Windows 7 context menu editing program. How to change the right-click menu. Clearing the Windows Context Menu
Many people love the Windows operating system, and many of us grew up using it. But some casual PC users - or those who have just recently switched to Windows - often get confused when looking for information about some of the simple things that control Microsoft's operating system. One such graphical element is called the "Windows context menu", or "right-click menu".
Today we'll tell you not only about this integral element of the Windows experience, but also about a third-party application that allows you to add custom elements to the context menu.
So what is the Windows context menu?
In simple terms, it is a pop-up menu that appears when you right-click in any navigation area of the screen (hence the name “right-click menu”). The context menu can be accessed in folders, the taskbar, web browsers, and other GUI areas. The context menu is not exclusive to Windows, so you may have seen it on other operating systems, including Mac OS X or Linux.
Speaking about the appearance of the Windows context menu, it looks almost the same everywhere - only the elements inside it differ. For example, the screenshot below shows the context menu that opens when you right-click on the desktop to, say, customize the desktop background image in the Personalization window.
Typically, the context menu contains elements such as “View”, “Sort”, “Copy”, “Paste”, “Rename”, “Properties”, etc. Some of the menu items are context based. In other words, in one area of the operating system the context menu may contain some items, and in another – different ones. For example, the menu that pops up when you right-click on the taskbar will contain completely different items compared to the menu you see in the screenshot below.
Here's another simple example of the context menu that appears when you right-click on a folder:
Now that you know what the context menu is in Windows and how it works, let's look at a convenient and free application that makes it easy to customize the menu.
A portable application that allows you to add custom items to the "right-click menu" in Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1, it was developed by Sergey Tkachenko (WinAero) - a well-known developer who is the author of many useful tools, including. The application is very convenient in the sense that the entire process of adding items to the context menu requires a few clicks from the user.
To get started, launch the application. The Context Menu Tuner interface consists of two different panels - the left one contains a list of supported commands, and the right one consists of Windows Explorer areas. To add a command, you need to select one of them in the left panel, and then, after selecting your preferred element in the right panel, you need to click on the “Add” button. As you might guess, the “Delete” button is responsible for deleting added commands.
Additional features of the application allow you to add separators before and after certain menu items. In addition, there are a couple of additional options.
Another interesting feature of the app is its ability to add custom commands for specific file types. Once you open the “Select File Type” window, which you can access by clicking on the “Add -> Add to Specified File Type” button in the main application window, you will see an impressive number of supported file extensions. The list is very long, so to quickly find a specific file type, use the search bar.
The screenshot below shows my context menu, which I modified using Context Menu Tuner:
That's all. Now you know what the Windows context menu is and a simple solution to edit it.
Have a great day!
Absolutely all computer users encounter the concept of a context menu, regardless of the type of operating system used or its developer. Such an element is available in all currently known operating systems. But let's take a look at what the Windows context menu is, what types there are, and how to use it. We take Windows as a basis only for the simple reason that most users in the post-Soviet space work with these operating systems. And first, a few words about the term itself.
What is a context menu in general terms?
Actually, the name of the menu itself comes from the English context. As for a simplified understanding, the context menu of Windows 10 or any other operating system can be interpreted as some additional element of the system’s graphical interface, which contains certain quick access commands to some basic or additional functions.
So to speak, in the context of selecting an object for which an additional menu is used, different commands will be available (this will be discussed separately).
Menu types
Actually, the operating system itself has several types of main and additional menus. For example, the main menu is accessible by clicking the Start button. Installed programs usually have their own element in the form of a top panel, which displays sections of basic operations, etc. Naturally, all such menus differ from each other both in appearance and purpose. But it is the context menu that is universal in its own way and, in a sense, even connects applications with the operating system without the use of additional tools. Forgot how to perform some action? It's OK! This menu will tell you what and how you can do, especially since many menus of this type can open additional lists.
Context menu items
As already mentioned, the contents of the menu can differ quite significantly for different objects. It all depends on the type of object selected and the actions that are supposed to be performed. Everyone knows that in Explorer, through such a menu, when you select a file or folder, you can specify copying, moving, deleting, opening, and performing a lot of other operations, not counting the use of hot keys or their combinations.
On the “Desktop”, when you click on an empty area of the screen, you can quickly call up screen settings or create shortcuts. But to carry out such actions, following the standard methodology, will take much more time. In general, it is believed that the context menu is a unique invention. Despite the fact that almost all the points it contains are duplicated by the operating system itself and some installed programs, its use often reduces the time it takes to access certain actions and functions.
