The items on the context menu are all in the registry and a simple registry hack can easily remove them. Note that this is for the more experienced user and there are registry management utilities available for those who are inexperienced with accessing the Windows registry directly. Also, before digging into the registry and making any changes; create a restore point so that if you cause any undue problems you will be able to reverse the changes.
To clean up the context menu by hacking the registry, open regedit.exe from the Start menu. The unfortunate part of this is that context menu items are not stored in one location in the registry. You can find most of the menu items for various files and folders by searching one of the following registry keys:

• HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell
• HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers
• HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AllFileSystemObjects\ShellEx

If the menu items are associated with specific folders, they can be found in one of the following two registry keys:

• HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell
• HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Shellex\ContextMenuHandlers

Items in the context menu will need to be changed differently depending on the location in the registry. Shell items are the easiest to find. For example, browse to the shell key under Directory.

To hide an item, use Shift+Right-Click and add a new string value in the right pane. Name the new string “Extended”.

This will hide the item from the context menu. You can also enter “LegacyDisable” for the new string value and this will disable the key. If you choose to delete the key entirely, export and save a copy first.

When dealing with “shellex” items, you will go to one of the keys listed above:

• HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers

Determine the correct item by the key name in the left pane. Disable it by inserting a few dashes before the value item. This will not delete the item. In this example, SUPERAntiSpyware is disabled from the context menu in this manner.

Each key location indicated above will need to be searched to find the items you wish to remove (disable) from the context menu. For specific file types, use the Extended or LegacyDisable string values to disable. You will only need to edit the string with dashes for shellex items. This may seem tedious to some users while others may prefer these methods.

You can actually learn a lot by perusing the registry but it should always be done with great care. If you are inexperienced with this, create a full backup of the registry before playing around and, as mentioned, create a restore point

Editing entries of the context menu in Windows Explorer natively is complicated and problematic. It involves editing the Windows Registry directly. Most users do not want to keep the entries in the Windows Explorer context menu either, because it makes the menu look messy and might even result in clicks on the wrong items.

A program like Context Menu Editor offers a solution for Windows users who would like to remove entries from Windows Explorer’s context menu. The free program lists the available menus in a pulldown menu on startup. All menu items are listed, and the description, file location and details of the selected file are displayed as well.

Items are removed with a click on Delete From Menu. Some Windows users may need to start the program with elevated rights. This is done with a right-click on the program icon and the selection of Run as administrator from the menu.

Item names, descriptions and locations aid the user in finding the entries that they want deleted. A issue here is that the program does not display the actual context menu entries, but only the item’s name in its interface. It may sometimes be necessary to research a name on the Internet to find out if it is the right entry.

Entries that are deleted are removed from Windows Explorer immediately. It may pay off to have an Explorer window open to check the effects directly in the file manager.

Context Menu Editor offers menu editing for the File Context Menu, the Folder Context Menu and the Internet Explorer Context Menu.

The software is easy to handle which makes it powerful and at the same time dangerous, as it is possible to remove entries that are still needed on the system. A backup option to restore deleted settings is missing, which makes this even more serious.

Context Menu Editor is not the most sophisticated of editors available. Especially the lack of backup and the missing display of the actual entries are negatives. Interested Windows users can download the free program from the developer website. The software program is compatible with all recent 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the Windows operating system.

Windows keeps track of multiple context menus, that depend on the location of the right-click. The core locations are computer, desktop, drives, files and folders. Files are special, as it is often the case that file extensions have their own context menu items set. Music players for instance like to add entries to music files.

Ultimate Windows Context Menu Customizer is a software for Windows to manage context menu items. The program can be used to add, remove and edit items in the Windows context menu. One would expect that the “ultimate” program would support all context menus, but that is unfortunately not the case. It is only possible to add, edit or remove general items, and not file extension specific items.

But that’s on the other hand the only issue that I had with the program. The following interface is displayed on program start:

You have the context menu locations and their items on the left. Just select one of the locations with the mouse to see all global context menu items directly on the right. Selected items are displayed at the bottom under Add/Edit Item. Here you see the text, command, icon and position.

Existing items can be edited or removed with a click on the button in the footer bar of the application. New items are added with a click on Add Item.

The right side of the program window lists pre-defined items that can be added to the context menus. The list is divided into applications at the top and commands below the application list.

Applications include the Windows Task Manager, calculator, Internet Explorer, Windows Media Player or the snipping tool. Commands can be used to enable or disable Windows Aero, clear the clipboard, defragment the PC or closed hanged applications.

