A small and free program FileMenu Tools will allow you to easily and easily edit the context menu of files for yourself. It will not only allow you to remove unnecessary items in it, but also offer to embed a few of your own, very useful ones.
FileMenu Tools - optimize the context menu
Personally, I do not like it when a new computer program, after its installation, independently embeds its item in context menu of files and folders. Of course, many people ask permission for this action (usually at the end of the installation process), but there are also cunning ones who do not care about our permissions.
If you, like me, already break the devil's leg in the context menu, then the FileMenu Tools program will help to clean it from unnecessary items and optimize it.
Installation and interface language of FileMenu Tools
I will not describe the installation process of the program, because it is simple and straightforward. If suddenly its interface turns out to be in an incomprehensible language for you - here link to the official page of language packs for FileMenu Tools. Choose the package you need, download it and unzip it, and then “throw” (copy) the result into the folder with the installed program. It remains to specify your language in the settings and that's it ...
At the very end of the installation of the program to edit the context menu, you can check the box and it starts immediately...
Adding items to the menu of files and folders
So, we are considering the free version of FileMenu Tools, so we will not consider how to add our commands to the file and folder menus ...
On the right side of the main window of the pop-up menu editor (in the first tab "FileMenu Tools Commands") you will find a large list of its additional useful commands, which it is recommended to selectively add ...
Here at your service various types of copying files and moving them, creating duplicates, batch and full (without the possibility of recovery in the future) advanced delete by filters...
…(including locked files and bypassing the basket).
There is a handy tool for finding and replacing text…
…and advanced file renaming is also available.
Quite recently, I described to you a separate program to copy path and filename- so, FileMenu Tools can also embed such an item in the context menu.
I also wrote a long time ago about cutting and gluing any files into parts - our today's heroine of the review can do this too ...
There are many additional useful items for the context menu - everyone will find the right one for him. Remove the checkboxes from extra items and click on the active checkmark in the green circle, which is to the left on the program toolbar ...
With this action we will apply the changes. Congratulations, now you have new useful items in the menu of files and folders...
How to remove extra items from the context menu
In the right section of the main window of the FileMenu Tools program, there are two more useful tabs - they will help us remove unnecessary menu items for files and folders ...
We click on the small plus signs and in the drop-down lists we remove the daws from the extra menu items. Remember to apply changes?
I almost forgot - using the left section of the main program window, you can add and remove separators between menu items and sort them ...
Right-click menus are called context menus because their content depends on the context - in other words, on what program you are in and what object you clicked on. File utilities, many free programs and other applications, in order to make them more convenient to use, often add their own commands and entire sections to the 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 commands for packing and sending by e-mail as attachments to the context menus of files.
Unfortunately, the more such programs are installed, the longer the context menus, the more clutter they have, and the more difficult it is to find the right command. The situation is aggravated by the fact that many programs, especially free ones, sin because the context menu commands they created remain even after the programs themselves are uninstalled.
However, some utilities provide convenient ways to customize 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 menu composition can be changed using the Windows system registry.
However, before getting into the registry (which is not always safe), let's look at some of the most common programs that provide not only the creation of context menu commands, but also the possibility of their safe removal.
WinZip Archives
The popular WinZip archive utility adds several commands (such as Add to Zip) to the context menus of files or highlights them in the WinZip submenu. To configure these commands, run WinZip in "classic" mode (not wizard mode) and choose Options > Configuration. In version 8.1 and later, go to the tab System (System) in the section Explorer Enhancements (Extension "Explorer"). In order not to rummage around for the right command for too long, in these versions you can turn off the Display context menu items in a submenu mode (Non-cascading menu) - and then the archiving commands will be placed in the main menu, as in previous versions of WinZip.
To change individual commands, select or disable the appropriate items in the Context menu command section. By disabling the Display icons on context menus mode (Icons in the menu), you can leave the commands in the menu, but remove the icons.
