Windows Explorer MS Access Database Right-Click Context Menu

I was part of a discussion, Easy Use Command Switches \decompile \excl \compact \runtime Etc, Access 2010 , regarding Windows Explorer Context Menus for sending/opening accdb files to:

Compact
Decompile
Runtime

Up until now, I simply created a couple of shortcuts with I added to the SendTo Menu as described in the Reusable decompilation method section of the MS Access – Decompile a Database which did work very nicely and is relatively easy to setup.

but each of the above methods does present certain issues:

SendTo approach always displays the options regardless of the file extension, so you could technically try sending incorrect files to Access.
Jon Smith’s approach:
- requires pressing the SHIFT key for the options to display (I do not like hidden features!)
- currently it only works with accdb file extensions. so it currently does not support accdr, accde, accda, mbd, mde, mda, …
- Is hardcoded for Access 2010 requiring editing the reg files for every version of Access you wish to install it on.

So I set out to try and figure out a better a solution, one that would:

only be available for all access files (or whatever extensions I specify)
did not require extra key sequences
did not require manual editing of setup files

and this is why, last night, I developed the Windows Explorer MS Access Database Right-Click Context Menu Creator.

What is the Context Menu Creator?

Simply put, it is a small Access Database (something had to do the work, so why not our favorite workhorse MS Access!) that allows you to select against which file extensions to create a context menu for and also which commands you would like.

This way you have control of which file extension display the context menu and which command will be available to you, or not.

Make your selections and the simply click on the Create Menu(s) button.

That’s it.

Then the next time you are in Windows Explorer and right-click on any of those files you will see a context menu such as

Now, obviously my original intent was to simplify my own Access needs, but this utility can be used for any extension. So you could make a context menu for Word or Excel, …

UPDATED!

2022-11-17 – Updated to now include an uninstaller!

Disclaimer/Notes:

If you do not have Microsoft Access, simply download and install the freely available runtime version (this permits running MS Access databases, but not modifying their design):

Microsoft Access 2010 Runtime
Microsoft Access 2013 Runtime
Microsoft Access 2016 Runtime
Microsoft 365 Access Runtime

All code samples, download samples, links, ... on this site are provided 'AS IS'.

In no event will Devhut.net or CARDA Consultants Inc. be liable to the client/end-user or any third party for any damages, including any lost profits, lost savings or other incidental, consequential or special damages arising out of the operation of or inability to operate the software which CARDA Consultants Inc. has provided, even if CARDA Consultants Inc. has been advised of the possibility of such damages.

I have personally tested it out on Windows 7 running Access 2010, 2013, 2016 and it worked without issue, but that is no guarantee that it will work for you.

Download

Feel free to download a copy (unlocked accdb) by using the link provided below:

Download “Context Menu Creator” ContextMenuCreator.zip – Downloaded 12356 times – 70.47 KB

Version History

Version	Date	Changes
V1.001	2022-11-17	Added Uninstaller
V1.000	2017-10-25	Changed back to using the HKCU so no more Admin permissions are required thanks to the help of Celeste (Microsoft) to resolve the previous bug
V0.10	2017-10-04	Add a vbscript to launch the database as an administrator Changed to code to add the registry keys to the HKLM hive instead of the HKCU hive because of the bug recently pointed out to me by Thomas Möller
V0.9	2016-11-03	Minor code optimization Added the ability for the user assign the name to be attributed to the context menu (instead of hard coded values) Base the menu commands on tables (instead of hard coded values) and give the user the ability to edit these same values
V0.8	2016-11-02	Initial Public Release

16 responses on “Windows Explorer MS Access Database Right-Click Context Menu”

shlomo November 9, 2016 at 4:40 am

thanks
but i can’t open the zip file, i get an error that the file is Invalid.

Daniel Pineault Post authorNovember 10, 2016 at 8:29 pm

Thank you for making me aware of the problem. I have resolved it, so please try again.
1. shlomo December 5, 2016 at 6:14 am
  
  thanks, it’s work like a magic…

jack November 9, 2016 at 9:08 am

Downloaded V0.9 and am being told by WinZip that it is not a valid archive??

Daniel Pineault Post authorNovember 10, 2016 at 8:21 pm

First of all, thank you for flagging the problem. I believe it has been resolved, so please try again.