The context menu manager us a handy program for Windows users who would like to modify their operating system’s global context menu items. Only the missing options to edit or remove file type specific context menu items reduces the program’s reach.

Interested users can download the Ultimate Windows Context Menu Customizer from the developer website. The program is compatible with Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7.

A viable alternative is the Windows Context Menu Manager which can modify items based on file extensions.

The Firefox add-on FfChrome optimizes the browser’s context menu on the fly. It automatically displays only a selection of items on right-click, and a show more link that switches the menu to all available context menu items.

The standard Firefox text form context menu

The optimized text form context menu

In this example, entries to extension items, the language selector and spell checking have been removed from the context menu automatically. Most, if not all of those, entries are not used regularly if at all.

But what if you need an entry that the extension has removed automatically? You can configure the items that you want to be always visible on right-click in the extension’s options.

Here it is possible to enable or disable context menu items. This is not limited to standard Firefox items as all context menu entries of extensions are available for selection as well. All context menu items are displayed in one list, which makes configuration slightly less comfortable as it could be, especially if a lot of extensions are installed that have added their own items to the browser’s context menus.

A search would be handy to find specific entries. Still, going through that list should not take to much time. The new entries become available immediately.

The only other option in the settings of the extension is the time delay before the menu expands, which is set to a a quarter of a second by default. You can increase or decrease that value in the options.

It takes some time to get used to the optimized context menu, but that should not take longer than a browsing session or two.

The reduction should optimize the workflow further once you have grown accustomed to the new menu layouts.

FfChrome is available for all Firefox versions from 3.0 onwards. It can be directly installed on the extension’s Mozilla add-on repository page.

What can you do to resolve those file association issues? You can either try to resolve the issue by uninstalling and installing applications again, start editing the Windows Registry, or use a program like Context Menu Manager which makes the configuration process more comfortable.

The portable software displays all file extension management options on the first screen after it has been started. You select a file extension from the Extension List drop down menu to change file associations and shell context menu entries. New file types can be added, and existing ones removed for a clean start.

One interesting option here is the option to find the best suitable program for the file type. This is done with a click on Find Appropriate Program which opens a Microsoft website in the default Internet browser.

You can make changes to the default file association of the program, for instance to switch from one program to a new one that you have installed or available on the computer. Context menu entries can be removed, added or edited.

The Windows application links to three additional pages that offer more context menu related features.

You can add new context menu entries on page two, for instance to run a program with a different priority setting, or to register or unregister dynamic link libraries and ocx files.

There are also options to run a dos box from the active folder, add new open with links or to add copy, move and send to commands to the context menu.

The features offered on the second page can extend the functionality of the context menu further.

I’m not really sure about the purpose of the My Extension Manager on page three of the program. My guess is that it can be used to configure alternative programs for specific file extensions, in a similar manner as the portable software eXpresso does.

You can add file extensions and parameters on the page that can then supposedly be opened with the selected application.

This demonstrates one of the weaknesses of the program. There is no help or documentation which may leave you guessing at times what a specific feature does.

The fourth and final page can add context menu items to the My Computer context menu. From changing the computer’s state to adding links to Windows control panel applets and basic tools. It is all there and selectable.

Context Menu Manager is a solid program that is very effective when it comes to editing, adding or removing context menu items and default program associations. The software has been tested on a 64-bit edition of Windows 7. Downloads are provided at the developer website (linking to download portals). I have tested the program on Virus Total and it turned out to be clean. I suggest you do the same before you run it for the first time.

Update: Please note that the more than 50% of all virus engines on Virus Total test the application as malicious. Thanks Richard for re-testing the application. We have therefor removed the download link until the issue is resolved.

Update 2: The developer has contacted me. The extension was recompiled which has reduced the number of positive hits on Virus Total to 6 out of 40. The hits are likely false positives.

The reason for the behavior? Apparently to protect users from “accidentally performing these actions on a large number of files”.

Take a look at the screenshots below. First a screenshot when one file is selected:

Now compare that context menu with one when 16 files are selected in Windows Explorer.

Notice the difference? Several context menu entries that programs have added are removed, for instance the option to securely delete the selected files or to run the files sandboxed.

The only option to correct the situation is to add a new key to the Windows Registry. But first, lets take a look at a screenshot that shows the same situation with the Registry setting in place:

Notice that some of the context menu entries are visible again. Please note that some are missing because of the mix of file types.

Change Context Menu Limit

A parameter needs to be added to the Windows Registry to change the limit of the context menu. The fastest way to open the Registry Editor is to press Windows-R, type regedit, and the return key afterwards.

