taurarian
December 11th 03, 11:20 PM
I haven't tried this but you can if you want:
First of all, open the programs in question and look
through their options to see if you can unselect
any "integration" or "context menu" options. Otherwise,
you can edit the registry.
Before you make any changes in the registry, back up the
following registry keys which will be affected.
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder]
Do this by opening Regedit, find the relevant sub-folder,
right-click on it and select Export. Make sure
the "Selected Branch" option is selected under Export
Range, then enter a descriptive name and save it somewhere
safe. Do that for each one of the four sub-folders above.
If anything goes wrong you can double-click on these files
and everything is quickly fixed.
.. Go to the following sub-folders and delete
references to programs you know have set up context menu
entries. Here are all the places you should look in:
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\OpenWithList]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shellex\ContextMenuHan dlers]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shell]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shellex\ContextMenuHandler s]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shellex\ContextMenuHandle rs]
.. As you're removing all the unwanted program
entries, you should see the effects immediately - no
reboot required. Remove an entry from the
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shellex\ContextMenuHandler s]
subfolder for example and open Explorer, then right click
on your hard drive name and you should see the
corresponding program you removed in the registry is gone
from the context menu too.
If any of the programs whose context menu entries you've
removed start displaying strange behaviour, restore the
registry entries you backed up before you started or just
reinstall the program. As long as you only delete program
entries and none of the default Windows entries, all the
normal context menu items will still remain.
Note you can save the registry key first by:
On the File menu, click Export.
In the File name box, type SaveKey, and then click Save.
Or create a system restore point prior to editing.
Note: If the registry key is not there, you can simply
create one by going edit > new.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-
US;322756
HOW TO: Back Up, Edit, and Restore the Registry in Windows
XP
Disclaimer: Modifying the registry can cause serious
problems that may require you to reinstall your operating
system. Use the information provided at your own risk.
>-----Original Message-----
>When you right-click a file in Windows Explorer, a
>shortcut menu of different applications pops up. This
>menu has grown quite large with additions from numerous
>programs. Can these items be deleted?
>.
>
First of all, open the programs in question and look
through their options to see if you can unselect
any "integration" or "context menu" options. Otherwise,
you can edit the registry.
Before you make any changes in the registry, back up the
following registry keys which will be affected.
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder]
Do this by opening Regedit, find the relevant sub-folder,
right-click on it and select Export. Make sure
the "Selected Branch" option is selected under Export
Range, then enter a descriptive name and save it somewhere
safe. Do that for each one of the four sub-folders above.
If anything goes wrong you can double-click on these files
and everything is quickly fixed.
.. Go to the following sub-folders and delete
references to programs you know have set up context menu
entries. Here are all the places you should look in:
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\OpenWithList]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shellex\ContextMenuHan dlers]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shell]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shellex\ContextMenuHandler s]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shellex\ContextMenuHandle rs]
.. As you're removing all the unwanted program
entries, you should see the effects immediately - no
reboot required. Remove an entry from the
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shellex\ContextMenuHandler s]
subfolder for example and open Explorer, then right click
on your hard drive name and you should see the
corresponding program you removed in the registry is gone
from the context menu too.
If any of the programs whose context menu entries you've
removed start displaying strange behaviour, restore the
registry entries you backed up before you started or just
reinstall the program. As long as you only delete program
entries and none of the default Windows entries, all the
normal context menu items will still remain.
Note you can save the registry key first by:
On the File menu, click Export.
In the File name box, type SaveKey, and then click Save.
Or create a system restore point prior to editing.
Note: If the registry key is not there, you can simply
create one by going edit > new.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-
US;322756
HOW TO: Back Up, Edit, and Restore the Registry in Windows
XP
Disclaimer: Modifying the registry can cause serious
problems that may require you to reinstall your operating
system. Use the information provided at your own risk.
>-----Original Message-----
>When you right-click a file in Windows Explorer, a
>shortcut menu of different applications pops up. This
>menu has grown quite large with additions from numerous
>programs. Can these items be deleted?
>.
>