Right Click in Windows Explorer

I have been trying to add context based right click in windows explorer for a file of extension L5X. I have tried HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\l5xfile\Shell\convert\command and set the (Default) key value to the program I want to have open the file. (I want it to say «Convert» on the context menu) My first issue seems to be that in .NET (even when running elevated) I cannot change the Default key’s value. My other issue is changing that Default key value doesn’t do anything to the context menu. I would really prefer a no reboot required solution.

Also, I really need this to work on WinXP all the way up to Win7 (including Server 2003, 2008 and 2008R2). If I need to detect OS and do things differently for different OSes, I will but I’m really stuck here.

PS, I tried the solution found here with no luck.

1 Answer 1

You need administrator rights to write to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT, HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT is a merged view of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes and HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes. If you want to install it for just the current user, write to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes

\l5xfile\Shell\convert\command might not be the correct path, when windows looks for context menu entries for a filetype, it first looks in HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.EXT , then uses the default value it finds there: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\%defaultvaluefrom.EXT%\Shell\*

XP added a new key HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SystemFileAssociations designed for non-primary actions where you don’t care about the ProgId/Class (The l5xfile part)

MSDN documents all these registry paths and settings, see: File Types and Verbs and File Associations

Enable or disable right-click context menus in Windows File Explorer

We have already seen how to enable or disable right-click context menu in Internet Explorer. In this post, we will see how to enable or disable right-click context menus in Windows Explorer or File Explorer in Windows 10.

Enable or disable right-click context menus in Explorer

Using Group Policy Editor

Those users who have the Group Policy Editor included in their versions of Windows 10/8 may Run gpedit.msc to open it. next navigate to User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > File Explorer. Windows 7 users may see Windows Explorer being mentioned instead of File Explorer.

In the right pane, double-click on Remove File Explorer’s default context menu to open its settings box.

This setting removes shortcut menus from the desktop and File Explorer. Shortcut menus appear when you right-click an item. If you enable this setting, menus do not appear when you right-click the desktop or when you right-click the items in File Explorer. This setting does not prevent users from using other methods to issue commands available on the shortcut menus.

Select Configured > Apply. Exit and restart your computer.

Using Registry Editor

You can also use the Registry Editor to Enable or disable right-click context menus in Windows Explorer. To do so Run regedit and navigate to the following key:

Right-click in the right pane and create a new 32-Bit DWORD value and name it NoViewContextMenu. Giving it a value of 1 will disable the context menu in File Explorer. To re-enable context menu, give it a value 0 or delete NoViewContextMenu.

Do remember to create a system restore point first!

Date: September 28, 2020 Tags: Context Menu, Explorer

FIX: File Explorer crashes after right-click [Easy Guide]

• If you’re wondering why File Explorer crashes when you right-click, it is due to system problems.
• One quick way to get rid of the W indows Explorer crashes on right-click is by doing a clean boot.
• Try using another third-party file manager if your file explorer freezes when right-clicking.
• A Windows SFC scan will also solve the E xplorer crashes when right-clicking in no time.

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2. Click Start Scan to find Windows issues that could be causing PC problems.
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Some users are facing a problem with their File Explorer. Apparently, their File Explorer crashes when they click on the right mouse click. This problem could be caused by a bad context menu handler.

In case you didn’t know, a context menu handler is a shell extension handler whose job is to add comments to an existing context menu, like for example: cut, paste, print, etc.

How do I fix File Explorer crashing on right-click?

1. Perform a Clean Boot
2. Use another third-party file manager
3. Run the SFC scan

1. Perform a Clean Boot

1. Open the Windows search box.
2. Type msconfig in the search box and press Enter.
3. On the Services tab of the System Configuration dialog box, select Hide all Microsoft services, then click Disable All.
   
4. On the Startup tab of the System Configuration dialog box, click open Task Manager.
5. On the Startup tab in Task Manager, for each startup item, select the item and then click Disable.
6. Close Task Manager.
7. On the Startup tab of the System Configuration dialog box, tap or click OK.
8. Then restart the computer.

Clean Boot could be a solution for many problems, and it may fix ours as well.

Clean Boot starts Windows with a minimal amount of drivers and software in order to determine if some software conflict with each other, or prevent them from working.

Before you perform a Clean Boot, you need to login to your computer as an administrator.

Be aware that your computer may lose some functionality after you perform a Clean Boot. But, right after you start your PC normally, the functionality will return, so there’s no need to worry about that.

Also, you should be very careful when you’re performing a Clean Boot, because if you make certain errors, your computer could become unusable.

2. Use another third-party file manager

If a Clean Boot didn’t help, then your problem is definitely caused by a bad context menu handler. And below, you’ll find the best and fastest way to handle your files.

You’ll need to install one third-party software that can manage your files instead of windows explorer.

This tool can view and manage all of your installed software and files. Not only will this app help you would drastically, it is also really easy to use and doesn’t require any previous experience.

The interface is pretty self-explanatory and simplistic, giving you a minimalist look while still helping you find your files quickly. Finding relevant data has never been easier with this awesome app.

3. Run the SFC scan

1. Launch Command Prompt from the Start menu, then type: sfc /scannow
2. Hit Enter for the scan to start
3. Wait for the scan to complete.
4. Try to open File Explorer again to see if this solved the problem.

