Change the context menu. How to remove unnecessary items from the context menu

The context menu can be cleaned manually through the registry, but this task is not trivial, since the entries are scattered in different places. In addition, it is not always easy to identify the correct registry key. For example, drivers are registered with the abbreviation "igfx". Registry entries are scattered across the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT branch in the shell or shellex folders, which contains a folder called ContextMenuHandlers, which also includes individual parameters.

Shortening the context menu through the registry utility

It will take a long time to manually process the lines of the context menu. It is much easier to use the ShellExView program. Only system options should be changed through regedit.

To find items from third-party programs in ShellExView, sort the results by the "Company" parameter and find "Context Menu" in the "Type" column.

The free ShellExView utility will compile a single list of all these registry lines. Even on a relatively fresh system, their number can exceed 250. In order not to get lost in them, after starting the program, the recordings should first be sorted. Things will go well if you click on the line "type" at the top of the window. Thus, you will immediately see all possible entries in the registry, related, for example, to "Context Menu". But be careful: along with them, the utility will display the lines from the Shell, which it is better not to touch.

Sorting can also be done by the "Company" parameter. In this case, the results will be sorted in alphabetical order - the records generated by the system and labeled as "Microsoft" are easy to distinguish from the rest. Here you can, for example, select the corresponding "igfxDTCM Module" and disable it by clicking on the red dot at the top of the menu bar. After that, the entry about the (almost useless) graphics options of the Intel driver will disappear from the context menu. However, for the system to apply these settings, you must first log out and then log back in. Alternatively, you can disable "explorer.exe" through the Task Manager and then call this service again.

Changing system items of the context menu

Most of the lines in the context menu are created by the system itself. Among them are also options that are not used by anyone, which, however, I would not like to accidentally activate by mistake. You cannot simply get rid of them through the ShellExView program - you will have to manually modify the registry.

A good example is the Send To item that Windows displays every time the user clicks on a file or folder. Do not forget that some of the sending options do not meet today's needs: the default is generally set to "Fax Recipient".

To remove this item from the menu, in Regedit go to “HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT | AllFilesystemObjects | shellex | ContextMenuHandlers | SendTo ". In the right window, double-click the "Default" option and put a modest minus "-" in front of the long sequence of characters in curly braces to disable it. As always, you need to log out of Windows and log in again.

In this lesson, we will take a closer look at the functions of a very useful key that is on any keyboard. This key is called the "Context Menu key". It is located in the lower right part of the keyboard between the ALT and CTRL keys.

Pressing this key brings up the CONTEXT MENU, exactly the same as if you pressed the RIGHT mouse button.

The trick of this button is that the menu called when you click will display functions (menu items) that can be applied in the current program, in the active window, on the desktop, etc. Those. this menu adjusts to the process in which you are directly working, and it is very convenient.

Now let's take a closer look at the main options for displaying the context menu in different environments and the functions that can be performed using this menu.

1. Pressing the RIGHT mouse button or the "Context Menu" key on the Windows Desktop

For Windows 7
When you press the RIGHT mouse button or the "Context Menu" key on the Windows 7 desktop, the following menu appears:

1. At the very top of the menu - setting parameters Your video card.
2.View- customize the display of icons on the desktop

3. Sorting- customize sorting by displaying icons on the desktop

4. Refresh- updating the display of content on the Desktop.
5.Insert- if you copied something, you can paste it to the Desktop.
6. Create. Here you can create on the Desktop: folder, shortcut, text document, archive, MS Office documents - Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc. (if installed)

7. Screen resolution. Here you can set the required screen settings: select a screen (there may be several of them), find out or set the screen resolution, determine the screen orientation, and also configure other parameters for working with the screen, for example, connect a projector.

8... Gadgets- selection and installation of Windows 7 gadgets. In Windows XP there is no such function.

9. Personalization. Here you can customize the appearance of the Desktop, change the background, splash screen, sounds, theme, window color, etc.

For Windows XP

In Windows XP, as many of course know, the context menu looks simpler, but the functions are almost the same.

When you press the RIGHT mouse button or the "Context Menu" key on the Windows XP desktop, a menu of the following type appears:

1. Using the first menu item Arrange icons we can do the following operations:

Screen resolution configurable in the tab Options

2. Pressing the RIGHT mouse button or the "Context Menu" key on a file or folder in Explorer or any other file manager.

When you press the RIGHT mouse button or the "Context Menu" key on a file in Explorer or any other file manager, the menu also adjusts to a file of a certain type. For example, I clicked by video file... The following menu has opened:

In this case, the menu offers functions that correspond specifically to the video file: play, add to the list of the player that is selected by default for this file type. And a number of standard functions: open with, add to archive (if the archiver is installed), send, cut, copy, delete, rename and file properties.

