{"id":83,"date":"2021-07-17T10:12:13","date_gmt":"2021-07-17T00:12:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.eejin.org\/?p=83"},"modified":"2021-07-17T10:12:13","modified_gmt":"2021-07-17T00:12:13","slug":"how-to-clean-up-your-messy-windows-context-menu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.eejin.org\/?p=83","title":{"rendered":"How to Clean Up Your Messy Windows Context Menu"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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If you\u2019ve ever found yourself right-clicking on something and wondering where all that junk came from, you\u2019re not alone. Want to get rid of the cruft you don\u2019t use, and add some actually useful items to the context menu? You can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Windows includes a bunch of options in that context menu by default, and that list grows as you install more apps. It sometimes seems like every app is fighting for a piece of your context menu and most of us don\u2019t even use half of them. We\u2019re going to show you how you can remove items by editing your Registry, as well as an easier cleanup method using a couple of free third-party apps. We\u2019ll also point you toward how to add some more useful commands. Without too much effort, you can take your context menu from being cluttered and only mostly useful\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2026to being streamlined and efficient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Let\u2019s get started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hard Way: Remove Items from the Context Menu by Editing the Registry<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you want to clean things up the truly geeky way, you can do from Registry Editor without the need for third-party software. We\u2019ll get to the easier tools a bit later, but we think it helps when using those tools to understand how this stuff is handled in the Registry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Standard warning<\/strong>: Registry Editor is a powerful tool and misusing it can render your system unstable or even inoperable. If you\u2019ve never worked with it before, consider reading about how to use the Registry Editor<\/a> before you get started. And definitely back up the Registry<\/a> (and your computer<\/a>!) before making changes. This is especially true when following the guidelines in this article, because you\u2019ll end up having to do a little hunting around to find the context menu entries that mean something to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RELATED:<\/strong> Learning to Use the Registry Editor Like a Pro<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Open the Registry Editor by hitting Start and typing \u201cregedit.\u201d Press Enter to open Registry Editor and then give it permission to make changes to your PC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Unfortunately, the items populating your context menu are not all located in the same place in the Registry. You can find most of the context menu items used for both files and folders by drilling down to one of the following keys in the navigation pane on the left:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\*\\shell<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\*\\shellex\\ContextMenuHandlers<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\AllFileSystemObjects\\ShellEx<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
You\u2019ll find context menu items specific to just folders in one of these keys instead:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\Directory\\shell<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\Directory\\shellex\\ContextMenuHandlers<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
RELATED:<\/strong> How to Bookmark Locations in the Windows Registry<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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You\u2019ll need to handle the context menu items found in these locations a bit differently, so keep reading and we\u2019ll explain how. For now, you might find it handy to locate each of those locations in the Registry and add them to your favorites list<\/a> so that they\u2019re easier to browse through later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remove \u201cShell\u201d Items<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s take a look at one item as an example. I use the VLC<\/a> video player. When I installed it, VLC added a context menu item named \u201cAdd to VLC media player\u2019s Playlist.\u201d I never use that and would rather it not be on my context menu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Here\u2019s how we get rid of that menu item. In Registry Editor, drill down to the following key:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\Directory\\shell\\AddtoPlaylistVLC<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
I spotted the AddtoPlaylistVLC<\/code> key while browsing through the shell<\/code> key looking for items to remove. Items under the regular shell<\/code> key are usually really easy to spot and deal with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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We have a few options on how to handle this. We could just delete that AddToPlaylistVLC<\/code> key entirely, and that would remove the item from the context menu. However, unless you back up your Registry\u2014or export the key first and keep up with the REG file\u2014it won\u2019t be easy to get back if you change your mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second option is to disable the key instead of deleting it. To do that, just right-click the AddToPlaylistVLC<\/code> key\u2014or whatever key you\u2019re working with\u2014and choose New > String Value. Name the new string value \u201cLegacyDisable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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As soon as you create the LegacyDisable<\/code> value, the change should be immediate. Right-click a file or folder in File Explorer and we can see that the \u201cAdd to VLC media player\u2019s Playlist\u201d item has been removed from the context menu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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You also have a third option. If you occasionally use a menu item, but don\u2019t want it cluttering up your regular context menu, you can hide it away on the extended context menu you see only when you hold Shift while right-clicking a file or folder. To do this, right-click the AddToPlaylistVLC<\/code> key\u2014or whatever key you\u2019re working with\u2014and choose New > String Value. Name the new string value \u201cExtended.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Now, it will only appear if you right-click on a folder while holding Shift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remove \u201cShellex\u201d Items<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
You probably noticed that some of the common Registry keys we listed at the top of this section have \u201cshellex\u201d (Shell Extension) in the name instead of just \u201cshell\u201d. You\u2019ll need to handle those types of keys just a bit differently. As our example, we\u2019ll head down to one of those keys we mentioned:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\Directory\\shellex\\ContextMenuHandlers<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
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The shellex items will be a little tougher to decipher, but you can usually figure out an item by the key name on the left. Here, we\u2019re going to be working with the DropboxExt<\/code> key inside the ContextMenuHandlers<\/code> key.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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When Dropbox is installed, it adds a \u201cMove to Dropbox\u201d command to the context menu. Because I\u2019m more of a drag and dropper, I\u2019ve never once used that command, and I\u2019m going to get rid of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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You can\u2019t use the tricks with the LegacyDisable <\/code>and Extended<\/code> string values we described above with shellex items. You could still delete the whole DropboxExt<\/code> key to remove it from the context menu (and be sure to back the key up if you do), but there is a simple way to disable it. Just select the key on the left and then double-click the (Default) value inside that key to open its properties window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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On the properties window, in the \u201cValue data\u201d box, just modify the value that\u2019s already there by putting a few dashes in front of it, being careful not to delete any of the existing value. That way, if you change your mind, you can just go back in and remove the dashes. When you\u2019re done, click \u201cOK.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The change will be immediate, so go right-click something in File Explorer and make sure the command is gone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Unfortunately, when it comes to shellex items, there\u2019s no way to hide them on the Extended context menu the way you can with shell items. You can only delete or disable them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Explore Other Locations by File Type<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
If you want to remove context menu items that you only see when you right-click specific types of files, you can do that, too. These items are stored elswhere than the common locations we\u2019ve already looked at. To find them, you\u2019ll need to first locate the file extension key by looking under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT<\/code> for that extension, which in turn will tell you the name of the key that you need to look for.ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just as an example, say you wanted to remove the menu item for opening an Excel document (XLSX) in Excel when you right-click on it. Why would you want to do this? Well, you probably wouldn\u2019t, but it\u2019s an easy example to look at here. Other applications may add different types of commands you don\u2019t need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You\u2019d start by taking a look at the following Registry key for the XLSX extension:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\.xlsx<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
The data column for the (Default)<\/code> shell key lets you know that the actual type of file is \u201cExcel.Sheet.12.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Now, you can browse to that extensions key:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\Excel.Sheet.12\\shell<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
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And now that you\u2019ve located the correct shell <\/code>key, you can use the same techniques we described in the previous section on \u201cshell\u201d items to delete, disable, or hide the item on the Extended context menu. Remember the LegacyDisable<\/code> and Extended<\/code> string values? Yep, those work here, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Easy Way: Remove Items from the Context Menu with NirSoft Utilities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
