Author Topic: disable Windows explorer context menu item  (Read 9598 times)

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xyzzy2

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disable Windows explorer context menu item
« on: September 25, 2008, 02:42:19 AM »
How does one disable the "scan filename" context menu item?

(running Windows XP and Vista)

Mike Buxton

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Re: disable Windows explorer context menu item
« Reply #1 on: September 25, 2008, 03:45:13 AM »
If you download the Freeware version of Glary Utilities it has, amongst other tools, a Context Menu Manager where you should be able to untick any item you don't wan't to display. You could also delete any item but unticking is usually a better option.

What I haven't been able to discover how to do - is to change the order in which certain of my Context Menu items appear.

My regards

xyzzy2

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Re: disable Windows explorer context menu item
« Reply #2 on: September 25, 2008, 05:30:57 AM »
Thank you Mike for the helpful suggestion.  The Clary Utilities did the trick.

Avast should make this an option in their install, of course.

Offline alanrf

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Re: disable Windows explorer context menu item
« Reply #3 on: September 25, 2008, 06:35:57 AM »
While I agree avast should make this an option - if you have chosen to have avast what disadvantage is this to you?

Offline RejZoR

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Re: disable Windows explorer context menu item
« Reply #4 on: September 25, 2008, 07:43:20 AM »
There is an option, just hidden for now. Check out Tech's thread about tweaks and hidden settings. It's there.
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CharleyO

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Re: disable Windows explorer context menu item
« Reply #5 on: September 25, 2008, 09:07:31 AM »
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Like Alanf, I am curious why you would not want it on the menu since it does no harm being there.


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Offline Lisandro

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Re: disable Windows explorer context menu item
« Reply #6 on: September 25, 2008, 03:00:13 PM »
There is an option, just hidden for now. Check out Tech's thread about tweaks and hidden settings. It's there.
Indeed you can only hide the icon, not remove the entry on the context menu of Explorer... ::)
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Offline RejZoR

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Re: disable Windows explorer context menu item
« Reply #7 on: September 25, 2008, 03:05:49 PM »
My bad... i looked at that thread liek a year ago so i forgot it's actual icon only...
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Offline Lisandro

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Re: disable Windows explorer context menu item
« Reply #8 on: September 25, 2008, 03:12:45 PM »
My bad... i looked at that thread liek a year ago so i forgot it's actual icon only...
Never mind... Glary Utilities could do a good job on it.
It won't be bad that this option will be under avast settings anyway (on setup and after it).
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xyzzy2

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Re: disable Windows explorer context menu item
« Reply #9 on: September 25, 2008, 06:07:04 PM »
There is an option, just hidden for now. Check out Tech's thread about tweaks and hidden settings. It's there.

Sorry, but I can't find the thread of which you speak.  Pointer appreciated.

xyzzy2

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Re: disable Windows explorer context menu item
« Reply #10 on: September 25, 2008, 06:28:52 PM »
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Like Alanf, I am curious why you would not want it on the menu since it does no harm being there.


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Thanks for asking.

The "harm" is that it is unnecessary clutter.  I won't go into a usability diatribe about how cluttered systems are less usable, but will merely point out the small irony of Avast cluttering up your PC with unhelpful stuff:  Avast is a program that removes unwanted junk from your PC.  The type of junk Avast removes is particularly malicious, but there are other kind of junk that clog PCs.  One example: desktop and quick launch icons for every program that is installed.  If you let every piece of software you install put icons all over the place, your desktop is completely obscured.  That's why install programs should make creation of such icons optional (Avast fails on this count too, but at least it is easy to delete the unwanted desktop icons).  The same applies to potentially unwanted explorer context menu items.  So while Avast removes one kind of clutter, it deposits another (much more innocuous, but still unnecessary) bit of clutter in its wake.

I can understand why some users would want the context menu item and the desktop icons, so by all means, make them available.  Heck, make them the default.  But give the user the option to not clutter their system with things they don't want or need.

For my own reasons, I would never use a desktop icon to start Avast, so I wish I could tell Avast's installer not to put an icon on my desktop.  Similarly, I would never use the explorer context menu to have Avast scan a file.  So I don't want that menu item to get in the way of the work I'm doing every time I open the explorer context menu.

One more piece of irony here: in order to remove Avast clutter from the explorer context menu, a user must add another piece of clutter (the Glary Utilities) that are otherwise unneeded.

Thanks to all for the responses.

Offline Lisandro

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Re: disable Windows explorer context menu item
« Reply #11 on: September 25, 2008, 11:00:47 PM »
There is an option, just hidden for now. Check out Tech's thread about tweaks and hidden settings. It's there.

Sorry, but I can't find the thread of which you speak.  Pointer appreciated.
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Re: disable Windows explorer context menu item
« Reply #12 on: September 25, 2008, 11:00:52 PM »
How hard is to delete a desktop shortcut really? I never bothered with that even though it's auto created. Shift+Del and it's gone forever.
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Offline Lisandro

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Re: disable Windows explorer context menu item
« Reply #13 on: September 25, 2008, 11:01:25 PM »
Sorry, double posted  :-[
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Offline Lisandro

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Re: disable Windows explorer context menu item
« Reply #14 on: September 25, 2008, 11:03:04 PM »
For my own reasons, I would never use a desktop icon to start Avast, so I wish I could tell Avast's installer not to put an icon on my desktop.
This configuration is not available in avast setup v.4.
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