If you click the RIGHT mouse button or on the "Context Menu" on a graphic file, then a menu will open, which will correspond to the graphic file type:

Here you can immediately open, edit or print the selected file in the default image program. In my case, this is the ACDSee program.

Here you can immediately make the selected file a background image for the Desktop, it is very convenient when you choose from a large list. And then there are again standard functions for working with files.

There are no special differences in Windows XP,

standard functions for working with a file are called by the command Change

I will dwell in more detail on the items "Open with" and "Send".

Why the "Open With" feature is useful

Here you can select or assign any installed program that understands the selected file format to work with the selected file. In this case, I clicked on a video file and several programs can work with this format on my computer: Light Allow, WinAmp and of course Windows Media Player.

If the required program is not in the list, but you know for sure that it is installed, select the menu item "Choose a program"... Windows will prompt you to select programs from a list of recommended or other programs.

In Windows XP, the appearance of this window is slightly different, but the meaning is the same:

If you want the selected file format to always be opened by the program that you select, then check the box "Use the selected program for all files of this type".

If the desired program is not in the list of recommended programs, or in others, but you know for sure that the program is installed, then press the button "Overview…" and select it from the folder where the program is installed.

Why is the "Send" function useful?

With this function, you can send (transfer, transfer) the selected file via BlueTooth (bluetooth), Skype, mail, to the Desktop, to the archive, to write to a CD / DVD disc, to a USB flash drive, so to speak. etc.

3. Pressing the RIGHT mouse button or the "Context Menu" key in any Internet browser.

And here, too, the menu adjusts to different situations, depending on where you click on the web page. For example, if you click link, then a menu of the following type will open:

Using this menu, you can open the contents of the link in a new tab or in a new window, add the link to bookmarks, send the link, copy the link, if the link is a file, then you can save it using "Save object as ...". If you have installed programs for downloading, you can download the contents of the link with their help.

If you click the RIGHT mouse button or the "Context Menu" from the picture on the web page, then a menu with other functions will open:

Here you can copy the image to the clipboard and paste, for example, into a Word document, you can save the image to your computer using "Save Image As ...", send the image by mail, make the selected image a desktop background, find out information about the image (type, size, file name), etc.

Let me summarize. In this lesson, we examined the most popular options for using the context menu, which is invoked by clicking the RIGHT mouse button or by pressing the "Context Menu" key on the keyboard.
Namely:
1. Pressing the RIGHT mouse button or the "Context Menu" key on the Windows Desktop

2. Pressing the RIGHT mouse button or the "Context Menu" key on a file or folder in Explorer or any other file manager.

3. Pressing the RIGHT mouse button or the "Context Menu" key in any Internet browser.

The essence of this lesson is to learn how to use the useful functions of a specific active environment of your computer. In any environment, by clicking the RIGHT mouse button or by clicking on the "Context Menu" button, you will receive a list of useful functions available at a given time, relative to the selected object.

Right-click menus are called contextual menus because their content depends on context — in other words, which program you are in and which object you clicked on. File utilities, many free programs and other applications, to make it easier to use them, often add their commands and entire sections to context menus. This is done, in particular, by the WinZip and WinRar archivers, as well as the Outlook Express and The Bat! Mail clients, which add packing and e-mail commands to the context menus of files as attachments.

Unfortunately, the more such programs are installed, the longer the context menus, the more clutter they are, and the more difficult it is to find the required command. The situation is aggravated by the fact that many programs, especially free ones, are guilty of the fact that the context menu commands created by them remain even after the programs themselves are uninstalled.

However, some utilities provide convenient ways to configure and remove context menu commands. This is the best and most reliable way to put things in order. But if there is no such function in the program (or if you managed to remove it), the composition of the menu can be changed using the Windows system registry.

However, before going into the registry (which is not always safe), let's consider a few of the most common programs, which provide not only the creation of context menu commands, but also the possibility of their safe removal.

WinZip archives

The popular archiving utility WinZip adds several commands (such as Add to Zip) to the context menus of files or selects them in the WinZip submenu. To configure these commands, run WinZip in "classic" mode (not in wizard mode) and select the Options> Configuration command. In 8.1 and later, go to the System tab under Explorer Enhancements. In order not to rummage too long in search of the desired command, in these versions, you can disable the Display context menu items in a submenu mode - and then the archiving commands will be placed in the main menu, as in previous versions of WinZip.

