Ross's Shell Extensions

This page gives a brief overview of the shell extensions I have written for Windows XP. To see a page with more information about any given extension, click the icon next to its name. Click the extension's name to it's description in the overview.

Introduction

You may be asking yourself, "What exactly is a shell extension anyway?"

To put it simply, you might say that it's a program that adds new features or functionality to an operating system's shell. In other words, a shell extension is simply a program that extends the capabilities of an operating system's shell. A shell extension doesn't necessarily have to be for Windows; it could be made for any other operating system, but will generally only work for the operating system that it's made for.

My shell extensions are all made for Windows 2000/NT/XP, and give Windows Explorer more features than it has out-of-the-box. More specifically, I work with context-menus ("right-click" menus) to add more options. Generally, these options are provided to simply an operation(s) or just for ease of access.

You may find some of the older extensions to be a bit trivial (such as those that merely simulate button pushes), and they may indeed be. However, you will see that many of the extensions are actually quite a bit more complex and can be very useful.

I try to offer a high-degree of flexibilty in my extensions. For example, you will find that all of my extensions:

• Allow you to change their title/caption
• Allow the use of Unicode characters in the above title.
• Have advanced commandline options available from their installer applications.
• Allow you to choose whether or not to install Start Menu shortcuts.
• Will determine if the account has administrator rights or not and act accordingly.

The more advanced extensions offer even more customizable options and can comform to a variety of preferences.

BrowserBack

This package installs a new option in the right-click (aka "context") menu that appears on the Desktop and folder backgrounds. The option gives you the ability to go back to the previous folder, similarly to the Windows Explorer toolbar button.

[ Description ] [ Screenshots ] [ Installation ] [ License ] [ Download ] [ Known Issues ]

CommandPromptHere

This package installs a new option in the right-click (aka "context") menu that appears on the Desktop and folder backgrounds. You also have the option of adding the option on folder and drive menus as well. Selecting the extension from the when will open a command prompt window (Window's cmd.exe) that is already set to the indicated folder or drive.

[ Description ] [ Screenshots ] [ Installation ] [ License ] [ Download ] [ Known Issues ]

FileExtToggle

This package installs a new option in the right-click (aka "context") menu that appears on the Desktop and folder backgrounds. The option gives you the ability to toggle the display of file extension on and off. This extension is very useful if you find that you frequently have to change this setting. Most people find this more convenient than navigating through the options menus in Windows Explorer to change the same settings.

[ Description ] [ Screenshots ] [ Installation ] [ License ] [ Download ] [ Known Issues ]

FileMenu Project (work in progress)

Under development; no releases.

HiddenFilesToggle

This package installs a new option in the right-click (aka "context") menu that appears on the Desktop and folder backgrounds. The option gives you the ability to toggle the display of hidden files on and off. This extension is very useful if you find that you frequently have to change this setting. Most people find this more convenient than navigating through the options menus in Windows Explorer to change the same settings.

[ Description ] [ Screenshots ] [ Installation ] [ License ] [ Download ] [ Known Issues ]

NewWindowFavorites

This package installs a new option in the right-click (aka "context") menu that appears on Internet Shortcuts (.URL files). This menu is available from both Windows Explorer and Internet Explorer. The option gives you the ability to open your Favorites shortcuts in a new window from Internet Explorer. In older versions of Internet Explorer, this is the one of the one ways to have this functionality in a menu.

[ Description ] [ Screenshots ] [ Installation ] [ License ] [ Download ] [ Known Issues ]

SelectAll

This package installs a new option in the right-click (aka "context") menu that appears on the Desktop and folder backgrounds. The option gives you the ability to select all of the contents within the current folder, similarly to the Windows Explorer menu option.

[ Description ] [ Screenshots ] [ Installation ] [ License ] [ Download ] [ Known Issues ]

SubMenuPack

This package installs a new option in the right-click (aka "context") menu that appears on the Desktop and folder backgrounds. The option gives you the ability to go back to the previous folder, similarly to the toolbar button.

[ Description ] [ Screenshots ] [ Installation ] [ License ] [ Download ] [ Known Issues ]

UpOneLevel

This package installs a new option in the right-click (aka "context") menu that appears on the Desktop and folder backgrounds. The option gives you the ability to up one directory level to the parent of the current folder, similarly to the Windows Explorer toolbar button.

[ Description ] [ Screenshots ] [ Installation ] [ License ] [ Download ] [ Known Issues ]