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Remove items from context menu

If you have a lot af programs installed, your Windows Explorer context menu might get a little bit crowded. Here are some tips on how to remove them on a per program basis.
Context Menu

Basics

There are several possible “locations” for context menu entries:

  • Context menu of folders
  • Context menu of all files
  • Context menu of specific filetypes
  • Context menu of the “empty” area of a folder

Removing specific programs

I prefer removing the context menu items via the program’s settings menu. By using registry hacks, there might be a chance of the item coming back after an update. There are also other options like ShellExView or Autoruns.

  • VLC / Play with VLC
    Uninstall VLC. Open the installation wizard and deselect Windows Explorer integration.
  • Git / Open Git Bash here
    Uninstall Git. Open the installation wizard and delect Windows Explorer integration.
  • Visual Studio / Open in Visual Studio
    There is no setting for this. Open regeditand go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Background\shell\AnyCode and delete it. Also go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\AnyCode and delete that.
  • Müller Foto / CEWE Fotoschau
    Open regedit and go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\. Remove CEWE Fotoschau and Müller Foto.
    Go To HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SystemFileAssociations\image\shell\. Remove CEWE Fotoschau and Müller Foto.
  • 7-Zip
    Open 7-Zip. Go to Settings > 7-Zip. Uncheck integrate 7-Zip in context menu (also 32-Bit).
  • MediaInfo Go to Options > Preferences. Deselect Explorer extension.
  • Visual Studio Code / Open with Visual Studio Code
    Uninstall VS Code. Install it again and unselect Add Open with code action to Windows Explorer file context menu and Add Open with Code action to Windows Explorer directory menu.
  • MP3Tag Uninstall MP3Tag. Open the installation wizard and deselect Windows Explorer integration.
  • Eraser
    Eraser has an option in its settings menu, which did not work for me. I had to uninstall it and install again without selecting the Windows Explorer Shell Extension.
  • PDFCreator / Convert with PDF Creator Go to Settings (Gear icon). Select Remove Windows explorer integration.
  • Paint 3D / Edit with Paint 3D
    Open regedit and go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT. Search for 3D Edit and only select Keys in the search dialog. You will find results under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\SystemFileAssociations\*EXTENSION*\Shell, with *EXTENSION* beeing .3mf, .bmp, .fbx, .gif, .glb, .jfif, .jpe, .jpeg, .jpg, .obj, .ply, .png, .stl, .tif, .tiff. Remove all of them.
  • DirectX SDK / Convert to file format
    Open regedit. Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers and delete Convert.
  • Windows / Scan with Windows Defender
    Open regeditand go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\. Delete the EPP node. Also go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers and delete EPP there.
  • Windows / Rotate left and rotate right
    Open regedit and go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT. Search for ShellImagePreview and only select Keys in the search dialog. You will find results under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\SystemFileAssociations\*EXTENSION*\ShellEx\ContextMenuHandler, with *EXTENSION* beeing .avci, .avif, .bmp, .dds, .dib, .gif, .heic, .heif, .ico, .jfif, .jpe, .jpeg, .jpg, .jxr, .rle, .tif, .tiff, .wdp, .webp. Remove all of them.

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