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If Windows’ Send to menu is missing, empty, or does nothing, repair the current user’s SendTo folder. Press Win+R, enter shell:sendto, and restore valid shortcuts to the destinations you need. On Windows 11, first check Show more options, because the command may be present only in the extended context menu.
What the Send to menu is and where Windows gets it
Send to is a File Explorer context-menu submenu. When you right-click a file or folder, Windows builds that submenu from the current account’s SendTo known folder. Microsoft defines the corresponding known folder as FOLDERID_SendTo, “the file system directory that contains Send To menu items.” On current Windows versions, its normal location is:
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%APPDATA%MicrosoftWindowsSendTo
Each destination is normally represented by a shortcut in that folder. The shortcut can point to a folder, a drive, or a traditional Windows executable. If the folder has no shortcuts, the submenu can be empty even though Windows itself is working. If one shortcut has an invalid target, that individual entry may appear but fail when selected.
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Because this is a per-user folder, repairing it changes Send to for the account you are currently signed in with. It does not automatically rebuild another user’s menu.
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Identify which failure you have
Do not start by changing the registry. First match the visible symptom to the simplest check.
| What you see | Most useful first check | What it usually indicates |
|---|---|---|
| No “Send to” in the first Windows 11 menu | Right-click the item and choose Show more options | The command may be in the classic extended menu rather than the compact menu. |
| “Send to” opens, but the submenu is empty | Open shell:sendto and inspect the folder |
Destination shortcuts are missing or have been removed. |
| One destination is missing | Look for that destination’s .lnk file in SendTo |
That shortcut was deleted, renamed, or never created. |
| An item appears but does nothing or reports an error | Inspect the shortcut’s target and recreate it from the original executable or folder | The shortcut points to the wrong path, or the target does not support ordinary executable launching. |
The distinction matters: restoring a missing shortcut will not fix an application shortcut that points to the wrong file, and rebuilding a shortcut will not make a hidden Windows 11 command appear in the compact menu.
Repair the Send to menu step by step
1. Check Windows 11’s extended context menu
On Windows 11, right-click a file in File Explorer. If Send to is not visible, select Show more options to open the classic context menu. Community reports document configurations in which Send to is absent from the compact menu but available in this extended view.
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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →If the command appears there and its destinations work, there is no damaged SendTo folder to repair. You are seeing a context-menu layout difference. Use the extended menu whenever you need Send to, or use File Explorer’s Share command as an alternative when your immediate goal is to send a file.
2. Open the current user’s SendTo folder
- Press
Win+Rto open the Run dialog. - Type
shell:sendto. - Press
Enter.
This shell command opens the SendTo folder without requiring you to browse through hidden AppData directories. Microsoft Q&A guidance uses this same command for adding or deleting Send to shortcuts.
Leave the folder open while you test. If it opens successfully, Windows can resolve the known folder and you can repair its contents directly. If it opens but contains no entries, the menu is behaving consistently with an empty folder; add only the destinations you actually use.
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3. Check the shortcuts that are already there
Look for files ending in .lnk. A normal entry is a shortcut, not a copy of the destination folder or executable. Open a shortcut’s properties and check that its target still exists.
- For a folder destination, the shortcut target should be the intended folder path.
- For a drive destination, the target should identify the intended drive.
- For a classic application, the target should be the application’s actual
.exefile.
Remove or replace shortcuts that point to an old installation path, a drive that is no longer connected, or a file that has been moved. Deleting a bad shortcut from SendTo does not uninstall the application or delete the target; it only removes that destination from the menu.
Do not copy an entire application folder into SendTo. The menu is designed to contain destination shortcuts, which keeps it readable and avoids making Windows treat ordinary files as menu entries.
4. Restore a missing folder or drive destination
To add a folder or drive, create a shortcut to that destination and place the shortcut in the open SendTo folder. You can create the shortcut on the desktop or in another temporary location first, then move or copy the resulting .lnk file into SendTo. Give it a clear name, such as Project files or Backup drive; that name is what you will see in the submenu.
After adding it, right-click a test file and open Send to. The new name should appear. Selecting it should place or send the item according to the target type and the normal Windows behavior for that destination.