Differences between menus for different objects
Now let's look at the most important question regarding how menus of this type differ when selecting a specific object. It goes without saying that it will not be possible to describe all types, so we will focus on the most basic ones.
We've sorted things out a bit with files and folders. It can be added that antiviruses, archivers and some other programs build their own commands into such menus, so in addition to a set of standard actions, you can use their additional capabilities.
If you are using the menu for a disk or partition, you can already access system tools here. Programs have their own elements of this type, but the context menu for almost all active applications, if the upper left corner of the program window on the header is used as the selected object, the items are the same: closing, moving, minimizing and maximizing the active window, resizing, etc. It is clear that the content of each context menu for applications depends on the specific use of the program. Thus, in web browsers, among the items there are commands related specifically to actions with tabs or settings.
When you use the menu for panels, you can customize them, go to additional options, add or remove elements, etc. As already mentioned, it is simply physically impossible to describe the contents of all types of menus that open, so let’s move on.
How to open an additional menu: several basic methods
Now a few words about how to call or open the context menu. Everyone knows that in Windows, RMB is used for this (click on This action is set in the default settings, although some use button reassignment, after which this control is called with the left button. In general, the mouse context menu, depending on the type used manipulator, you can configure it as you like. For example, for the same gaming mice, which have a lot of additional buttons, accompanying software is usually installed, which allows you to control all their parameters and configure the buttons for a specific action, including calling additional ones. menu.
Few people know that in Windows you can use not only RMB. For example, for laptops it is very important to use the combination Shift + F10. The right button on the touchpad is also used for this. On some non-standard keyboards for stationary computer terminals you can find a special Menu key, which is usually located to the right of the Win button.
How to add additional items to the menu?
Finally, let's look at how to add additional items or commands to the context menu. You can, of course, use Windows tools, but to do this you will have to delve into the registry, and this is very inconvenient.
The easiest way is to use the small Context Menu Tuner program, the interface of which consists of only two panels with sets of commands and areas of Windows Explorer.
There are only two buttons for adding or removing elements, so there should be no difficulties in using them.
Practical advantages of use
As for the advantages, a lot has already been said about them. This concerns not only the fact that the correct call of some actions can simply be forgotten. The versatility of such menus lies precisely in speeding up access to some standard and non-standard functions or actions, which would take much longer to call in the usual way. And so - RMB and all the necessary commands are at hand!
Instead of a total
I would like to hope that after reading the above material, many have figured out what this element of the operating system is. As for its use, there should be no questions at all, since in some situations you simply cannot do without it. And practice shows that one hundred percent of one hundred users always use the context menu, regardless of the actions performed.
Secrets of Productive Computer Work
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 on a computer:
by execution – text and graphic
by function - main application menu, pop-up, context and system menu
What is a context menu and how to call it
A context menu is a separate type of menu on a computer; a list of available commands for working with this file.
Where is the context menu?
Its storage location is the Windows registry, which consists of two sections. One part of the programs is 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 to bring up the context menu
There is a special button at the bottom of the keyboard, between the "ALT" key and the "CTRL" key. It shows additional functions and actions available for a given file. It usually has a sign and a mouse pointer on it. This button brings up the context menu.
It is used if you need to highlight shortcuts to necessary files, as well as inside already running programs. When you click this button, the context menu is called up according to the current situation.
Right mouse button on keyboard can also be successfully replaced with this button.
This method is for those who prefer to use the keyboard, while you can open the context menu using the mouse.
Move the mouse over the desired file and select it by left-clicking. Right-clicking the highlighted area will open a context menu. When you select multiple items, 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 called up by right-clicking on the highlighted area.
How to customize the right-click context menu
For the right mouse button, a simple program called Context Menu Tuner will help you configure the context menu. She will tell you how to configure the Windows 7 context menu.
Let's look at how to configure the right mouse button.
Download and run the program
The program interface consists of two different panels: the left one contains a list of commands supported by the program, the right one includes the OS explorer areas. Set the Russian language in the settings
Adding a command. To do this, select it on the left side and “connect” it with 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 Explorer context menu is the menu that appears when you right-click (Right Mouse Button) on some object (file or folder) or simply on an empty space in a folder or Desktop. If your system is new, then the context menu will be relatively empty. Is it just something added from the video card drivers, for example like this:
but if the system has been installed for a long time, then there will be more such points. For example like this:
As you can see, over time, in addition to the standard menu items, more installed programs were added. On the one hand it is convenient. After all, you don’t need to launch a shortcut or search for a program, but you can directly perform actions right from the context menu. But on the other hand, over time there are a lot of such items and sometimes you even have to scroll up or down the context menu in search of the necessary items.
