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Shell Extensions

Shell Extensions  are actions or programs that get added to your context or right-click menu. Some can also add options to other menus.
   I just looove these things! It makes utilizing a program so much more easier. Plus, there are a ton of free ones out there; but therein lies the problem. Some use valuable system resources, some don't. Some are large, some are small. Some are easy to use, some aren't. Some do what they say, others ..... Also, some aren't very compatible with other like programs.
 Here are my picks:
 (Description "quotes" are from original websites)
 
 

 Shelltoys- You  should already have this, as it one of my basic "must have" system utilities.

 

 
 
 


 
 
FileNote - This is listed in my basic "must have" Internet utilities.

 
 
CopyURL - This is also listed in my basic "must have" Internet utilities.

 

New Folder Here Version 1.0 - "Create new folders anywhere on your PC with a simple right click.  New Folder Here will add the command 'New Folder Here' to the menu that pops up when you right-click on a File, Folder, Drive, Start button, Programs menu or Favorites menu.  Windows does have the command 'New/Folder' although very limited on where you can create a folder and it usually takes a while for the 'New' menu to expand.   Create them anywhere utility.
   Examples when right clicking and creating a New Folder on:
My Documents Folder:  Creates 'New Folder' inside My Documents
My Documents\MyFile.txt:  Creates 'New Folder' in My Documents
Drive C:\:  Creates 'New Folder' under C:\
Start Button:  Creates 'New Folder' at the top of the Start Menu
Programs Menu:  Creates 'New Folder' inside the Folder you clicked on. (Except NT/2K/XP)
Favorites menu:  Creates 'New Folder' inside the Folder you clicked on."
  This is a very nice extension. So far has worked as advertised, which is expected coming from the folks at Camtech.

 
 
 
 
PowerShell for Windows ME or Powershell-me  adds re-start/shutdown, a dos prompt, edit the registry, msconfig, a control panel shortcut,scan registry, a maintenance wizard shortcut, and system restore, to your My Computer context (right click) menu. All very useful additions. This is one of the most useful extensions you can have, as these shortcuts are truly shortcuts. For example, msconfig and regedit require you to use the run dialog box to launch them. This is much easier. For Windows Me only, although there is an XP version available at the website.

 
 
 
ShellExt 1.5 - "The ShellExtENG.reg file allows four additions to the context menu available for folders or drives under Win 9x/ME/2000. The context menu for a folder or drive is displayed by right-clicking on the folder or drive name in Windows Explorer.
  This adds 4 useful functions to the right click menu. I have them arrowed and highlighted in the image to the left.

 
 
 
 
OpenExpert - "An Open With submenu for the explorer's menu.
  ... Ever had the problem that you frequently use a file type with more than one application, while you can only  associate one application with that file type? The new OpenExpert is the answer to this problem! Instead of messing around with a fixed association of a file type with only one application, it adds an "Open with" item to the context menu of the chosen file type with all the applications you decide."
  I use this all the time. Nicely done.

 

Ninotech Path Copy 4.0 - "Ninotech Path Copy is a shell extension for Windows 95, 98, NT4, 2000, and XP that enables to copy the path of a file or directory to the Clipboard. You can then paste the path in to your document, e-mail, etc. You copy the path of a file or directory by right-clicking it in the Windows Explorer and choosing Copy Path from the context menu. The context menu then offers nine standard ways of copying the path, in addition to the user defined copying methods that you create yourself:
- Short Name: File/folder name converted to 8.3 characters 
- Long Name: File/folder name 
- Short Folder: Parent folder name converted to 8.3 characters 
- Long Folder: Parent folder name 
- Short Path: Full path name converted to 8.3 characters 
- Long Path: Full path name 
- Short UNC Path: Full UNC path name converted to 8.3 characters (only enabled in network environment) 
- Long UNC Path: Full UNC path name (only enabled in network environment) 
- Internet Path: Full UNC path name converted to Internet path (only enabled in network environment) 
- Setup... Create your own copy methods for copying the path names. 
  I have found this to be one of the better path copiers. Good options available including your own custom copy method.

 
 
 

 
 
 
PlacesBarEditor
"The PlacesBar is a set of shortcuts to commonly- used folders that appears on the left side of the Open and Save dialog box in most applications		      Before                          Using PlacesBar Editor                                   After
when you save something, but wouldn't it be more useful if you could determine what "commonly used" means for yourself, instead of letting Microsoft define it for you? That's where PlacesBarEditor comes in. It's a free utility for Windows 2000 and Windows ME that allows you to customize the PlacesBar."
  Not sure of compatibility w/Windows 95 or 98. Very easy to install. An excellent extension. Makes it quicker & easier to save to your desired folder(s).
 
 
 
Context ThumbView v1.0.b1 - "Context ThumbView is a Windows Explorer context menu extension that provides a pop-up menu containing thumbnail of selected image file. It supports most of popular image file formats and is very handy for quick image viewing. Note: This software requires Windows 98/ME/2000/XP (or Windows 95/NT with Internet Explorer 4.0 with Active Desktop or later)."
    A nice addition, you will use it more than you think you will.

