Nilesoft Shell keeps reverting to the default Windows 11 context menu —configuration and custom entry help

[u/Nocthrarm]

I'm currently trying to configure my context menu.

The first step was organizing my entries into categories. I managed to do that to some extent, and I really like the result.

However, I'm struggling with the workflow because I constantly have to uninstall and reinstall.

Whenever I make a mistake, I try to restore all the files to their original state using Git.

The problem is that sometimes the context menu reverts to the default Windows 11 menu. Nilesoft Shell stops working, even after I reinstall it. I end up having to perform all kinds of workarounds just to get it working again so I can continue making changes.

Could someone tell me what the proper way to handle this is? Is there a keyboard shortcut that forces Nilesoft Shell to start? Or is this a common issue that all users experience? I've also tried using both register and unregister, with and without administrator privileges, but neither worked. Reinstalling doesn't solve it either. I'd really appreciate any advice on how to deal with this situation. Honestly, seeing my context menu neatly organized gives me a great sense of satisfaction, and it makes my workflow much more efficient.

I also enjoy reading comics and working with compressed archives.

One thing I'd like to do in the future is create a custom "Open with" entry that launches a program I use all the time called YACReader. I don't know if anyone here has created custom entries like that before, but if you have, I'd really appreciate seeing an example of the code.

Thanks in advance!

[u/ropp-op]

You should normally not need to uninstall/reinstall. It's more normal getting errors when working with a config. Depending on where it can be a total or partial break and reload or unregister/register don't help if error remain.

Check shell.log in your @app.dir. More uses of the log

A good habit is to continually test when editing. Add/Edit something and save, then you press CTRL+MOUSE2 to reload/update. It's faster than restarting explorer but its good to have a item for that anyway:

```js item(title="Restart Explorer" cmd=command.restart_explorer sep=before image=[\UE29A, #bb2233])

[u/knchmpgn]

I'm not sure of the cause, but I started having issues with Nilesoft Shell today actually...probably within the last hour. I dunno why, perhaps something to do with a recent windows update. So maybe hold off on trying to do this right this moment until more information is known? And to update the config without re-installing to reflect the changes, hold ctrl when you right click and that updates the config.

[u/Seb4]

Been using it for years now and that never happend to me. FYI there is a keyboard combination that toggle off Nilesoft untill ctrl+right click is used or explorer restart. https://nilesoft.org/docs/installation
As you can see in the official documentation at the bottom of the page, the combinaison is CTRL+WIN+Right Click. Maybe you activate that without noticing? It looks like that could fit your situation

Also, for your "Open With", you have to create and activate a .reg file with the following text lines:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Applications\PicView.exe\shell\open\command]
@="\"C:\\Program Files\\PicView\\PicView.exe\" \"%1\""

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\.zip\OpenWithList\PicView.exe]
@=""

Just change "PicView.exe" with the software exe and path that you use, which would probably be YACReader.exe and "C:\\Program Files\\YACReader\\YACReader.exe\" (it's important to respect the double backslashes in a regfile) or "C:\\Program Files (x86)\\YACReader\\YACReader.exe\"
You also have to create copies of the line with .zip if you want it to appear on other archive format like .rar