Therefore, sometimes you want to remove these items so as not to get in the way. After all, you don’t use all the points often.
So how remove item from context menu.
In order to remove a program item from the context menu (CM for short), you can use both standard methods of the Operating System itself, and using the programs themselves or specially designed ones.
The easiest way to remove it is to look in the settings of the program (which you want to remove) for the desired item. Usually it is located somewhere in Integrations or Loading/adding. For example, in order to remove the famous WinRAR item from KM, you need to uncheck the Shell integrations:
Other programs may also have similar settings.
It’s another matter when you haven’t found the necessary settings to delete or they don’t exist at all (this happens too). Then you can use the standard method of the systems itself, namely editing.
I warn you right away that before starting work it would be better to play it safe and make a backup copy of the registry.
So, let's launch the registry and go to the branch
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT/*/shellexe/ContextMenuHandlers
and we see here these same items from the context menu.
Now right-click on the desired item (the item from the KM that you want to delete) and select Delete:
We agree with the following warning:
reboot and check. The item should disappear.
If you haven't missed it, check out the thread.
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AllFileSystemObjects\ShellEx\ContextMenuHandlers
and do the same.
On a note:
If you want to delete an item specifically from KM -> Create
then you need to know the type of file () that is being created. For example, for Microsoft Office Access the file extension is .accdb, which means you need to look for it in the registry branch HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT, and then delete the ShellNew subkey there
If you want to remove from KM those items that appear when you RMB on folders, then you need to look at the branches:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers
For the item "Open with..." the thread answers
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\OpenWithList
For KM Logical drives branches:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shell
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers
You can also delete items using special programs. For example using ShellExView
Its principle is simple: select the desired item and click on the red circle at the top of the program. The main thing here is that Type was Context menu
Now a little about how create your own item in the context menu.
The fact is that adding such an item for folders or specific files, as well as in an “empty” space using the registry will not work. You can only assign it to when it opens with RMB on the Desktop. Therefore, I recommend reading the article and taking advantage of what is described there.
Well, or use another utility - Ultimate Windows Context Menu Customizer() which has a bunch of features, but in English. And there we only need to select the item and delete it:
If anyone is interested in more details and can’t figure it out, write in the comments and I’ll help. There, in the left column you need to select an item (computer, folder, files, etc.) where the context menu is called up, and to the right, select what to delete and click the Remove Item button at the bottom. If you are fluent in English, you will understand.
You can guess how to add your program to KM -> Create if you read the entire article carefully, namely about deleting one of this items. You just need to create a subsection on the contrary and write for the desired extension.
In general, the article turned out to be a little chaotic and more about removing it from the context menu, because... I think this is more relevant, and there is an article about adding. Therefore, if anything is not clear, write in the comments. Let's figure it out.
Every Windows OS user knows that, regardless of the program, with the right mouse button you can call up an additional, so-called context menu, which contains a set of special commands and links. Let's try to figure out why it is needed and how to work with it correctly.
What is the Windows context menu
Speaking about the context menu of “operating systems” of the Windows family, I would immediately like to note the fact that it is not some kind of exclusive development of Microsoft Corporation. Mac OS X or Linux also has such an element.
In general, if you understand what a context menu is, it can be characterized as an additional set of commands for quick access to some functions, say, without calling a specific application or control.
For example, everyone knows that the context menu always contains the “Open with...” command, after which a list of the most suitable applications for working with the file is displayed. You understand how much more convenient it is to open a file here than to call up the program, and then go to the “File” menu and use the “Open” line or the Ctrl + O key combination.
In addition, in addition to commands, there is also a set of special tools with which you can learn many things. But more on that later.
Type and organization of the context menu
Let's now look at how the Windows 7 context menu is organized. Probably everyone has noticed that the menu itself has special separators in the form of thin horizontal lines. The meaning of their use is to distinguish between similar actions or commands belonging to the same program.
Here it is worth paying attention to the fact that the context menu in a so-called “clean” system, immediately after installation, may be very different from what the user will see after installing additional programs and utilities. This is due to the fact that many installation packages integrate quick access commands to some of their main functions directly into this menu during the installation process.
