ShellMenuView rids Windows context menu clutter

Have you ever noticed just how cluttered up the context menu -- the one that pops up when you click on a file or folder with the right mouse button -- gets over time? You install a new program, and it adds another option to the menu. It might be a genuinely useful option, but then again it might be completely superfluous.

Worse still, does Windows suddenly stop working when you right-click on an item? That's down to an entry that's corrupt. Question is, how do you identify that entry, never mind disable or remove it? The answer lies with a handy free tool called ShellMenuView.

ShellMenuView, which is also available as a 64-bit build, allows you to manage the items that show up in the various menus that appear when you right-click on folders or files. It's a portable download, so extract the contents and double-click the program file to get started.

All menu items added by third parties will be displayed -- select one by clicking it, or select multiple entries using the standard [Ctrl]-click or [Shift]-click actions. Disable these items -- so they don't appear when you right-click in future -- by choosing File > Disable Selected Items or by hitting [F7]. It's that simple.

Need help identifying a specific entry? Just select it and choose File > View Extension in extension.nirsoft.net to view its details online. You can edit selected entries directly, but selecting them and choosing File > Open in Regedit will take you to the appropriate Registry entry, where you can edit or permanently delete the entry. This latter option isn't for the faint of heart.

ShellMenuView is a freeware download for PCs running 32-bit or 64-bit versions of Windows 2000 or later. It'll also work as a "read-only" application for Windows 98/Me too. Also check out sister application ShellExView, which lets you view and manage all your installed shell extensions, another source of potential Windows Explorer crashes.

Get more applications news like this at Software Crew.