5. Rebuild an application entry from the real executable
A Windows 11 support case found that dragging an application icon into SendTo could produce a shortcut with the wrong target. The reliable correction is to create the shortcut directly from the application’s own .exe, then put that shortcut in SendTo.
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- Locate the application’s actual executable in File Explorer.
- Create a shortcut from that executable itself, rather than dragging a Start-menu tile or an unrelated icon.
- Place the resulting
.lnkfile in the folder opened byshell:sendto. - Right-click a test file and select the newly named entry.
If the target path in the shortcut properties is wrong, delete that shortcut and repeat the process from the correct executable. This approach addresses a malformed entry; it does not change the application’s own file-association or permission settings.
Be cautious with Microsoft Store or other UWP applications. They do not always behave like ordinary executable targets, so a shortcut technique that works for a classic desktop .exe may not produce a usable Send to entry for a UWP app. Test with a traditional executable before concluding that the SendTo folder itself is broken.
6. Use Notepad as a diagnostic test
If you are unsure whether the problem is the menu or a particular application, add a shortcut to Notepad and test it. A simple, known desktop executable gives you a clean comparison:
- Create a shortcut directly to Notepad’s executable.
- Copy that shortcut into the SendTo folder.
- Right-click a small text file and choose Send to, then the Notepad entry.
If Notepad works, the SendTo mechanism and menu are functioning; the original application entry is the likely problem. Recreate that application shortcut from its own .exe. If Notepad also fails, continue checking whether the command is being opened from the correct context menu and whether the SendTo folder actually contains the shortcut.
A 2024 Microsoft Q&A case also discussed restarting after a registration repair. If you have already performed a documented Windows repair that changes shell registration, restart Windows before retesting so Explorer reloads the repaired state. Avoid deleting registry keys at random: the evidence for this symptom supports checking the folder and shortcut targets first, not indiscriminate registry editing.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What to do when the menu is still missing
If it is missing only from the compact Windows 11 menu
Use Show more options and test the classic menu. A command that works there is not evidence of a damaged SendTo folder. The difference is presentation: Windows 11’s compact menu does not expose every legacy command in every configuration.
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If the SendTo folder is empty
Add one known-good shortcut, such as the Notepad test entry, and test again. Then add only the folders, drives, and classic applications you need. An empty folder has no destinations for Windows to display, so restoring the menu means restoring its shortcut files.
If the entry appears but has no effect
Open the shortcut properties and verify the target. Recreate it directly from the target executable or destination folder if the path is stale or incorrect. Test a classic executable before testing a UWP application, because their shortcut behavior is different.
If only one destination fails
Treat it as an entry-specific fault. Leave working shortcuts alone, remove the broken shortcut, recreate it from the correct target, and test again. Rebuilding the entire folder is unnecessary when the rest of the submenu works.
Use Share as a built-in fallback
If your immediate objective is simply to send a file and you do not have time to repair Send to, File Explorer includes a built-in Share command in Windows 10 and Windows 11. Microsoft Support documents Share as the standard alternative for sending files from File Explorer.
Share is not a repair for Send to and does not restore missing shortcuts. It is a separate workflow you can use while you diagnose the folder, a broken application target, or Windows 11’s compact-menu placement.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsA compact decision checklist
- Command absent in Windows 11: choose Show more options and test the classic menu.
- Folder inaccessible: press
Win+R, runshell:sendto, and confirm that Windows opens the current user’s folder. - Folder empty: add a shortcut to a destination you actually use.
- One item missing: recreate that destination’s
.lnkfile. - Application item does nothing: rebuild the shortcut from the application’s real
.exe. - Unsure whether the shell works: test with a Notepad shortcut.
- Need to send a file immediately: use File Explorer’s Share command.
How to verify the repair
Test with a small, non-critical file. Right-click it, open the correct context menu, select Send to, and choose the repaired destination. Confirm that the expected application opens or that the file reaches the intended folder or drive. Then test one more file type if your normal workflow involves different items, such as documents and images.
Keep the SendTo folder limited to valid shortcuts. A short, clearly named list makes future failures easy to diagnose: if a destination disappears, you can tell whether its .lnk file is missing; if it appears but fails, you can inspect that shortcut’s target without disturbing the rest of the menu.
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