To change individual commands, select or deselect the appropriate items in the Context menu command section. By turning off Display icons on context menus, you can leave the commands on the menu, but remove the icons.

Finally, to completely exclude WinZip commands from the context menu, disable Use shell extension or Enable Explorer enhancements. However, keep in mind that if you do this, you will lose the ability to extract the contents from the archive by dragging it with the right mouse button, and you will not be able to replenish the archive by dragging and dropping files onto its icon.

Customizing context menu commands created by the popular WinZip archiver

Winamp Music

The free Winamp media player adds three commands to the folder menu: Play in Winamp, Enqueue in Winamp, and Add to Winamp 's Bookmark list. To remove them, open Winamp and select Options> Preferences, or right-click in the program window or panel and select the same command from its own context menu. A picture of the hierarchical menu structure appears on the left side of the window. In the General Preferences section ( General Options, select the File types branch - in earlier versions it is called Setup - and turn off Show Winamp in folder context menus in Windows Explorer or, in earlier versions, versions, Directory context menus and click Close.

Explorer context menus

In Windows 2000 and XP Pro, you can use the Group Policy tool to remove individual commands from the My Computer shortcut menu and folders. Suppose we want to remove the Manage command, which launches the Computer Management administration tool, from the My Computer context menu. To do this, select Start> Run, type gpedit.msc and press Enter. A window will open with a hierarchical tree of commands displayed in the left pane. Go to Local Computer Policy \ User Configuration \ Administrative Templates \ Windows Components \ Windows Explorer, double-click on Hides the Manage item on the Windows Explorer context menu, select Enable (Enabled) and click the OK button.

This utility is also launched by Start> Programs> Administrative Tools> Computer Management and if you select Start> Run, type compmgmt.msc and click OK.

To remove the entire folder context menu in Windows 2000, navigate to the Windows Explorer icon in the left pane and double-click on Remove Windows Explorer's default context menu. In Windows XP, you need to select the item of the same name, activate the Enable mode and click on the OK button.The next time you right-click on the folder located on the desktop or on the icon in Explorer, nothing will happen - however, the context menus of other objects, tools such as toolbars will still work. To undo these changes, simply return to the dialog box described, select the Not configured mode and click OK.

In Windows 9x, to edit the context menu for a specific file type, open the My Computer window and select View> Folder Options. The Folder Options dialog box opens. If you go to the File Types tab, select the file type you want and click on the Edit button, another window will open - Edit File Type. This window has several useful functions, in particular, you can change its icon or description. But the main thing is that at the bottom of the window there are those of the context menu commands that can be changed, and a series of buttons for this: Remove, Set Default, as well as Edit and New.

As you can see, context menu commands can not only be deleted, but also created. True, for this it is necessary to be aware of certain agreements adopted when drawing up such commands. You can, of course, read smart books on this topic. However, for educational purposes, you can use a free program with a set of ready-made contextual commands. It's called Send To Toys and is located at http://www.gabrieleponti.com/software. Many of them, such as passing the file name and path to the clipboard, are useful on their own - but even more as a visual aid for writing your own context menu commands.

Secrets of Productivity on a Computer

Context menu in Windows

The menu is the most important element of the graphical user interface with which you can select the desired program option.

Types of menus in the computer:

by execution - text and graphic

by function - application main menu, pop-up, context and system menus

What is the context menu how to call it

A context menu is a separate type of menu on a computer; list of available commands for working with this file.

Where is the context menu?

It is stored in the Windows registry, which consists of two sections. Some of the programs are stored in the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ * \ shell section, the other in the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ * \ shellex \ ContextMenuHandlers section.

How does the context menu open?

There are different ways of how to invoke the context menu

At the bottom of the keyboard, between the "ALT" key and the "CTRL" key, there is a special button. It shows the additional functions and actions available for this file. It usually has a sign and a mouse pointer on it. This button calls the context menu.

It is used if it is necessary to highlight the shortcuts of the necessary files, as well as inside programs that are already running. When you click on this button, the context menu is called in accordance with the current situation.

Right mouse button on the keyboard is also successfully replaced by this button.

This method is for those who prefer to use the keyboard, while the context menu can also be opened with the mouse.

Hovering the mouse over the required file, select it by clicking the left button. Right-clicking on the selected area will open a context menu. When several items are selected, the context menu will display the actions available for the selected group of files.

