Custom start menu items

[Waste]

Ok, this may be a weird request, but I'd like to add custom start menu items.

I'm not talking about just disabling the "My Documents" and "My Music" entries, but completely replacing them with other items.

 

Here's how mine look standard:

 

 

 

What I want it to be like:

 

 

Basically what I want to do is have the "My Documents" and the similiar icons to point to different locations and be titled accordingly.

Is this possible, and if it is, please inform on how to do it.

 

 

P.S.: I've already googled and the only thing I could find was how to disable these items.

[Wolf68k]

I'm still looking but you can get close to that by trying this....

Right-click the taskbar or Start button and select Properties

Click Start Menu then Customize then click the Advanced tab

Now scroll down and find My Computer and set it to Display as menu

Click OK until you're out.

 

Now when you click on My Computer in the Start menu you'll get a sub-menu with the drives listed

 

 

Also have a look at this http://www.smartpctools.com/startmenu/

it might be able to do what you want

[Waste]

I'm still looking but you can get close to that by trying this....

Right-click the taskbar or Start button and select Properties

Click Start Menu then Customize then click the Advanced tab

Now scroll down and find My Computer and set it to Display as menu

Click OK until you're out.

 

Now when you click on My Computer in the Start menu you'll get a sub-menu with the drives listed

 

 

Also have a look at this http://www.smartpctools.com/startmenu/

it might be able to do what you want

Yea, I used to have My Computer setup like that, but I really didn't like it.

 

I'll try that program and see if it will help.

$30 though, damn.

[Wolf68k]

If memory services me correctly, back in the day of TechTV on TheScreenSavers they use to get call about that a good bit when XP first came out and I don't think there is a way to change those. The most you can do is pin and unpin programs.

Yes it's stupid and yes M$ is short sited.

 

There might be a way to hack it, much like the old way to hack the Start button icon and naming, but I think doing would you want would nearly as "easy".

[Waste]

That program didn't work.

Sucks they have make it that way and automatically think people will follow the "My Documents" setup.

 

Appreciate the help, wolf.

[Colotomy Headwind]

I believe TweakUI may be able to do this.

 

I googled a bit and came up with a .vbs (VBScript) file that supposedly replaces "My Music" or "My Pictures" with a shortcut of your choice. Not sure if you can actually add more slots or not, but looking at the source of the file might help you figure out how you'd go about it.

 

Edit: Forgot the links to the VBScript files. It's here if you want to replace "My Pictures", or here if you want to replace "My Music".

 

Edit 2: Under further inspection, it seems you can't add more places unless you were actually able to exit explorer.exe, which is possible (hex editors), but if you have SP2 it'll be a far cry to get it to work unless you simply replace the shell with "explorer1.exe", being a clone/edit of the original explorer. The reason behind this is explorer is programmed to grab the path defined in a certain key from the registry, and display that path's name and the icon for that type (drive or folder, etc).

 

If you want to fiddle around, the keys for what is displayed in the Start Menu are HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders and HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders\My Pictures. I suggest you don't edit the value of anything other than "My Music" or "My Pictures", since that's all I've tested and am sure is safe. In fact, if you have no idea what you're doing, it's best NOT to edit the registry and simply use the VBScript files I've linked to above.

 

Edit 3 (a new record?): I've been able to get "My Documents" to point to C:\, but it still says "My Documents" in the start menu and has "My Documents" in explorer's address bar, along with the icon for it. I'm betting doing that probably screwed with something elsewhere (in fact, it made the "My Documents" icon on the desktop point to C:\), and I'm sure doing the same to "My Music" and "My Pictures" would do something odd elsewhere as well.

 

If you edit "My Recent Documents" to let's say, C:\, you'll get a blank menu instead of a shortcut. I assume that's hardcoded as well.

 

Edited September 9, 2005 by Colotomy Headwind

[Wolf68k]

@Waste

The 2 VBS links that Colotomy Headwind posted look safe.

Give me a day or so to get a new VPC created, I had to trash my last one because of a screw up and I forgot to make a back up, and I'll try out the VBS scripts with it and let you know what happens.

 

From the sounds of what happened to Headwind you might not want to do what he did and that's not to say the VBS script won't screw things up just the same way.

 

 

@Colotomy Headwind

You should have given a heads up about the 2 VBS scripts to tell people to right-click and do a "Save Target/Link As" other wise the scripts might run when someone doesn't want them to.

