User Reviews
ShellExView
ShellExView lets you view all installed shell extensions. If available, it displays the description, as well as version details, company information, location, file name and more. You can optionally ...
Average of 18 user ratings: 
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- Sep 23, 2009
- For version:
- 1.41
Windows explorer right click crash fixed 
- Interface: 4
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
Windows Explorer consistently crashed when right-clicking any file name or file icon except MyComputer and Shortcuts. Only way to delete or rename a file was via PowerDesk, which of course turned out to be the cause of the problem. Shexview.exe helped me nail the context menu and Drag-and-Drop shell extensions in PowerDesk as the culprits. Months of aggravation solved in minutes!
Review by: curmudgeon1936
First post
- Aug 12, 2009
- For version:
- 1.37
Explorer right click problem cured, fantastic
- Interface: 5
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
Sick of my computer crashing every time I right clicked in Explorer, I downloaded ShellExView. I disabled all the extensions which were highlighted by ShellExView and then enabled them one by one, each time right clicking in Explorer until I found the culprit. Better file renamer was causing my problem. I can't thank the writer of this little prog enough. He is my hero and to get it for free is nothing short of amazing.
Review by: waltersmitty
First post
- Jul 16, 2009
- For version:
- 1.37
Amazing product
- Interface: 5
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
I spent quite a bit of time trying figure out why my mouses right click stopped working. Shellexview took care of it about 5 seconds. Nicely done.
Review by: SpanmasterS
First post
- Jan 06, 2009
- For version:
- 1.35
Windows Explorer right click failure
- Interface: 5
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
The problem symptom: "When I right-click a file in Windows Explorer, I get a message that Windows Explorer has encountered a problem and needs to close" ShellExView enabled me to resolve the issue; I cannot imagine how else I could have solved the problem; it was a snap...
Review by: zedajal
First post
- Sep 25, 2008
- For version:
- 1.23
Excellent utility
- Interface: 5
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
This saves so much time, viewing editing, modifying. I love it. This is one of those tools that can save others from having to use Google to find where every path is for these files. A must have, a can't live without!
Review by: gimpguy (370)
Read all 370 reviews by gimpguy
- Aug 07, 2007
- For version:
- 1.17
It is not portable.
- Interface: 4
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 4
- Value: 5
- Overall:
In spite of otherwise being an excellent utility, it still writes it's settings to the registry instead of to an INI file. It is therefore not portable on a USB stick. The author could easily change this and make this a truly gold star utility.
Review by: gbjennings (23)
Read all 23 reviews by gbjennings
- Jun 18, 2007
- For version:
- 1.16
Wonderful, excellent!
- Interface: 5
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
It even has a convenient "search" function. It does what all the other reviewers have noted, and one thing they haven't: you can disable the context-menu entries of useful programs that rely on the context menu (Recase, CROA, etc.) until you want to use them. Then re-enable, get rid of all the ugly capital letters, for instance, and return the right-click menu to its cleaned-up, shortened state. (If ShellExView doesn't list the shell extension you want to disable, check out NirSoft's companion utility, "Shell Menu View" [shmnview].) It's amazing how nice it feels not to have to look at an interminable list of annoyances every time you right-click!
Review by: D_Spider (27)
Read all 27 reviews by D_Spider
- May 13, 2007
- For version:
- 1.16
So wonderful i take it for granted
- Interface: 5
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
Why this is not part of the management console snap-ins for administrative tools, i will never know. but it is a critical tool and a wonderful one at that. Nir Sofers little tools are truly a way to build a better mouse trap. you are a good man Mr. Sofer.
Review by: jackfrost (34)
Read all 34 reviews by jackfrost
- Oct 29, 2006
- For version:
- 1.15
Must have utility
- Interface: 5
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
I am a Windows expert since forever, and could not fix my XP problem, until I tried this. A virus scanner shell extension was causing my explorer crashes, and before knowing that, I completely reinstalled WXP from scratch trying to fix the problem. What a waste of time I could have avoided with this utility.
Review by: RCAmans
First post
- Mar 13, 2006
- For version:
- 1.14
Very handy!
- Interface: 5
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
Very handy to get rid of annoying right click menus like those of media player, changes are easy recoverable too...
