If you’ve been following this site, you might know that we are big fans of the Windows right click context menu, and believe it to be one of the best (yet underrated) interface elements in Windows.
We’ve published a series of articles around the theme: interesting functions in the Windows right click menu. In this latest installment we feature another ten utilities that can be quite useful.
A good selection this time around: Debenu PDF Tools, SkyShellEX, Send to Kindle, Remove Empty Directories, SageThumbs, Elevated Shortcuts, Windows Uninstaller, Folder Colorizer, SubiT, and Right Click Replace This.
1. Debenu PDF Tools: Right Click to Merge, Convert, and Edit PDF’s
Enables you to right click on any PDF and perform a wide range of edits on the spot. If you work with PDF’s you will simply love this.
Note that at the time of this writing, you can get the PRO (paid) version of this software for free simply by liking their page on Facebook, which is a great deal as it has a lot more functions within it.
2. SkyShellEX: right click to sync any folder with Skydrive
Skydrive is Microsoft’s answer to Dropbox, and just like Dropbox you can designate a folder on your hard drive to sync files and folders from. SkyShellEX does something rather useful: it will let you right click on any folder no matter where it is located on your hard drive, and move it into your Skydrive folder.
Note that your folder location will not change, but rather the program will create a symbolic link to a new a folder in the Skydrive folder (which is to say your folder will be in two places at the same time, which is something Windows supports). If you want to do the same thing with Dropbox or any other cloud storage service you can use previously mentioned Link Shell Extension to create symbolic links (the latter also works via right click).
3. Send to Kindle: right click to send any document to your Kindle or Kindle app on your smartphone
Don’t have a Kindle? KEEP READING. Because you can install a Kindle App on your iOS or Android smarphone, for free (as long as you have an Amazon account), and it is an excellent reader for PDFs, Mobi, as well as a host of other ebook and document formats, and it does a fantastic job.
Send to Kindle installs on Windows and will let you transfer any document or documents to your Kindle/Kindle app, instantly, and wirelessly (as long as your Kindle or device has an internet connection).
For more info check out our article entitled: “How to send ebooks and documents to Kindle or Kindle mobile app WIRELESSLY”.
4. Remove Empty Directories: does exactly what it says, via right click
A strangely useful program that will (you guessed it) remove any empty directories recursively from within the folder or drive that you choose. You have to run as administrator and enable the context menu entry, then simply right click on any folder you want to clean up. You will probably be surprised at the number of empty directories that exist on your hard drive.
5. SageThumbs: preview or convert images in the context menu
You may remember SageThumbs as a free utility that adds thumbnail support to a wide variety of image types in Windows. It also can be added to the context menu to provide right click image previews as well as image file type conversions, among other things.
6. Elevated Shortcuts: right click to create shortcuts that bypass the UAC prompt
If you’re tired of approving UAC prompts for frequently used programs, ‘Elevated Shortcuts’ can create shortcuts for these that bypass the UAC, simply by right clicking the executable. It works by utilizing the Windows task scheduler and does not downgrade your system-wide UAC protection. See our full review of this program for more information.
7. Windows Uninstaller: uninstall any program by right clicking it’s desktop shortcut
Ever wished you could uninstall a program right from the desktop? With ‘Windows Uninstaller’, you can. The program launches the program uninstaller via right click, making the uninstall immediate, quick and simple.
8. Folder Colorizer: right click on a folder to change it’s color
A simple desktop organization tool, whereby you can right click a folder to change it’s color. It will add a hidden .ICO file inside the folder and change the folder icon to it (which means that the folder will maintain the ‘new’ color even if you uninstall the program).
This is what the new colorized folder might look like. Note that you can actually add any color of your choice to the list.
9. SubiT: right click a movie file to download subtitles
If you’re looking for subtitles for a movie simply right click on the video file and select ‘SubiT’. It will look for subtitles across a series of online resources in succession and, if found, download the .SRT file in the same location as your movie.
Note that SubiT supports 4 languages only as of this writing (English, Hebrew, Norwegian, and Russian), and will download as per your priorities in the settings. If it cannot find an exact match it will show you several potential subtitles files to choose from.
This program is similar to previously mentioned app Oscar, which you might want to try as well.
10. Right Click Replace This: right click to replace one file with another (even system files)
This one for the ubergeeks only: ever wanted to replace a system file but was prevented from doing so by Windows? ‘Right Click Replace This’ will let you select a file and a replacement file in the right click; it will then replace one with another and, in the case of system files, will schedule the replacement process into the next Windows startup. It will even backup the original file under a .BAK extension.
That’s it. If you want more of this type of post (‘Interesting Right Click Functions’) please let me know, as this will likely be my last installment of these for a long time.