Finally, in order to completely exclude WinZip commands from the context menu, disable the Use shell extension (Use shell extensions, in versions 7 and 8) or Enable Explorer enhancements (Explorer extension) mode. However, keep in mind that if you do this, you will lose the ability to extract the contents of the archive by dragging it with the right mouse button, and you will not be able to replenish the archive by dragging 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 (Play Winamp), Enqueue in Winamp (Queue Winamp) and Add to Winamp "s Bookmark list (Add to Winamp bookmark list). To remove them, open Winamp and select Options > Preferences (Service > Options) or right-click in the program window or on its panel and select the same command from its own context menu. A picture of the hierarchical menu structure will appear on the left side of the window. In the General Preferences section ( General options) select the branch File types (File types) - in earlier versions it is called Setup (Setting) - and turn off the Show Winamp in folder context menus in Windows Explorer mode (Show Winamp in the context menus of the Explorer folders) or, in earlier versions versions, Directory context menus and click the Close button.
Context menus in File Explorer
In Windows 2000 and XP Pro, you can use the Group Policy tool to remove individual commands from the My Computer context menu and folders. Suppose we want to remove the Manage command from the My Computer context menu, which launches the Computer Management administration tool. To do this, select Start> Run (Start> Run), enter gpedit.msc and press Enter. A window will open, in the left pane of which a hierarchical tree of commands will be displayed. Go to Local Computer Policy \ User Configuration \ Administrative Templates \ Windows Components \ Windows Explorer, double-click Hides the Manage item on the Windows Explorer context menu, select Enable (Enabled) and click the OK button.
This utility is also launched by the command Start> Programs> Administrative Tools> Computer Management (Start> Programs> Administrative Tools> Computer Management) and if you select the command Start> Run, enter compmgmt.msc and click on the OK button.
To remove the entire folder context menu in Windows 2000, navigate to the Windows Explorer icon in the left pane and double-click Remove Windows Explorer's default context menu. In Windows XP, you need select the element of the same name, activate the Enable mode and click on the OK button.The next time you right-click on a folder located on the desktop or on an icon in Explorer, nothing will happen - however, the context menus of other objects, such as toolbars will still work.To undo these changes, just return to the described dialog box, select the Not configured mode (Not configured) and click OK.
In Windows 9x, to edit the context menu of a specific file type, open the My Computer window and select View> Folder Options (View> Folder Options). The Folder Options dialog box will open. If you go to the File Types tab in it, select the file of the desired type and click on the Edit button, another window will open - Edit File Type (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 those of the context menu commands that can be changed are presented, and a number of buttons for this: Remove (Delete), Set Default (Default), as well as Edit (Edit) and New (Create).
Customizing Windows 9x Explorer context menus
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 in the preparation of such teams. 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 context commands. It's called Send To Toys and is located at http://www.gabrieleponti.com/software. Many of them, such as passing a file name and clipboard path, are useful on their own - but even more so as a visual aid for writing your own context menu commands.
Very often, after installing various programs, unnecessary items are added to the context menu. For example, after installing any player, a new item for the right mouse button will definitely appear. That is, when we click on any file with the right mouse button to open it in the specified program, an item will be displayed to launch using this program.
For example, here is my context menu:
Pretty much not small anymore.
With time items in the context menu becomes very much, in short clogged with unnecessary rubbish. In this lesson, we will look at how they can be removed using the standard system tools. Although many programs have already been created for these purposes.
The system registry stores all data about the operation of Windows programs and components. In this regard, careless handling of the registry and the slightest change can affect the system very much, so be careful when making changes to it.
How to remove unnecessary items from the context menu?
We go to Start, click the Run button.
In the window that opens, enter the Regedit command and click OK.
Open the following folders:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT * shellexe ContextMenuHandlers
Having reached this path, we need to do the following steps. We right-click on the folder the menu item we want to delete. Let's say I want to remove shortcuts from the context menu - Notepad, 7-Zip archiver. In the list that opens, select the Delete item.
Then we confirm the deletion.
We restart the computer and look at the result - these items are no longer there. This is how to remove the extra items from the context menu.
Useful video:
STOP! Read related articles - learn new things:
Comments:
How to remove "CUT"?
That's it, thanks)) I found a solution in the face of CCleaner (my version is 5.06). If anyone needs it: in the program, open the Service / startup / top tab "context menu". In the list, you can delete unnecessary ones, or temporarily disable them. There is no better place!)))