Review by: dolf04 (4)
Read all 4 reviews by dolf04
- Jan 31, 2006
- For version:
- 1.14
Really essential! easy to use.
- Interface: 5
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
Shellexview (shell context extension view) does what its was made for, no installation required, quickly disables/enables/remove shell context menus, it even comes color coded so non windows shellext are highlighted in pink, so they are easy to distinguish and it also red highlights suspicious shell extensions (useless), disabled items are colored in grey, and it has a quick find for quickly finding items, very good descriptions all this for free, I cant believe i've gone this long without having this! this person (Nir sofer) who makes all these tools is really an innovator.
Review by: Ghost_grey (56)
Read all 56 reviews by Ghost_grey
- Jun 22, 2005
- For version:
- 1.12
Really essential
- Interface: 4
- Features: 4
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
This works very good-easy to use and each new version really has a lot of improvements-I like!!
Review by: Rodger (130)
Read all 130 reviews by Rodger
- Jan 17, 2005
- For version:
- 1.10
Only this one helped me.
- Interface: 4
- Features: 4
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
Helped me to get rid of some annoying right click context menu entries related to Windows Media Player. I couldn't remove them in any other way, although I have tried almost everything, including even some "super powerful" programs. Therefore it will for sure find its place in my computer. I can highly recomend it.
Review by: Markan (28)
Read all 28 reviews by Markan
- Jan 05, 2005
- For version:
- 1.10
Amazing tool
- Interface: 5
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
I am running Windows XP Pro SP2 with all the latest security updates. I also use SpyBot and AdAware. All of a sudden I started to have problems - whenever I right clicked in Windows Explorer I had an error message that said "the memory could not be written". I read about ShellExView and decided to try it. In less than 5 minutes my problem was solved. I was able to quickly see that four shell extensions associated with the program ShredXP changed at the time my problem started. I disabled the extensions and everything is now working. A great tool!!
Review by: SanDiegoGuy2
First post
- Dec 21, 2004
- For version:
- 1.10
Excellent piece of software
- Interface: 4
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
For 2 weeks I couldn't do right-click anywhere (not even on my computer icon or on desktop) as windows explorer froze instantly. I was ready to re-install my Windows XP but then I've found ShellExView. And I said to give it a try. The result is that I've resolved my problem and I located the bad contextual shell that was blocking my right-clicks. It was a file shredder application which I've installed 2 weeks back in order to delete one of my hard drive files... Now that I've disabled this application, everything is back to normal. Thank you ShellExView. Excellent work.
Review by: jemill
First post
- Oct 08, 2004
- For version:
- 1.01
Great software
- Interface: 5
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 4
- Value: 5
- Overall:
When you need to modify or disable context menu handlers in WinXP...this software allows you to do it fast and easy. This software helped me solve an extremely nasty issue where Windows Explorer periodically died when I "right clicked" on a folder. That alone was worth and excellent rating..but ShellExView can do much more...
Review by: WillHoerl
First post
- Sep 29, 2004
- For version:
- 1.01
Get rid of useless shell extensions
- Interface: 5
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
What to do when shitty programs (like Windows Media Player 10, AceFTP Pro 3.61 and AVG Anti-Virus) worm themselves into your file/folder context menus without giving you an option to turn shell integration off: Disable Shell Extensions with ShellExView from NirSoft (it's free too)!
Review by: AnonymMan (28)
Read all 28 reviews by AnonymMan
- Aug 05, 2004
- For version:
- 1.01
What a headache remover!
- Interface: 5
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
I had to post a review of this program after spending all day trying to eliminate the Windows Media Player shell extensions from mp3 files. If you like to customize your install and remove all the unnecessary bloat from your system - check this out. If you install programs regularly, you probably have some items in your right-click menu for some file types that just get in the way. I use QCD Player for most audio files and the right-click options for mp3s was out-of-hand. There were three QCD entries (clearly labeled) and FOUR other entries that I eventually tracked down to WMP. It was pretty ridiculous and I just wanted to remove the WMP entries. I spent about five hours hacking the registry and trying to find info online and trying to use software already on my machine. Then a Google hit took me to a page that recommended this progy (and this site). I DL'd it, ran it- there is no install-and disabled those annoying entries in about 2 minutes! My highest recommendation!
Review by: morphine
First post