How to open the context menu when working on a laptop or netbook? On these devices, the mouse function is transferred to the built-in touchpad. The context menu is invoked by right-clicking on the selected area.

How to customize the right-click context menu

For the right mouse button, the context menu will be configured using the simple Context Menu Tuner program. It will show you how to customize the Windows 7 context menu.

Let's take a look at how to customize the right mouse button.

Download and run the program

The program interface is made up of two different panels: the left one contains a list of commands supported by the program, the right one includes the OS conductor areas. We set the Russian language in the settings

Add a command. To do this, select it on the left side and "connect" it to the preferred element on the right. Click "Add".

Other commands are added in the same way.

To delete a command, select it and click "Delete"

The right-click context menu is now configured.

The context menu (right-click menu) is a handy tool to speed up your work in Windows. Today we will reveal a few simple secrets of working with the context menu and the system registry. Read how to customize this important element to suit your needs without extraneous applications, using only the built-in registry editor regedit.

Why is the context menu (right-click menu) convenient and why should it be cleared

I would like to immediately determine the terminology so that there will be no confusion in the future.

The Explorer context menu, or, as it is sometimes called, the action menu, is a set of commands that can be invoked by clicking right(contextual) mouse buttons on any file or folder. Depending on the object for which it is called, the menu will have a different look or "context".

Note. Of course, not only Windows Explorer has an action menu, but most of the installed applications, because this is the most convenient way to access the most important commands.

Immediately after installing the operating system, the context menu has a standard and neat look, but as additional software is installed, new items are constantly added to it. In the end, there are so many of them that the use of this useful tool turns into flour. Therefore, it is critical to be able to maintain order of the contents of the Windows context menu for quick and comfortable work.

This can be done in two ways:

• In semi-automatic mode using third-party software.
• Manually, using the Windows Registry Editor.

Perhaps the first way can be a little easier, but the second way there is no need to use various questionable programs downloaded from the Internet, everything is done by standard means.

Moreover, the use of the registry will allow you to delve deeper into the internal processes of the system and learn a lot of new things, so we will tell you exactly about the second option of actions.

How to edit the Explorer context menu via the registry

Launch Registry Editor:

1. We enter the menu P usk.
2. Enter the command in the search bar regedit and press Enter.

Important! Any careless and rash operations can have dangerous consequences, up to a complete failure to boot Windows. To insure yourself against errors, be sure to back up the registry before you start editing it!

Procedure for creating a backup registry file:

1. We go to the menu " File"In the open editor.
2. We select the item " Export».
3. In the window that opens, in the lower field “ Export range", Choose" Whole register».
4. We indicate the desired location and name of the new file and click " Save».

Note.In case of problems after manual editing, the registry can be restored to its original state from a backup copy using the item " Import" on the menu " File»Editor regedit.

As you can see, the registry itself has an original tree structure. The tree itself is displayed on the left side of the editor, and on the right is a list of parameters in the selected branch. To work with the context menu, we are interested in a single section: “ HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT».

As already mentioned, different sets of commands correspond to different objects (folders, files), so you will have to edit them separately in the registry. Our main goals: clearing the context menu of folders and common menu items for all file types.

Important! We will not change the standard system items of the context menu through the registry. Only items added by installed applications are editable.

Clearing the context menu of folders

All settings of the context menu of directories are stored in the branches:

... Directoty Shell.

... Directory Shellex ContextMenuHandlers.

... Folder Shell ex ContextMenuHandlers.

If you look closely, you can easily see familiar commands among the branches of these branches. So, the branch of the register " Directory Shell"Contains the items at the top of the menu, and" Directory Shellex ContextMenuHandlers"- bottom. " Folder ShellEx ContextMenuHandlers"Basically repeats the content of the previous branch, so remove the same items if necessary from both branches.

It remains only to remove unnecessary commands. The choice of what to remove and what to leave on the list is a personal matter for everyone. Moreover, depending on the list of installed applications, the content of the menu will differ significantly. Right-click on the unnecessary registry entry and select " Delete". Then repeat this operation for the rest of the selected items.

This is the neat appearance of the registry branches in question and the menu itself after the completion of the cleaning procedure.

Clearing the context menu of files

The procedure itself is no different from the one that was carried out in the previous section. Only the branches of the registry branch have changed " HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT", Storing the required parameters.

Now this:

... * shellexContextMenuHandlers.

They store common elements for all file types registered in the system.

Following the example of cleaning for folders, we delete all unnecessary branches in the registry and get a nice and convenient context menu.