Missing ZIP Option in Windows Right-Click Menu — Here's How to Fix It

The classic "Send to → Compressed (zipped) folder" option sometimes disappears from the Windows right-click context menu. Here's what causes it and how to get it back in under two minutes.

What Happened

Windows ships with a built-in ZIP shell extension handled by zipfldr.dll. When third-party tools like Git, VLC, or OneDrive add their own context menu entries, they can displace or corrupt the ZIP handler registration — leaving you with a bloated menu but no ZIP option.

Fix 1 — Check the Send to Submenu

Before anything else, right-click your folder or file and hover over Send to →. The "Compressed (zipped) folder" option is sometimes hiding in the submenu even when it's not visible at the top level.

Fix 2 — Re-register the ZIP Shell Extension

Open Command Prompt as Administrator and run:

regsvr32 zipfldr.dll

This re-registers the native ZIP handler with Windows Shell. Restart Explorer or reboot after running it.

Fix 3 — Restart Windows Explorer

Sometimes a stale shell session is all that's causing the issue. Run this in CMD:

taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
start explorer.exe

Fix 4 — Verify the Registry Key

Press Win + R, type regedit, and navigate to:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CompressedFolder

If this key is missing or corrupted, the ZIP option will not appear anywhere in the context menu. You may need to restore it from another machine or via a .reg export.

Root Cause

Heavy context menu contributors — Git Bash, Git GUI, VLC, SkyDrive Pro — are visible in the screenshot. Any one of them can push a bad shell extension that breaks ZIP registration as a side effect. Fix 2 resolves this in most cases.