Navigate to the following Registry key

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer

and look for the entry MultipleInvokePromptMinimum on the right side. If it is there good, if not create it with a right-click on the right side and the selection of New > DWORD (32-Bit Value). Copy and paste the name from above into the text field and hit return.

Double-click the item afterwards and change the Value data to 16.

16 is interpreted by Windows as unlimited.

The change is immediate and it is a good idea to test it right away in Windows Explorer. Keep the Registry editor window open in case you need to make changes to the parameter.

The hotkey Windows-Z or holding down the right mouse button and moving the mouse down will open a customizable context menu on the screen. Files, folders, email addresses, website addresses and system tools can be added easily to that context menu to open the tools and locations faster than usually.

The context menu needs to be configured on first run. This is done from the context menu itself or the system tray icon.

The context menu consists of items which link to one of the elements described above, submenus to sort specific items into groups and separators to further distinguish between items.

The menu supports drag and drop so that items can be sorted with the mouse after they have been created. Items are defined by selecting one from the menu and then a type from the choose type pulldown menu.

It is basically possible to add any number of file links, websites, emails, applications and folders to the context menu to open these items faster. System tools range from control panel items to system folders, utilities, Internet Explorer features such as deleting cookies or history to so called actions which can clear the clipboard, lock the screen, shut down windows or turn Aero on or off.

The program extends the Windows Clipboard automatically so that nine entries can be saved instead of just one. The context menu contains a folder with advanced editing features for saved items.

The feature list in detail:

* Easy and quick access to folders, files, programs, links, e-mail templates, and command line operations
* Run an unlimited number of shortcuts with one item!
* Unlimited number of shortcuts and menus available that are fully customizable
* Access to Open/Save dialogs and fast folder switching in explorer
* 9 extra clipboards – with advanced editing functions (See below)
* Hide and show windows
* Memos that hold commonly used text and can be sent to an active window or placed on the clipboard
* Customizable Hot keys and Mouse Gestures for each feature
* Special shortcut type which will allow you to navigate a directory in a menu
* Drag & drop interface and Windows Explorer context menu integration lets you add any shortcut with just few clicks
* Save any menu you have created as an S-Menu file that you can run outside of Quick Cliq
* A Recent menu that will log recently closed folders so that you can access them quickly
* Ability to turn off any feature/option you don’t currently need

The Clipboard Features
* The clipboards can hold binary data (files/folders) as well as application specific data
* View and Edit any clipboard in it’s native format or plain text
* Append data to any clipboard making it a useful list making tool
* Basic text formatting
* Clean all formatting from the clipboard leaving only plain text (remove HTML formatting)
* Convert copied files to their full file path
* Save the clipboard’s content to a file

The portable application uses a surprisingly low amount of system resources while running. The working set was around 5 Megabytes of RAM on our 64-bit Windows test system.

Quick Cliq is available for download at the developer website. It has been designed as part of Donation Coder’s NANY 2011 challenge.

The standard behavior in Windows Explorer links one program, the so called default program, to a file type or folder. It is common knowledge that it is possible to add items to the Windows Explorer context menu, as many programs tend to do that. Think of all the archivers like WinZip or WinRar for instance, they love to add options to the right-click menu.

Research did not reveal many applications that would allow the user to add custom items to Windows Explorer. To make things worse, most guides where outdated. Finding Fast Explorer among the noise was pure luck.

The free software program is compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows, including Windows Vista and Windows 7. It can be used to add programs to the context menu, and also to remove entries from it if necessary.

Fast Explorer scans all existing file associations and context menu entries in the Registry on startup, before it displays the program interface.

fast explorer

The program offers two main options, that are divided into two items each. The first group is divided into static items and submenu items. This refers to the location of the new entries in the context menu. Static items appear in the root structure, while submenus in a folder structure.

Both can be configured to be displayed for specifically selected file types, or for all file types. Let us use yesterday’s example to demonstrate how easy it is to create a new entry in the Windows Explorer right-click menu.

Jojo wanted the option to launch Internet Explorer favorites with a browser that is not the default browser. In his case, Firefox was the default browser and he wanted to launch them with Internet Explorer.

Selecting Static Items in the left menu, and then the Add button allows us to do that. This opens the file browser, to select an application from the system, in this case the Internet Explorer program. Fast Explorer displays the changes in its interface after selection.

The right column lists the item details. It is currently configured for all files, which means the new Internet Explorer entry will appear on all file right-clicks in Windows Explorer. Not that useful as it adds to the noise and is usually not needed.

