What is a context menu?
The context menu is a pop-up menu that appears keyboard shortcut for steps that the software developer expects that have to be taken by the user. When you right-click the mouse context menu appears. For an instance by right click on a word document, the pop-up menu will appear with shortcuts for cut, copy, and paste options. By right-clicking in Excel, the context menu appears with insert cell, delete cell, paste special other common commands.
How to Access the context menu in Windows 10?
The input mechanism of the machine, the operating system of the computing device directly affects the user interaction with the context menu. If there is no mouse for a user, he may access the context menu by pressing a keyboard combination, holding a tap on a touch screen, keeping two fingers on a touchpad, or pressing and holding a trackball. Choosing an action or clicking outside the menu area in an open space are the methods to close a context menu.
In windows 7, windows 8 and windows 10 users are allowed to modify the context menu of the operating system. It allows users to add desired actions and remove unused options. Extensive knowledge of Windows registry is required for this.
Context menu editing software.
Registry editor and context menu customizer programs such as Nirsoft ShellMenuView, Easy Context Menu, Context Menu Tuner and CCleaner can be used to remove or add a program and edit this right-click menu.
Why context menu should be cleaned?
As the context menu is an essential tool offering relevant options based on file types and programs, every operating system supports this context menu option. If the context menu is longer, it the more time-consuming and it may confuse the end user. Then it is a good idea to clean the context menu. There may be useless shortcuts and missing items. This tutorial it is displayed how to edit and add a program to the right-click context menu in windows 10.
Removing Context Menu Items through Registry Editor.
Context menu on Windows 10 can be edited easily using a program. If you don’t like to install a third-party app, the windows registry editor is there to edit the context menu. By editing the registry unwanted items on the context menu can be easily removed. Using Registry Editor following things can be done.
- Add “Copy to” and “Move to” shortcuts to the context menu.
- Schedule automatic restore point.
- Disable guest mode in the Chrome browser
- Disable automatic driver update
Regedit is very sensitive and it should be handled carefully. Creating a system restore point or backup of your PC is ideal when using it to avoid troubles.
Finding the Context Menu Item key
- Click the Search item on the Taskbar and type ‘registry editor’ or ‘regedit’ and launch it.
- Be noted that all items present in the context menu of your Windows PC are unable to be found in the same location in the registry editor. Inside the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT directory of different subfolders and files will have to be explored to find out the context menu.
Many items of the context menu can be found in the ContextMenuHandlers directory. It is needed to look for others on the following paths in the Registry Editor by navigating to the keys mentioned below or just copying and pasting them into the address bar.
- HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers
- HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell
- HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AllFileSystemObjects\ShellEx
To find the folder-related context menu items in the locations mentioned below.
- HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell
- HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers
How to Remove “Shell” Items from the Context Menu?
When a desired key for the context menu is found, that you need to remove you will get two options. Either delete or edit it. If the folder that contains the key is deleted that context menu item won’t be able to restore. This is the reason why you should back up the items before deleting them. Three methods are available to remove a Shell item using the Registry editor to clear out any unwanted context menu item.
- Delete the context menu item key.
- Add the ‘LegacyDisable’ string value.
- Create the ‘Extended’ string value.
A right-click context menu item on Windows can be removed by adding a new string value file named LegacyDisable. For instance, if VLC media is used and want to get rid of it “Add to VLC media player’s playlist” from the right–click menu. Copy and paste the following path into the Registry Editor’s address bar.
- HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\AddtoPlaylistVLC
Select “AddToPlaylistVLC” in the left pane of the window. After that click in the right pane and select “New” and String Value.
Rename ‘New value #1’ to ‘LegacyDisable’
Now you have successfully removed the “Add to VLC media player’s Playlist” option from the context menu as well. Delete the ‘LegacyDisable’ file to restore the removed item.
For the context menu shortcut that you don’t use very often, you can remove it while you using the right-click context menu.
If it is wanted to remove the “Add to VLC media player’s Playlist” (or any other) shortcut from your context menu and still want it to be available in your command list Go to AddtoPlaylistVLC and create a new string value. (New > String value) and rename “New Value #1” to “Extended”.
Then you can see the ‘Add to VLC media player’s Playlist’ item in the context menu shortcut items of your PC only when you press the Shift + Right-click buttons.
How To Remove ‘Shellex’ Items from the Right-click Menu
Removing a Shellex item from the context menu on the window is different. Following is an example of how to remove the Google Drive sync shortcut from the context menu through Shellex.
- Go to shellex > ContextMenuHandlers in the Registry Editor.
- Select GDContextmenu or paste the following link in the address bar. HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\GDContextMenu
- Right-click on the (Default)file and select Modify option.
- Click in the value data box. Add a dash or minus (-) or any sign before it. Then the value data may look like ‘–{BB02B294-8425-42E5-983F-41A1FA970CD6}‘.
- Click OK to save changes.
- Then Google Drive file sync shortcut will be disappeared from the context menu shortcut. Changes can be reverted anytime later by removing the minus sign added by you.
Conclusion
Likewise, the context menu can be customized using the above methods. In addition to this, there is context menu editing software also to edit the context menu. There are some more context menu customizers are available. Tools> Start up> Context Menu in File Menu Tool is also available for context menu customization. Right-click Enhancer and CCleaner are the other paid utilities.