So, now that you know how to do things the hard way, let\u2019s take a look at the easy way. Instead of editing the Registry, you can download two tools from NirSoft to clean up your context menu. Why two tools? Because one of them handles regular shell items and one handles shellex items. They are both much easier to use than editing the Registry, but the behind-the-scenes understanding of how these things are handled in the Registry will give you a leg up in sorting through all the items these tools display.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
RELATED:<\/strong> How Do I Know if I\u2019m Running 32-bit or 64-bit Windows?<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Start by downloading both the tools. The first tool is ShellMenuView<\/a>, which handles regular shell items. The second tool is ShellExView<\/a>, which handles shellex items. Scroll down toward the bottom of both those pages to find the download links. The tools both work with pretty much any version of Windows from 98 all the way through 10. You will need to grab either the 32-bit or 64-bit version, depending on whether you\u2019re running a 32-bit or 64-bit edition of Windows<\/a>.ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first tool we\u2019ll check out is ShellMenuView, which allows us to manage all of those regular shell items with an easy to use interface. After downloading and extracting the tool, double-click the EXE file to run it. It\u2019s a portable tool, so there\u2019s no installation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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In the ShellMenuView window, just browse down the list until you find the item you want to disable. You can only disable items with these tools\u2014not delete them or hide them on the Extended context menu. And by the way, these tools disable items by creating a LegacyDisable<\/code> string value inside the appropriate key\u2014just like we did when we edited the Registry manually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When you find the item you\u2019re looking for, click the \u201cDisable\u201d button on the toolbar (the red light).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Another benefit of using these tools is that you can select multiple items and then disable them all at once. In our example, we\u2019re disabling the \u201cAdd to VLC media player\u2019s Playlist\u201d item only when you right-click a folder (the same example we used in the Registry section previously), but we could easily select all of the \u201cAdd to VLC media player\u2019s Playlist\u201d items and then click \u201cDisable\u201d to remove that command from the context menu of all supported file types as well.ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When you\u2019re done removing shell items, the next step is to fire up the ShellExView tool and remove shellex items. This one works the exactly the same way as the first tool. Just select one or more items and then click the \u201cDisable\u201d button to remove the items from your context menu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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How to Remove Additional Items from the Context Menu<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
There are a couple of context menu items you may have noticed that neither the NirSoft tools nor the regular Registry methods we covered address: namely, the items you find on the \u201cOpen With\u201d and \u201cSend To\u201d submenus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
RELATED:<\/strong> How to Remove Programs from the “Open With” Context Menu in Windows<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The \u201cOpen With\u201d menu is a handy feature when you open files with multiple programs. Whenever you open a file with a particular program, that program gets added to the \u201cOpen With\u201d menu for that type of file. If you\u2019ve ever accidentally opened a file with the wrong program or with a program you don\u2019t use any more, though, you\u2019ve probably seen that menu get cluttered over time. Fortunately, we have a complete set of instructions to guide you through removing programs from the \u201cOpen With\u201d menu<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The \u201cSend To\u201d menu is one of those features that people tend to either love and use all the time or just never even bother with. When you install Windows, some items are added to the \u201cSend To\u201d menu by default. Others get added over time as you install different apps. If you\u2019ve ever wished you could declutter that menu, it\u2019s your lucky day! We\u2019ve got one guide for customizing the items on the \u201cSend To\u201d menu<\/a> and another guide if you\u2019d like to remove the \u201cSend To\u201d menu from your context menu<\/a> altogether.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
RELATED:<\/strong> Customize the Send To Menu in Windows 10, 8, 7, or Vista<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
How to Add Some Useful Items to the Context Menu<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Now that you\u2019ve spent some time removing items you don\u2019t need from your context menu, you can turn your attention to adding some items you might actually use. To start with, you can actually add just about any application<\/a> or shortcut<\/a> you want to the context menu. Since you\u2019ve now read all about what Registry keys to look through when you\u2019re removing stuff, you won\u2019t be suprised that adding things involves a lot of those same keys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
RELATED:<\/strong> How to Add Any Application to the Windows Desktop Right-Click Menu<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of course, we wouldn\u2019t leave you without any specific suggestions for fun things to add to your context menu. And we\u2019ve covered a bunch of them. For example, you could add any of the following to your menu:<\/p>\n\n\n\n