Hi again, Leonard...
When you speak of getting 'cmd here' below 'open' in the
drop down menu, you seem to be addressing the act of
clicking on the folder in the right-hand frame of Windows
Explorer, where Open should, indeed, be the default.
When you are clicking on a folder in the left-hand frame
of Explorer, Expand or Collapse is the default setting.
So assuming I am correct in this assumption (that makes
two assumptions, doesn't it?) you should be able to reset
Open as the default by doing the following:
In Windows Explorer, go to the menu at the top. I'm using
Windows 2000, so there may be a slight difference in XP,
but it shouldn't be hard to bridge the gap.
Select Tools -> Folder Options, and click on the File Types
tab. Under the Extensions column on the left, scroll down
to the N/A section and find the entry for Folder.
Highlight the Folder entry (not the File Folder entry),
and click on the Advanced button at the bottom right.
In that window you should see the three actions: Cmd Here,
Explore, and Open. Highlight the action Open, and click on
the Set Default button. Click OK through all the windows
you have open, in the process of closing them.
This should reset Open as the default action when you are
double-clicking a folder in the right-hand Explorer window.
Researching this on the internet proved less useful than
hunting it down in the 'places in Windows that make things
happen', using my own experience.
Please do not rate this answer until you are satisfied that
the answer cannot be improved upon by way of a dialog
established through the "Request for Clarification" process.
sublime1-ga |
Request for Answer Clarification by
lenh-ga
on
12 Jul 2004 06:56 PDT
Sure glad to see your name on the response.
'Open' is the default action for 'folder' - default does nothing more
than Bold the word, it does not move it up to top of the actions in
the context menu, consequently a double click no longer opens the
selected folder [after open is the default action] rather it executes
whatever action is the top action on the menu.
Is there a file that defines the context menu contents or is the
composition of the menu a result of registry entries. If there is a
file that I could replace with one from a saved earlier 'Drive Image'
that might work or would you suggest a replacement of the registry
files.
|
Clarification of Answer by
sublime1-ga
on
12 Jul 2004 08:58 PDT
Hi Leonard...
Okay. I have Windows 2000, but the foundation of both XP and 2000
is not that different. I just now played with changing the default
setting for folder. Now yesterday, I could hve sworn that default
in the right-hand pane of Windows Explorer was Open, but when I
checked this morning, Explore was bolded and at the top of the list
when I right-clicked for the context menu. I followed the directions
I gave you and set Open as the default action. After that, Open was
both bolded and at the top of the list. I then reset Explore as the
default, and it returned to the top of the list, in bold. This is
consistent with my experience in the past, as being how it's
supposed to work.
Again, all of this is in regard to clicking on a folder on the right
side of Windows Explorer. Clicking on a folder in the left-hand pane
should result in seeing Expand or Collapse in bold, at the top of
the list.
Yet you are saying that, though the selection you define as default
is bolded, it is not moving to the top. In my experience, this can
only happen if there is a divider between the entry at the top and
the other entries, such as there is when you left-click a folder in
the left-hand window of Explorer - there will be a divider between
Expand or Collapse and the other entries: Explore, Open, and Cmd
Here. In the right-hand window of Explorer, however, there should
be no such divider. Let me know if there is, in your case.
The menu composition is the result of registry entries, and it may
be possible to resolve it by making changes there, or restoring a
previous set of registry files, depending on how long you've had
Cmd Here installed, but I usually reserve changes to the registry
for last, if there are other ways to approach the problem. Also,
when I went digging in the registry yesterday, to discover the
entry that puts Expand or Collapse above a divider when clicking
on a folder in the left-hand window, I was unable to find any
entry at all for Expand or Collapse, so I am hoping that there
is no such divider separating Cmd Here from the other entries
when you click on a folder in the right-hand window of Explorer.
If there is, that would be the problem.
Now tell me this. You say you installed Cmd Here from the XP Power
Toys. Was it a single-item install, separate from TweakUI, or was
this a setting made in TweakUI. If it was a separate install file,
we may be able to work backwards from examining that file. If it
is a setting made in TweakUI, it can simply be undone from there.
