No directory background context menu

[Gamma]

Maybe I am doing something wrong, but I am missing the right-click context menu extension(s) assigned to the directory background.
Those are normally inserted into the context menu appearing when the white space of a directory (in the right pane of explorer) is right-clicked. They can be assigned in the registry under HKCR\Directory\Background\...
Despite of this context menus assigned to a directory itself (or to any type of file) are working well.

[David Erceg]

Currently, Explorer++ doesn't make direct use of any context menu extensions. The reason they show up when right clicking on files is because that menu is built directly by the shell (although Explorer++ does insert an open in new tab option for folders). Planned for a future version.

[Gamma]

Well, that also explains why the context menus on files/directories appear in German (which is the OS language) whereas the one popping up at the directory background is in English (which is configured for Explorer++)

Thanks for the information, it's not a big issue.

[sun]

Actually, this would resolve some of my remaining usability issues with Explorer++.

Apparently, Windows Explorer reads HKCR\Directory\Background\shell\* when right-clicking the empty white-space of a directory.

Thus, if you import the following into your registry, then you will see a "Git Bash" context menu entry in Windows Explorer when right-clicking the empty space of a directory:

Code: Select all

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Background\shell\gitbash]
@="&Git Bash"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Background\shell\gitbash\command]
@="cmd.exe /c \"\"C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Git\\bin\\sh.exe\" --login -i\""

This feature only exists in Windows 7 and later. In previous versions of Windows, only context menu extension handlers were evaluated for the context menu on a directory's background.

There's a HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Background\shell\cmd entry by default, which should probably be skipped.

Instead of having to manually locate (possibly scroll) the current directory in the folder navigation pane, it's much faster and easier to right-click the empty space of the directory you're currently in.

Since Explorer++ resembles basic functionality of Windows Explorer, I really hope there's a chance for adding support for these background context menu items.

[PhilP]

It appears Windows 7 goes one step further. I too use GIT and noticed that the Explorer++ context menu for a directory no longer included the GIT entries while it did include TortoiseGIT. I'd hazard a guess here that Windows 7 Explorer merges the background entries with a current context menu, so I can right-click a specific directory and select "GIT bash" and it starts with that directory as current. This Explorer behaviour would also explain why there are some directories that I appear to have duplicated sets of context entries

[vasco]

Is there any update? For the git links I have a workarround (by clicking on the directory in the tree), but I also have some home written context menus that used to work.

Since I had to move to W11 i started to use explorer++. Very nice and fast tool until now