 
 
 
 
Instant ThumbView "is a tiny image viewer that displays image thumbnails in a popup window, when the mouse pointer is hovered over an image file in Windows Explorer. It supports a lot of popular image file formats, including BMP, GIF, JPEG, PNG, WMF, ART, DIB, etc. and is very handy for quick image viewing. To invoke it, just toggle the SCROLL LOCK indicator ON, and then hover an image file with your mouse pointer in the Explorer's window."
  Really nice when you want to find an image without opening the whole folder, or if you have your folder view set to something other than thumbnail, such as details, or list.

 
 
 
File Information - "Context menu utility to display file information the explorer context menu. Now includes file version information."
When you click on a file, a context menu, like the one on the left will appear. Just highlight "File Information" and the menu below will come up.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Note: The new version - 5.02.1018 - combines with the program below.
 

Instant Version Info"is a shell extension that creates a 'Version info' extry for files. You can access this by right-clicking a file in explorer. Not all files have version info, in which case the program does not add an entry to the context menu. Also, Clicking the Instant Version Info menu entry copies the version info to the clipboard. Note: Close all programs before installing. (73kb)" 
  This is a nice companion program to the above app, File Information, as it adds to it's popup menu when you highlight File Information in the context menu.

 
 
 
 
Folder Info - A right click extension that opens a new window that lists the folders contents, the size of each file, the averaged size of the file, the % of disc space of the folder, and the % of disc space of the hard drive that each file takes up. Just right click on the folder and click on Information to launch the app.

 
 
 
Folder Size Shell Extension - "a free shell extension for Windows 95/98 and NT. It adds a new tab to the Properties dialog that displays a folder's and drive's size. This new page allows you see the folders and sub folders sizes (in a hierarchical tree). To access to the options (units, sort, etc.) a contextual menu is provided. Folder Size Shell Extension delivers useful information and integrates well into Windows 95/98 and NT's existing structure."
 Just right click on a folder and click on Properties; then click on the Size tab.

 
 


FCWin. Version 5.02.1018 - "This utility will compare two files. The files can be compared as ASC II or as Binary. This utility is based on the FC.EXE utility that is included in MSDOS. Includes context menu support."
  This is THE simplest way to compare two files. Just right click on the first file and click on Compare File(First); then go to the second file and right click. Click on Compare File(Second). Brings up a dual-pane box withthe differences of both listed.
 
 


BYBLOS.DLL - From the author: "Some details about this extension: The .dll file uses a VP logo as bitmap resource - 46x40 pixels and VP favicon. Anyone may (and should) replace this bitmap with his own logo, photo, etc.. up to 96x96 - I used Resource Hacker for this, BITMAP res. #201. Icon may be replaced as well. Unfortunately, this extension does not perform interactive dialog for replacing bitmap - maybe should be considered once. Right now I am trying to improve the feature of limited bitmap file - meanwhile, a larger bitmap would be compressed and would look ugly."
This one is really cool! It adds a bitmap of your choice to your right click menu. It will accept any size bmp., but only display it up to 96x96 pixels (smaller sizes will stay the same size). You will need Resource Hacker to make the change, and the RegSvrExt shell extension from Mike Lin to register the dll in order for this to work. What actually happens is that the dll puts an included VP logo bitmap in the menus. You then change that bitmap with ResourceHacker, and register it with RegSvrExt.
This is not an easy program to get to work, so I would not recommend it to novices, however, once you get it figured out, it's pretty cool! Here are what mine look like.
Remember you can use any bitmap, and it will be displayed up to 96x96 pixels!

 
 

RegSvrExA- "A shell extension that provides convenient and quick registration for ActiveX DLLs and OCXs. A great tool for ActiveX developers - much more convenient than regsvr32!"

 
 

What is This? - "What is this?" will help you to manage your files and remember their descriptions, in an easy and unobtrusive way. Wit uses only a little disk space and stores your data in a small, quick database.
Wit(What is this?) provides these useful functions:
· Easily activated from the Explorer context menu;
· Wit gives you the file information summary which includes the Drive the file is located on, the folder name, file     name,  size, attributes, and dates (creation, access and update). Additional information about versioning for exe  and library files;
· View, update and delete file descriptions;
· Simple and quick string search;
· Extract and show archive description from archive
  (ZIP,LZH,ARC,ZOO,ARC,ARJ,SFX,TAR,GZIP);
· JPEG thumbnail preview;
. Extract information from descript.ion and files.bbs files;
I have just started using this very useful program. Just right click on a file, click on What is this?, and a window like the one on the right will appear.

 
 
 
 
 

1st Jump - "1st Jump adds the option of jumping directly to a folder to your right-click menu. To add a folder, just right-click on it, select "Jump to folder," then "Add current folder," and your folder will be added. This progam has the potential to take hours off your work time."
Add access to any folder so easily.

 
 
 

CMenuExtender -  "A shell extension that lets the user add items to the Explorer context menu. Using any registry-editor or the supplied GUI, the user can add submenus and items such as shortcuts to programs, documents, folders, webpages and scripts. CMExt also has some predefined commands for copying, moving and retrieving information on files and directories."
  Just what the doctor ordered, the ability to add whatever you want to the Explorer context menu! Sweeeet :-)

 
 

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Last update:  6/3/2003
 
 


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