LeeTutor's Doing Windows
Windows Tips Categories
Context Menu Tips
TOO MANY ITEMS IN THE NEW LIST
Many of us have installed a lot of programs on our
computers which add an item to the list you get when
right clicking on the Desktop and choosing New from the
Context Menu. For example: new Briefcase, new Text
document, new Microsoft Word document, new HTML document,
new WinZip file, new Folder... The list can go on and on.
How to remove the ones you don't want in this list? One
way is to edit the Registry. Then there are a couple of
free Pc Magazine utilities, MenuEdit and ContextEdit,
that could be downloaded and used to prune the list. (I
have written about both of these in my other column,
Nibbling at the Net.)
But there is another free utility which you just might
have on your computer already, or on your Windows
installation CD,which is very useful in this respect.
This is the Microsoft Powertoy called TweakUI, which I
have touched upon previously in this column. If it is
installed already on your computer, then you will find
its icon in the Control Panel. If it is not installed
already, and you don't find it on your Windows
installation CD, then just go to the main page of
download.cnet.com, and do a search for tweakui. This is
version 1.33 of the free Microsoft utility, and it works
for all versions of Windows.
Now, how to prune the New list? Simple: click on the
Start button, then Settings, then Control Panel. Find and
double-click on the TweakUI icon. Click on the tab
labeled "New." There will be a list of the
various items currently available through the right-click
New context menu item, each preceded by a square box with
a check mark in it. To disable any of the items, click on
that check mark to remove it.
This TweakUI utility is very useful for a lot of other
things than temporarily disabling New items. I will be
covering other uses in future columns. However if you
want the easiest way of permanently disabling New items,
this is it: open up Windows Explorer, navigate to the
Windows\ShellNew folder, delete any of the file types
that you would rather not have on your New menu.