A click on File Type opens the file type browser. Locate the Internet Shortcut .url in the list and select it. A click on Apply confirms the change, and adds the Internet Explorer entry to the right-click menu in Windows Explorer.

add custom items windows explorer

The same method applies to the submenu entries, with the difference that you should begin by adding a submenu from the Item menu before adding programs to it.

It is also important to note that the selected file association of the core link needs to be identical to the selected file types of the programs added to the program. The core link will set the type automatically to All Files by default. This has to side effects. It first adds to the clutter in the context menu, as the new options are displayed for every file type. It second means that it may not appear for the selected file association of the program. This is for instance the case if you select All Files, and the program to be linked to Internet shortcuts.

windows explorer right click

Adding new programs to the Windows Explorer menu, can be beneficial for many different work scenarios. Think of software developers who want to open source code in a development suite, but sometimes also in Notepad or another program that can process the source files, or photographers who process their files in different programs.

The custom items can be removed at any time from the program. Changes are immediately visible in Windows Explorer.

The second group offered by the program offers to cleanup entries that have been added by other programs. Especially the Shell Extensions Cleanup menu can be helpful in removing invalid or unnecessary items from the right-click menu in Windows Explorer.

Fast Explorer displays a list of invalid entries at the top of the list. Those are leftovers from previous installations, and can usually be removed without side effects.

But deleting is only one choice. It is furthermore possible to locate the right dynamic link library in Windows to fix the entry.

context menu management

Fast Explorer 2008 is an excellent program for Windows users who want more control over the Windows Explorer context menu. The developer website is still available, the program downloads on the other hand not. We have taken the liberty to add the files to our server so that everyone can download them easily.

• Fast Explorer Setup
• Fast Explorer Portable

Now if Microsoft would only begin to add this functionality to Windows. Fingers crossed that they expand the options in Windows 8.

Context Menu Enhancer has been designed to add features to the Windows Explorer context menu. The program displays the list of available options after startup.

context menu enhancer

It is possible to add entries to the general, my computer, send to and files / folders context menu. Several interesting additions are available for the general context menu, including the option to launch an elevated command prompt, create or print a file list, copy or move to folder, or enable the so called god mode.

The My Computer menu offers to add folders directly to My Computer, the computer desktop or Control Panel. Those are not shown as context menu entries but directly in the Windows Explorer window. Items can be added and removed from the Send To menu.

The files and folders section can again be enhanced with additional folder and program links, that become directly available in the context menu. Available options here are to create a single menu or a cascading menu.

Changes made in the program are directly available in the Windows Explorer menus or view modes.

Context Menu Enhancer is compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the Windows operating system. Downloads and additional information are provided at the developer website.

In this tutorial I am going to introduce you to Nautilus actions by way of the shred command. When this action is used a file is deleted beyond recovery (thanks to the shred command). Once you see how this shred action is created, you can then take that and build upon it to the limits of your imagination.

Shred

Before we begin with the action, let me explain a bit about the shred command. Shred does one thing – it overwrites a file to hide its contents and then (optionally) deletes the file. (Of course, for our action, we will be using shred to delete the file.) But why not just delete the file? Simple. A file that has been deleted using the standard means can, with enough work, be recovered. If there is a file you do not want to be able to be recovered, using shred is your best bet.

The basic usage of shred is:

shred [OPTION] file

Now for this action we will be employing a few options:

• f: Change permissions to allow writing (if needed).
• u: Remove the file after overwriting.
• z: Add a final overwrite of zeros to hide shredding.

There will also be one Nautilus Action parameter used:

M: This option sends a space-separated list of the selected file(s) and/or folder(s) to the command used.

Nautilus Action Editor

Figure 1

To open the tool go to the Preferences sub-menu of the System menu and select Nautilus Actions Configuration. When this new window opens (see Figure 1) . From this window click the Add button to create a new action.

The new window that opens will be (for the most part) self explanatory (for our shred example). But this is the information you will fill in:

• Label: Shred
• Tooltip: Shred a file
• Icon: gtk-delete
• Path: /usr/bin/shred
• Parameters: -f -u -z %M

Figure 2

Figure 2 shows the completed window ready to be OK’d. Once you have completed that information, and clicked OK, you will be back at the Nautilus Actions Configuration window. The only difference will be your new action will be listed in the left pane. You can now close out that window.

Using your new action

All actions are listed in the file manager context menu. In other words, when you right click a file or folder within a Nautilus window, your actions will show up in that menu (see Figure 3).

If I were to now right click on a file (or folder) and select the Shred entry that file would then be shredded. Recovering that shredded file would be quite difficult (if not impossible).