On my system, Cmd Here was not part of the Power Toys or TweakUI.
I installed a similar function called DOS Prompt, which was an
install that modified the registry files, and was created by an
independent person. The concept is the same, however, and looking
at the install file may allow us to reverse the changes to the
registry.
I'm also wondering if this could be a glitch in Explorer, having
less to do with the installation of Cmd Here, and more to do with
something being screwy with Explorer. Have you rebooted lately?
It might help to do so, and then see if there are any changes to
your situation.
I'll be away for the next several hours, but will check in
promptly on my return, so don't think I've forgotten about
you if I don't respond immediately.
sublime1-ga
|
Request for Answer Clarification by
lenh-ga
on
13 Jul 2004 07:17 PDT
NO Divider, Installed with XP Power Toys only, NO TweakUI, Have
rebooted with no change. Have now removed cmd here from the context
menu by deleting it from the Registry and yes it is gone but now the
context drop down menu list is topped with'Search' followed by 'Open'.
Since I cannot find 'Search' as a command in the Registry I guess I
am going to have to learn to right click and choose 'open' to open a
folder.
I do appreciate your assistance in this and unless you have another
idea I will consider this satisfactorily closed.
Thanks again,
Leonard Herr
|
Clarification of Answer by
sublime1-ga
on
13 Jul 2004 10:33 PDT
Leonard...
I won't be happy until I've gotten to the bottom of this.
I will continue to search for other solutions, and post
again when I find them (it).
sublime1-ga
|
Clarification of Answer by
sublime1-ga
on
13 Jul 2004 12:04 PDT
Leonard...
I'm at home today, and working on your dilemma, so quick
responses would be helpful, if that is possible.
The key to this issue seems to be that your Explorer is
not functioning properly, whether there is a registry
entry or not. That is, you said:
"'Open' is the default action for 'folder' - default does
nothing more than Bold the word, it does not move it up
to top of the actions in the context menu, consequently
a double click no longer opens the selected folder [after
open is the default action] rather it executes whatever
action is the top action on the menu."
...and I responded that this was not normal behavior,
and noted that the normal behavior was as follows:
"I followed the directions I gave you and set Open as
the default action. After that, Open was both bolded
and at the top of the list. I then reset Explore as
the default, and it returned to the top of the list,
in bold. This is consistent with my experience in the
past, as being how it's supposed to work."
I would ask you to try once again, using the
directions I gave earlier, to set Explore as the
default, and tell me if it still only changes it
by bolding the selection, or if it moves it to the
top as well. If it doesn't move it to the top, your
dilemma lies in the fact that you *should* be able
to use the Folder Options -> File Types dialog to
not only bold the item, but move it to the top, as
well, when you set it as default. That this is not
happening for you suggests to me that the Explorer.exe
file itself may be glitchy or corrupt.
This makes me wonder whether you have installed any
updates and/or service packs to your XP installation.
A later service pack might overwrite the Explorer
file you have with one that functions properly,
and results in the action you choose as default
both being bolded and also moving to the top of
the list in the context menu.
Meanwhile, I'll continue to look for other fixes.
sublime1-ga
|
Clarification of Answer by
sublime1-ga
on
13 Jul 2004 16:24 PDT
Hi Leonard...
Okay, after much research, I found the registry entry which
sets the default action. Open regedit and navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Folder\shell\
Clicking on the folder named 'shell' in the left-hand
pane of regedit should reveal a single string value,
with a little 'ab' icon, in the right-hand pane, of
Type REG_SZ and the value in the Data column sets the
default for the right-click context menu in the right
window of Explorer.
Whatever is set as the default value in this entry
should be bolded and promoted to the top of the
context menu, and operate as such based on the
sub-keys you can see under the 'shell' key folder,
which should be 'explore' and 'open' (and this would
be where to add the 'Cmd Here' key, as well, so if
you want to restore that after we get your default
set up, we can do that).