In particular, Tru Image (from acronis) and Ultra ISO are on the menu, but they are not in this registry key. For example, how are you with Unlocker.
And if more programs are displayed in the menu, but they are not in the ContextMenuHandlers. Where then to look for them?
Finally, thanks to your article, I saw where the items are stored in the context menu. Many thanks to the author for teaching.
Thank you
Thank you! Worked for Win 8.1 too.
Huge gratitude! I have no words. Everything is clear and understandable.
In the process of using the computer, your context menu is "clogged" with various items added by your installed programs. To make matters worse, time delays appear, context menus appear, slow you down and make you wait every time you right-click on a file or folder.
What happens when you right click a file? Are there significant delays in the appearance of the context menu? Then I'll tell you how to get rid of it, or at least reduce the delay. To do this, we need to remove some context menu items to speed up the process. Even if it pops up quickly, you can remove some context elements just to tidy up the menu. Let's look at how you can customize the context menu
Editing with CCleaner
One of the fastest, easiest ways to customize the context menu is the popular app CCleaner. The context menu editing feature was added to CCleaner relatively recently, so you must have the latest version of the application installed to use this feature.
In the running program, click on the icon Service in the sidebar, select , and go to the tab Context menu at the top of the list. You will see a list of context menu items you can easily disable and customize the context menu to your liking
To disable an entry in the context menu, select it and click the button Switch off. The change takes effect immediately, and you do not need to restart your computer. Button should not be used. Delete- if you disable an entry in the context menu, you can easily re-enable it later. But if you have already uninstalled, but want to see it in the context menu again, you will have to reinstall the applications associated with it.
On the left picture below is my menu before settings, on the right after. The speed of appearance has increased significantly, which is an integral part of comfortable work.
Customization with ShellExView
CCleaner is easy to use, but you may have noticed that it doesn't show all of the context menu items, and therefore not all of them can be disabled. But fortunately there is another ShellExView tool. After downloading and running ShellExView, it automatically scans the system.
To view only those records that belong to the context menu, select the menu item Settings, select Filter by extension type, and select Context menu.
The list includes both third-party context menu items and built-in ones that come with Windows. Third-party context menu items are highlighted in pink. You can also disable some of the built-in context menu items if you like.
To disable an entry in the context menu, select it and click on the red button in the upper left corner. When you click on the button, a dialog box will appear with confirmation of disabling the selected element, click OK. If you want to turn it on again later, you guessed it, press the green button (although in my opinion this is not a button, but a light bulb))))
You will have to restart your computer for the changes to take effect. It's not as convenient as in CCleaner, but you can manage all the context menu items.
It is also possible to remove context menu entries by editing the registry directly, but I wouldn't recommend doing that. Even for advanced users, this process is much more tedious and time consuming (the context menu items are stored in five different places in the registry). When editing the registry, it is not possible to easily disable the context menu entry, you can only delete them - so you will have to back up each key before deleting it if you want to restore it later. If there are programs, why complicate your life. But if you are certainly not a young system administrator, or you want to make fun of a friend and crave knowledge, then read here how to configure the context menu using the registry.
Probably, I had to notice that in each build of Windows the context menu is different. In addition, often after installing various programs, unnecessary items are added to the context menu. For example, after installing any player, a new item for the right mouse button will definitely appear. That is, when we click on any file with the right mouse button to open it in the specified program, an item will be displayed to launch using this program.
For example, here is my context menu:
Pretty much not small anymore.
Over time, there are a lot of items in the context menu, in short, it gets clogged with unnecessary rubbish. And the question arises: how to get rid of "unnecessary" items? Although many programs have already been created for these purposes, we will consider how this can be solved using the standard system tools.
The system registry stores all data about the operation of Windows programs and components. In this regard, careless handling of the registry and the slightest change can affect the system very much, so be careful when making changes to it.
How to remove unnecessary items from the context menu?
We go to Start press the button Run.
In the window that opens, enter the command regedit and click OK .
Open the following folders:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT , *, shellexe, ContextMenuHandlers
Having reached this path, we need to do the following steps. We right-click on the folder the menu item we want to delete. Let's say I want to remove shortcuts from the context menu - Notepad, AIMP player. In the list that opens, select Delete.
