This tiny app adds Acrylic effect to old Windows 10 and 11 context menus

Although Microsoft is working day and night on making Windows 11 more modern and fancy, the OS retains remnants of the old days below its skin. For example, there are two context menus: one modern and one legacy. If you are not happy with how the legacy menus look in Windows 11 (and Windows 10), here is a tiny open-source app (via OnMsft) for making them a little fancier with the Acrylic effect.

TranslucentFlyouts is a small application that can replace dull-looking solid backgrounds with translucent effects. You can personalize the style (Acrylic, Aero, Transparent), select what parts of the system get fancy treatment, and add extra borders or shadows. The app also supports light and dark modes, does not require installation, and weighs only 80KB.

Although TranslucentFlyouts is an open-source app available for free on GitHub, you must still mind the potential risks of using third-party tools for deeper Windows customization. The program will warn you about the things it does to make Windows 10 and 11 look nicer on the first launch, so be sure to read those carefully. Also, TranslucentFlyouts cannot redo Windows 2000-style context menus (to no one's surprise, they are still present in Windows 11), so some parts of the operating system will remain unchanged.

Speaking of nice-looking things, check out the recently published fan-made concept of the upcoming Windows 12. It offers several neat ideas about improving the taskbar, quick settings, Windows Widgets, File Explorer, and other parts of Microsoft's operating system.

Do you like the Acrylic effect on the old Windows context menus? Share your thoughts in the comments.

This tiny app adds Acrylic effect to old Windows 10 and 11 context menus