[Colotomy Headwind]

@Colotomy Headwind

You should have given a heads up about the 2 VBS scripts to tell people to right-click and do a "Save Target/Link As" other wise the scripts might run when someone doesn't want them to.

I just tested in both IE and Firefox, and it asks whether to save or open, as I assumed it wouldn't run automatically since that'd be a rather large security concern for Microsoft (and I know Firefox doesn't auto-run without configuration).

 

So far, I haven't seen any effects with using either .vbs file other than the one intended. Editing anything else in the registry keys posted above will result in something breaking, more than likely.

[segosa]

@Waste

The 2 VBS links that Colotomy Headwind posted look safe.

Give me a day or so to get a new VPC created, I had to trash my last one because of a screw up and I forgot to make a back up, a

If you use VMware you can take snapshots..

 

 

Also, the VBS scripts are definitely safe.

[Wolf68k]

Nope, no VMware.

I don't use VPC for writing programs or anything like that. I use it to abuse the OS without abusing my OS.

 

 

@Colotomy Headwind

This would a big security risk for M$? M$ is a big security risk.

As for clicking on a VBS in a browser and having it run automaticly, it has happened before with IE and it doesn't take much to make it possible to happen again.

 

I'm just saying it's best to give a heads up on files like VBS, REG, BAT and I think a few others that I can't think of off hand.

If they have been zipped (or compressed some how), then no problem.

[segosa]

Nope, no VMware.

I don't use VPC for writing programs or anything like that. I use it to abuse the OS without abusing my OS.

I didn't mean a snapshot in the programming sense.

 

One feature of VMware that VPC doesn't have is it allows you to take a 'snapshot' of the OS in its current state. From then on *any* changes are recorded, and no matter what you do to the OS you can easily restore the previous snapshot, you'll have the OS back how it was, down to every last byte. New in VMware 5 is the ability to take multiple snapshots.

 

I know Virtual PC has 'restore disks' but they aren't quite as good or functional as VMware snapshots.

[Colotomy Headwind]

Nope, no VMware.

I don't use VPC for writing programs or anything like that. I use it to abuse the OS without abusing my OS.

I didn't mean a snapshot in the programming sense.

 

One feature of VMware that VPC doesn't have is it allows you to take a 'snapshot' of the OS in its current state. From then on *any* changes are recorded, and no matter what you do to the OS you can easily restore the previous snapshot, you'll have the OS back how it was, down to every last byte. New in VMware 5 is the ability to take multiple snapshots.

 

I know Virtual PC has 'restore disks' but they aren't quite as good or functional as VMware snapshots.

VPC isn't as good as VMware in any sense, except being made by Microsoft (thus cheaper for companies who buy multiple licenses) and more simple to use. VMware 5 also supports DX9, which is flaky, but it's a step forward in making virtual machines as versatile as their host machines.

[Wolf68k]

Ok then let me put it this way. I have VPC, however I do not have VMware. So I'll stick with what I do have to work with.

[segosa]

Ok then let me put it this way. I have VPC, however I do not have VMware. So I'll stick with what I do have to work with.

Mmm I think you misunderstood my reason for mentioning snapshots. Originally you claimed that you had to trash your VPC, I mentioned VMware's snapshots because it would avoid such a situation. It wasn't just random promotion

 

Anyway let's back on topic...

[Wolf68k]

Must I explain the reasons for my trashing my old VPC drive?

I don't think it really matters. Do you?

 

 

As for the topic, it's dead but for the fact that we got off topic long ago.

[Wolf68k]

Sorry I took so long, damn life getting in the way

 

I tried out that VBS script. It does work and does what it says, however it redirects defaults. So if you're in Paint (for example) and go to save your work normally it'll for to 'My Documents\My Pictures\' after using the script it'll default to 'D:\Crap you shouldn't see\WOOHOO porn\' (or whatever folder or drive you point it to). This could be a good or bad thing depending on your point of view.

 

It changes 2 keys:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders "My Pictures" or "My Music"

Orginal: C:\Documents and Settings\YOUR ACCOUNT NAME\My Documents\My Pictures

 

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders "My Pictures" or "My Music"

Original: %USERPROFILE%\My Documents\My Pictures

odd that the first one, in a sense, spells it out while the second uses the identifier

 

In theroy you could also to "My Documents" and "Recent" (aka Recent Documents). I'm not sure of any odd catches to chaging "My Documents other than the same idea of what "My Pictures" and "My Music" would have. But changing "Recent" would more then likely also change where Windows puts the shortcuts of the recent documents you've opened, so I would not suggest doing it.