with" no longer appears directly when you select two or more files. Microsoft simplified the right-click menu, and by design the multi-file "Open with" verb was removed from the primary list. To get it back, select your PNGs, hold down Shift and right-click (or choose "Show more options" if you see the condensed menu). That expands to the classic menu where "Open with" should be listed, letting you pick Photoshop for opening multiple files at once.

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