These actions will also show up in the Nautilus Edit menu as well. And remember, you can select multiple files/folders (use the <Ctrl> key when selecting multiple files/folders) and shred them all simultaneously.

Final thoughts

These Nautilus Actions can extend your GNOME file manager as far as you can imagine. Give this feature a try and see if you can come up with a cool action to share with your fellow Ghacks readers.

The application will display a configuration window after installation which is displaying the shell entries that have been added by the application. This includes copying the path, opening the command prompt, running files with parameters or opening notepad or paint.

Not all of the entries are needed though. It is possible to remove some entries from the context menu entry. New entries – called commands in the application – can be added as well. Every entry consists of a title, program name, arguments, directories and other variables that can be defined during creation. Entries can be moved around to change their position in the context menu.

It is for instance possible to add any executable file to the right-click context menu including specific launch parameters. Another interesting feature of Open++ is the ability to use short path and prompts for arguments when pressing keys on the keyboard at the same time.

The application is running as a rundll.exe process with about 3 Megabytes of computer memory usage after installation.

Menu Maid (via Tech Quest) displays two tabs after startup. The first displays right-click items in Internet Explorer while the second does the same for Windows Explorer. The entries are divided into categories. The Windows Explorer entries are for example divided into Everything, Directories, Drives and Folders. Each category lists items that are displayed when right-clicking specific icons in Windows Explorer.

You can disable any item with one click which means that it only takes a few seconds to remove all entries that are not needed in Windows Explorer. Changes will be visible immediately. There was however on entry (Groove folder synchronization) that continued to show up even after it was disabled in Menu Maid. Since it is installed with Microsoft Office it seems to be that it is controlled by other settings in the operating system.

Menu Maid has a size of 123 Kilobytes and can be helpful if you prefer an efficient interface without in depth information about the context menu handlers.

The interface itself has been streamlined for ease of use. Each of the three options can be configured in their own tabs by checking or unchecking checkboxes. All of the 27 new functions are added by default after installation. They range from deleting locked files over displaying information about the size of folders to synchronizing directories. Most users will probably stick with a basic set of functions and disable the ones that they do not need. Another option would be to add all functions to a submenu for a better overview.

The commands of other applications that show up when a file or folder is right-clicked that is triggering the event are shown as well. They are divided into submenus like Drives, Folders or Printers. A click on an entry will display the context menu entries that have been added by third party applications.

Each entry can be removed to optimize the menus.

File Menu Tools provide access to separators and folders that can be added to further optimize the display of the context menu entries. It is furthermore possible to move the entries around.

File Menu Tools provide an easy way to configure and optimize the Windnows Explorer context menu entries.

The three items of Windows Media Player that I’m talking about are a) Add to Burn List, b) Add to Windows Media Player Player List and c) Play with Windows Media Player.

Do the following to remove the Windows Media Player menu items: Press Windows R, type in regedit32 and hit enter. Now navigate to the following keys in HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Clsid\. I would suggest to make a backup of the keys before deleting them. To backup a registry key you right-click it and select Export from the menu.

a) {8DD448E6-C188-4aed-AF92-44956194EB1F}
b) {F1B9284F-E9DC-4e68-9D7E-42362A59F0FD}
c) {CE3FB1D1-02AE-4a5f-A6E9-D9F1B4073E6C}

Changes will take effect immediately and can be tested by right-clicking a multimedia file like a video. Another working method would be to unregister the wmpshell.dll which is used to provide the context menu items. This is probably the easier method.

Press Windows R, type in regsvr32 /u wmpshell.dll, hit enter

To register it again you do the following:

Press Windows R, type in regsvr32 wmpshell.dll, hit enter

Those changes take effect immediately as well.

You have to open your registry by clicking start, run and typing in regedit.  Open the first key HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT and select the * which should be the first key beneath. Expand the * key and select the subkey shell. If shell does not exist you create it by right clicking the * and choosing New -> Key from the menu. Name the key shell. Right click the shell key afterwards and select New -> Key again. Find a name that describes the action, for example Open with Notepad, Open with Wordpad..

Now right click the Default string on the left and select Modify. The name that you put in here will be the name that pops up when you right click on a file. Select Open with Notepad for example. Right click the key again and create a new key. You have to name this new key Command. After this right click the Default String again and enter the filename of the program that you want to use, for example notepad.exe %1

%1  means that it will perform the action on the selected file. You now should have a structure that begins with *, a subkey shell, a subkey Open with notepad, a subkey command. To test if this is working right click a file on your desktop. The new command should appear.