Right-click WinXP Start button, how to remove items from the menu?

[John]

Problem: Right-click WINXP Start button, how to remove items from the menu?

System: Windows XP Professional SP2

I looked in the registry but cannot seem to find the entries (like Open,
Explore, Search, etc.) that control which items appear when you right-click
on the Start button.

My goal is to modify the Explore command line.

Thank you for the feedback.

 

[Wesley Vogel]

Start button right click menu.

You cannot change this. These are all shortcuts to the 2 Start Menu folders
for the user that is logged on. The User and All Users.

The Start button right click menu contains:
Open
Explore
Search
Properties
Open All Users
Explore All Users
And others depending on what software you have installed. These can be
removed if need be.

When right clicking the Start button and selecting Explore, you are not
opening Windows Explorer per se. You are opening a Start Menu folder.

You have four choices of how to open two folders; Open, Explore, Open
All Users and Explore All Users. These are just shortcuts to the two
folders.

Depending on a bunch of settings, but generally...
Explore opens folders with Folders pane on the left.
Open opens folders with common tasks showing on the left.

Right click Start button | Open defaults to %userprofile%\Start Menu with
the
Common Tasks pane showing.

Right click Start button | Explore defaults to %userprofile%\Start Menu with
the Folders pane displayed.

Right click Start button | Open All Users defaults to
%allusersprofile%\Start Menu with the Common Tasks pane showing.

Right click Start button | Explore All Users defaults to
%allusersprofile%\Start Menu with the Folders pane displayed.

The %userprofile%\Start Menu folder is the Start Menu folder for whoever
happens to be logged on, i.e. the Current User.

The whole context menu is for the Start Menu and nothing else.

How any folder opens depends on how different options are set on your
machine. Basically Open will open a folder with Common Tasks displayed and
Explore will open a folder with the Folder Pane displayed.


--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[John]

If I understand correctly,

Open
Explore
Open All Users
Explore All Users

are shortcuts which we have no access to in order to modify their Target
command line.

Correct?

Thank you for your help.

 

[Wesley Vogel]

Yes.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[Drew Tognola]

John,

You may have to poke around 'Control Panel > Folder Options > File Types'.
You need to find the correct extension icon, for example: if you select
{NONE} Folder & click 'Advanced', you will see several commands for that
particular folder, 'explore, open, print, etc'. The trick is to find the
correct one for the Start Menu. Good Luck.

Drew

 

[Wesley Vogel]

The Start Menu is a combination two folders.
%userprofile%\Start Menu and %allusersprofile%\Start Menu.

If the OP changes any of the Context menu items like Explore or Open for
(NONE) Folder and/or Find for (NONE) File Folder, he will be changing those
items for *every* folder on his machine. Not just the Start Menu.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[Drew Tognola]

John,

I think I located the commands when you right-click on the Start Menu.
* Open Regedit
* navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Folder\shell
* The 'shell' sub-folders include the commands for the text 'Open, Print,
Explore, Search'
* By deleting the entire 'Open', 'Find', 'Explore' or 'Print' folder, the
text is removed from the Right-click Start Menu area

I don't know what else it does by deleting these so remember to 'Export' the
entire folder named 'Folder'