If there are no sub-keys, or if the values in the
sub-keys are incorrect or corrupted, setting the
command as default will not work.
If I leave that value blank, my Explorer context menu
shows Explore as defaulted. If I change it to 'open'
in the registry, then Open shows as the bolded default
at the top of the context menu (I refreshed Explorer
after every change to the registry, and the changes
were reflected immediately).
I believe that the value is left blank by default, and
that Explore should then be the default result. This
is the case on my system. But apparently, on your system,
leaving this entry blank does not result in Explore being
the default action.
Double-clicking on this string value and typing in Explore
*should* have exactly the same effect as using the method
I gave you earlier, of going to Tools -> Folder Options
and setting Explore as the default in the File Extensions
dialog. So if doing that didn't work, this is the place
in the registry to accomplish it the hard way. If it
doesn't work here, then you may have some corruption in
your registry somewhere else that is causing the problem.
So try this and let me know your results.
sublime1-ga
|
Request for Answer Clarification by
lenh-ga
on
13 Jul 2004 19:09 PDT
Clicking on the left col 'shell' does indeed show the value of 'open',
however after exiting regedit and right clicking on a folder I get
SEARCH in bold as the
top item with 'open' second in that list - now for the exception -
when I click C:\docs and settings, then leonardherr, then local
settings, ALL have shown the SEARCH first and OPEN second sequence but
when I next click on 'History' 'open magically becomes the top entry.
Even weirder, when I click on E:\prog files and then Star Office both
have the SEARCH first OPEN second yet if I click on a Desktop shortcut
to the same folder I get 'open' as the top menu item.
I know, none of this makes sense (to me anyway).
|
Clarification of Answer by
sublime1-ga
on
13 Jul 2004 21:23 PDT
Hi Leonard...
Your last Clarification contains some very strange information,
indeed, and strengthens my suspicions that some entry(s) in your
registry have been corrupted, perhaps in the process of software
being uninstalled and registry entries being removed incorrectly.
Upon further investigation, I discovered another registry key
which controls the default item in the context menu when you
right-click a folder:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\Shell\
Upon playing with the default value for this entry, I quickly
discovered that any change made in this string value ends up
being instantly reflected in the string value for the key I
posted earlier:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Folder\shell\
A change in the value of either one should be reflected instantly
by a change in the value of the other.
You can check to see if this is so on your system by setting
one to 'open' or 'explore' and going to look at the other to
see if the change is reflected.
Beyond this, the anomalies you describe suggest something which
cannot be fixed by standard protocols, since the fabric which
makes them work seems to be torn.
I stand by the possibility that an upgrade to the latest Service
Pack (which you never commented on) might effect a positive
change by replacing the Explorer.exe file, though, if the
registry is corrupt, this may not help.
One other slim hope takes us back to Power Toys. According
to this post on winfx247.com, TweakUI, a Microsoft Power Toy,
offers some control of the context menu:
"The TWEAKUI powertool will let you manage the context menu."
"You can download it from:"
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/downloads/powertoys.asp
"Once you install and run it, click on "Templates" in the left
hand pane and you will see a list of the right click options
in the right."
http://www.winfx247.com/247reference/msgs/0/1464.aspx
I have no way of verifying the utility of this option, as
TweakUI for Windows 2000 does not have this functionality.
A final option, which may be your best shot, is to find
someone with an XP system which has context menus which
are working properly, and export the values for the keys
we've discussed. Then merge these files into your own
registry. This may allow the integration of some minor
entries which will make a difference. I'd offer you
copies of these .reg files from my own system, but there
may be subtle differences in the registry between WinXP
and Win2000.
Beyond these possibilities, I believe I'm at the end of my
rope on this one, and cannot conceive of other options.
If your system was behaving normally, the info in my first
answer would have resolved what you described in your
original question. This just goes deeper than that, and
your situation is unique enough that there's no evidence
of it when researching the net.
sublime1-ga
|
