Large context menu

[FunkyKong]

Hello,

Please inform me how not to have such large context menus as in illustrated in screen shot.




I tired adding

ShellExtensionFileName=0

to avast5.ini under [UserInterface] section when running version 5 (found that somewhere on this forum) but that didn't work and have now updated to version 6 ini file and folders are still listed as version 5.

Side note:
Vista desktop decided to do a chkdisk on reboot during install to version 6 and Windows 7 laptop lost my desktop but came back after second reboot - 

[DavidR]

If you did a clean install (uninstall existing avast version, reboot, install avast 6, reboot), then it may well be C:\ProgramData\Avast Software\Avast\avast\avast5.ini

[FunkyKong]

I didn't do a clean install just selected updated. Shall I try a clean install? Do you have this trouble with the extra wide context menu?

[DavidR]

You shouldn't need to do a reinstall, clean or otherwise, a reboot would clear the avast5.ini from memory so the modified one would be loaded on the next start.

No, probably because a) I don't have extra long file or folder names and b) I rarely ever use that the right click scan. But obviously I use the right click menu for other things and I don't notice it being extra wide because avast settings.

[FunkyKong]

Thanks for replying.

So apart from uninstalling  and using a different anti-virus do you have any other suggestions to stop the varying size of my context menu.

[Zyndstoff (aka Steven Gail)]

Maybe... don't give such stupid filenames. 

[DavidR]

Thanks for replying.

So apart from uninstalling  and using a different anti-virus do you have any other suggestions to stop the varying size of my context menu.

Well I don't know if this avast5.ini workaround works on avast 6 you're probably the first ones to try it.

Did you use notepad to edit the avast5.ini (and enter that line) and the avast self-defence module should have asked for confirmation ?

If so, when you rebooted, was the change you made in avast5.ini still present ?

Can you post the contents of the avast5.ini [UserInterface] section up to and including the next section title [iAVS].

[spg SCOTT]

I tried this on my win7 64 system yesterday...it didn't seem to work, even afte a reboot.

[DavidR]

Well I have just tried it on XP Pro with 6.0.1000 and it too doesn't work.

So it currently doesn't work on avast 6.0, it may at some point be included but currently it isn't a supported feature.

[FunkyKong]

Yeah it saved OK and avast did ask for confirmation. OK, thanks for helping out guess I'll wait it out and hope it's resolved in the future. Just a little annoying to have different size menus depending upon the file name.

Thanks again.

[DavidR]

You're welcome.

[privateofcourse]

Hello, I popped in for exactly this reason.

[snip] Today I bit the bullet and installed the latest Avast version...seems a waste to have a valid Pro licence and not use it. Avast 6 is much better (IMO) than the early 5.x.x versions. But the flamin' context menu entry is very, very annoying. My filenames contain plenty of useful and neccessary info in them, and so the context menu expands ridiculously every time I right-click. I really, really, really don't need to see the filename in the context menu if I'm not going to scan it...or not even at all really. Please tell me there's a way of changing this behaviour that someone is working on now? I just want 'Scan with Avast' not  'Scan %1', which could be any length. In Windows the item you've selected is already highlighted so you know what you are are are not scanning...this is just overkill.

Please can you fix this as soon as possible.

BTW: This Avast version seems much lighter on resources that the previous 5, and web browsing isn't problematic like 5 either. I also have virtualisation activated this time as well, and Sandboxie (latest version) installed and this time round all works great on XP SP3. Congratulations, this is getting better all the time.

[privateofcourse]

Hello again

If I manually removed the context menu entry that Avast adds, what would I use to manually add an entry to scan files? Do ashCmd.exe and ashQuick.exe basically use the same scanning modules but without the GUI?

--edit

I have manually added an entry for all files and folders for testing. I have tried ashQuick.exe and I can hear the scanning going on but there is no sign of life beyond that so will it report if a virus is discovered? Also tried with ashCmd.exe and of course a cmd window appears and you can visibly watch the scanning process, but also, will it stop and notify if an infected file is found? Just trying to find a work around for the totally unwieldy context menu problem....well it's a problem for me...

[spg SCOTT]

The ini change used to work, so it looks like the functionality has changed somewhere along the line in updating...could be a bug, I don't know...

ashQuick...If I remember correctly it isn't a very graphical scan interface, i.e. not much is produced in the sense of results...I think it needed certain parameters to produce any info...I think there was a post in the forum somwhere but I can't find it at the moment...

Could be wrong though...

[privateofcourse]

Well, okay. So I'll just remove the Avast context menu entries then, add my own, and run the command line version instead..perhaps via a batch file...although haven't investigated that possibility (batch file).

I do hope this is considered a priority. So often GUI annoyances are relegated to the 'last on the list' of things to do. In truth, they are often the most important as they present a usable UI. Something like this could very well put people off if they've got a well managed setup. I don't really care how anal that sounds, I just don't want - prefer not to have out-of-control context menus unnecessarily sprawling across my monitor, and especially as the inclusion of file or folder names in the context menu adds nothing to Avast usability, and would take nothing away from it if it was 'normalised'. There have been several shell extensions in the past I have tried that behaved like this, and they all went immediately.

Furthermore, why can't an option be added to the settings to add and remove the context menu entry like a lot of other programs seem to be able to do effortlessly? That would also be useful. I.e. be able to configure the level of shell integration. Even simple notepad apps can do that!