Most of all, this applies to anti-virus software, media players, programs for working with disk images, archivers, etc. In principle, the user can add his own items to ensure ease of use.
Additional menu on the Desktop and in program windows
Surely, every user has noticed that the context menu in different programs or on the same desktop differs in the list of items and commands. It `s naturally. For example, if you call up the menu on the desktop, it becomes clear that the “Open” line used for folders and files is not needed there. It’s another matter when the mouse button is clicked on a shortcut or saved file located exactly on the desktop.
As is already clear, in different programs the context menu may also contain different items. In this case, everything depends on the specifics of the application. Compare at least the usual Explorer and the Word text editor. But for now we will talk about the “native” Windows OS commands.
Main context menu items
Drop-down menus are present almost everywhere, even in the main Start menu. In any of them you can see some points marked with arrows. This is done to show that the clause itself contains additional subclauses.
As usual, for files and folders, at the very top there is always an “Open” command, highlighted in bold. When you click on this line in relation to files, they will be opened in some program. You need to know that selection occurs only if the application itself sets the file association with this particular program. Otherwise, using this command will only result in the system prompting you to review and select the most suitable application. If several programs are associated with a file, you can use the line “Open with...”, which will contain a list of programs that work with the extension of the file you are looking for.
It goes without saying that the context menu of the same Explorer contains commands such as “Copy”, “Delete”, “Cut”, “Paste”, “Send”, “Rename”, “Create a shortcut”, etc. Even a child knows this. On the other hand, there is also a “Properties” line, the use of which provides the user with complete information about the object being used.
So, for example, when calling such a command by clicking on the computer icon on the desktop, you can get general information about the main parameters of the computer system and the installed operating system. For the desktop, the context menu mainly provides only the use of settings and options for synchronizing folders with shared attributes.
Some menus also provide tools for administering or inspecting selected items.
Using additional context menu commands
Now let's talk about some additional commands. If you give an example of an installed antivirus, you will notice that the context menu will always contain lines like “Scan” or “Scan with...”. Agree, it’s very convenient.
The same applies to archivers, because you can add a file (folder) to an archive or extract it from there with one click.
Many media players behave this way, integrating their own commands into the system's context menu. Most often, items for adding to a playlist or playing (video and audio) appear here for multimedia files, and for graphics this is the viewing command. In general, it all depends on which program integrates its own command lines into the menu, and what objects are associated with it.
Adding and removing commands in the system registry
So we got to the solution to the problem - how to add your own items to the context menu. There are several ways to do this. In this case, we can offer at least three options. Two of them relate to editing the system registry, and one concerns the use of specialized utilities.
You can use adding keys in the system registry, but if you don’t know which keys and their values are responsible for a particular process, you can waste a lot of time, achieve nothing in the end, and bring the system to a state of complete inoperability.
Therefore, let's consider the simplest way to work with the registry. First, in the Run menu, use the regedit editor access command. Here you need to go to the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT section, find AllFilesystemObjects, then shellex and finally ContextMenuHandlers.
In the last section, select an additional menu by right-clicking and execute the command to create a new object and key “New” and “Key”, respectively. Now you need to enter a name for the newly created key, which will be displayed in the context menu, after which we select the “Change” command and in the overview indicate the location of the program or application that will be responsible for the new action. We confirm the choice and reboot the system.
Removing keys in this section will cause the corresponding command from the menu to disappear. But if you don’t know which key is responsible for what, it’s better not to change the standard configuration.
Using the Context Menu Tuner
However, as practice shows, no one really wants to rummage through the registry (you never know what can happen). Therefore, we can recommend special utilities for adding and removing items to the OS context menu.
One of the simplest, but very functional, is a utility called Context Menu Tuner. It will help you quickly change the menu beyond recognition. Everything is simple here. The main window includes two panels. On the left are commands, on the right are folders and basic parameters. As is already clear, there is nothing easier than selecting the desired command and using the button to add it, say, to the desktop menu. Removal is done in reverse.
It is worth noting some additional options. First, you can select a file extension, and only then associate the corresponding command and program with it.
Changing the context menu access button
In the standard version, the default context menu button is the right mouse button. It’s very easy to swap the buttons and call up the context menu with a left click. To do this, you need to go to the mouse settings in the Control Panel and make the necessary manipulations. That's all.