If the issue persists after following these two solutions, you can also run SFC. This is a built-in tool that scans your system files and fixes corrupted or missing ones.

So there you have it, each one of these solutions should resolve your File Explorer issue when clicking right with the mouse. Do let us know which one was it in the comments section below.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can’t right click in File Explorer?

If you are unable to right-click on a file within the File Explorer, try restarting the app from the Processes tab. Check out more solutions in this complete guide dedicated to fixing File Explorer.

Why is my file explorer crashing?

You will find all the causes and solutions for each one of them in this thorough article dedicated to solving File Explorer crashes.

Can I reinstall File Explorer Windows 10?

No, but you can update it via the global Windows update system. Here’s a useful article about fixing Windows Updates if your OS doesn’t want to update File explorer.

Right click menu in Explorer (& desktop) missing new «Microsoft Office Word document».

I am running MS Office Home & Student 2007 with Vista Business (32 bit). When using my right click menu in Explorer or on the desktop, it allows me to open most all MS Office apps (Excel, PPoint, Notepad, Contact) but not the most commonly required: Word.

Is there a fix for this problem? What can I do to rectify it?

After many hours of research, installs, uninstalls, reinstalls, repairs, reregistering word etc. etc. I was able to add the Word 97 and 2003 right click menu option by just adding a NullFile string to the “Word.Document.8” key under the .doc key in the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.doc but it would not do anything under the .docx key.

I wanted the 2010 docx of office 2010 functionality.

I have found out what I had to do to get back the Right-click New Microsoft Word Document function of Office 2010 in Windows Explorer and on the Desktop.

I found that four keys were missing in the registry in comparison with my other computer’s installation of Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010.

Remember to back up the .docx key by exporting it to a safe folder so that you could have it if necessary.

I opened the registry to – HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.docx

Steps creating keys are done on the left window pane in the registry.

1) Below the .docx key I create the first key that was missing by right clicking on the “.docx” key then go down to New, then left click on Key and name it “OpenWithList” without the quotes.

Inside of that key is the automatically created String Value (default) REG_SZ (value not set)

2) Inside of the “OpenWithList” create the second key. Right click on the “OpenWithList” key then go down to New, then left click on Key and name this new key “WordPad.exe” without the quotes.

Inside of that key is the automatically created String Value (default) REG_SZ (value not set)

3) Right click on the “.docx” key then go down to New, then left click on Key to create the third key and name it “Word.Document.12” without the quotes.

Inside of that key is the automatically created String Value (default) REG_SZ (value not set)

4) Right click on the “Word.Document.12” key then go down to New, then left click on Key to create the fourth key and name it “ShellNew” without the quotes.

Inside of that key is the automatically created String Value (default) REG_SZ (value not set)

The next thing to do is to create a string value newly created “ShellNew” key but this is done in the window on the right side.

5) Left click on ShellNew in the left window to select the key. Now in the window on the right side; Right click in the empty space go to New then select String Value. Name the new string “NullFile” without the quotes, Type is REG_SZ Leave the data empty.

6) Lastly, in the left window left click on key .docx, In the right side window make sure that the data of the (Default) string is Word.Document.12 – To change it, doubleclick on the string named (Default) , a window will open up and you change the data value to Word.Document.12 (My data value was “docx_auto_file”)

You are done. Close the registry. Test the right click context menu now.

How to Right click of File in Windows Explorer by AutoIt

I wish to simulate a right click on a file. This is done by opening a Windows Explorer window and then right clicking on it.

The main issue is finding the location of the file in Windows Explorer. I am currently using Autoit v3.3.8.1.

My code ‘s first line:

The next step is the problem. Finding the coordinates of the file. After that, right clicking at that coordinates (it seems to me at this time) is not a problem.

• OS: Windows 7 64-bit
• Software Languages: C#, Autoit (for scripting)

The Autoit script is called by a code similar to that below:

The code is compiled into a console class file which is run at startup. The autoit script runs as the explorer window opens up.

3 Answers 3

It seems as though you are taking the wrong approach to the problem, so I’ll answer what you are asking and what you should be asking.

First up though, that line of code is not valid, and is not what you want either. You want to automate the explorer window, and RunWait waits for the program to finish. Furthermore you want those items to be strings, that code would never work.

Finding the item in explorer

The explorer window is just a listview, and so you can use normal listview messages to find the coordinates of an item. This is done most simply by AutoIt’s GUIListView library:

As has already been mentioned, sending the menu key is definitely a better way than having to move the mouse.

Executing a subitem directly

This is how it should be done. Ideally you should never need an explorer window open at all, and everything can be automated in the background. This should always be what you aim to achieve, as AutoIt is more than capable in most cases. It all depends on what item you want to click. If it is one of the first few items for opening the file in various programs, then it is as simple as either:

1. Using ShellExecute , setting the verb parameter to whatever it is you want to do.
2. Checking the registry to find the exact command line used by the program. For this you will need to look under HKCR\.ext where ext is the file extension, the default value will be the name of another key in HKCR which has the actions and icon associated with the filetype. This is pretty well documented online, so google it.

If the action is not one of the program actions (so is built into explorer) then it is a little more complex. Usually the best way will be to look at task manager when you start the program and see what it runs. Other things can be found online, for example (un)zipping. Actions like copy, delete, rename, create shortcut, send to. They can all be done directly from AutoIt with the various File* functions.

With more information, it would be possible to give you more specific help.