Geddy March 7, 2017 at 9:33 am

Do you have a method of removing the context menu?

Daniel Pineault Post authorMarch 7, 2017 at 11:03 am

No, I never thought of wanting to remove it. It just creates a registry entry, so it is just a question of deleting that registry entry.

I will see about adding that as a feature in the next version.
1. Gordon November 16, 2022 at 7:45 pm
  
  Thank you very much for this tool, works great on Windows 10 with Office 365! Just curious if you added a way to remove it from the menu. I was surprised at your response about removing it.
  1. Daniel Pineault Post authorNovember 16, 2022 at 8:21 pm
    
    No, I haven’t developed any removal means because:
    
    You can change the name, thus the registry key associated
    You can change the extensions targeted, thus the registry key associated
    
    Furthermore, you can change the settings in the db, so I would have no reliable means to know what was previously run.
    
    Hence, because of the flexibility I incorporated into the tool, instead of a locked down predetermined set of registry keys, it is much more difficult to automate the removal of. It is however very easy to remove manually for the rare case that one might want to remove it.
    
    Also, this is not a commercial solution. I don’t make a dime from anything I provide here in my blog! It is a free utility I have simply provided here in the hopes it can be of use. It is completely unlocked with full source code, so anyone could add any functionality they want.
    1. Daniel Pineault Post authorNovember 17, 2022 at 12:25 pm
      
      I’ve uploaded a new version which now includes an uninstaller.

Ben Sacherich May 2, 2019 at 9:56 am

Daniel,
Thanks for creating the UI to make this easy and bringing this cool Windows Explorer technique to everyone’s attention. I’ve been using a technique like this with a .reg registry file that was created by former MVP Jon Evans and Dev Ashish. From time to time, when Windows and Office updates are pushed out, these context menus will get erased and I have to add them back. Having a .reg file on hand makes it easy to restore the settings. It’s also helpful to have on hand when using other computers or sharing with my team. A downside is that I have to maintain .reg files for each version of Access that is used.
A feature idea would be to have your utility export a .reg file.
Also, .mdw and .accdt are two additional extensions that can be supported. (Yes, I still have one application using Access Workgroup security and the .mdw gets bloated after a while.)

Bill Mosca June 25, 2019 at 3:33 pm

Daniel – What a nifty database! I have several computers with different versions of Windows and Office. Modifying the context menu regkeys so they work in the specific environments is a pain. They occasionally are overwritten by policy updates and such. Now I can easily get them back again.

Daniel Pineault Post authorJune 26, 2019 at 6:15 am

Yeah, pretty proud of this one! What’s nice is it can be used for other programs as well.

Norman Weiss November 28, 2022 at 9:38 pm

its a bit off topic

is there any switch that can help with error handling ?

for example i currently run my access programs via task scheduler and sometimes the access database gets opened by someone else exclusively the issue is that the task scheduler doesn’t just close the task it continues to run

or sometimes when i need to force the running task to end the next time it runs i don’t know how to get it to run via the command line since i need to click yes to the warning message which says that something happened to the file the last time it was open do you want to open it is there any switch that i can pass which will be equivalent to pressing yes

Daniel Pineault Post authorNovember 29, 2022 at 6:56 pm

This has always been a major pain. When you automate, you need to first validate if a lock file exists and abort if one does.

shlomo November 9, 2016 at 4:40 am

thanks
but i can’t open the zip file, i get an error that the file is Invalid.
1. Daniel Pineault Post authorNovember 10, 2016 at 8:29 pm
  
  Thank you for making me aware of the problem. I have resolved it, so please try again.
  1. shlomo December 5, 2016 at 6:14 am
    
    thanks, it’s work like a magic…
jack November 9, 2016 at 9:08 am

Downloaded V0.9 and am being told by WinZip that it is not a valid archive??
1. Daniel Pineault Post authorNovember 10, 2016 at 8:21 pm
  
  First of all, thank you for flagging the problem. I believe it has been resolved, so please try again.
Geddy March 7, 2017 at 9:33 am

Do you have a method of removing the context menu?
1. Daniel Pineault Post authorMarch 7, 2017 at 11:03 am
  
  No, I never thought of wanting to remove it. It just creates a registry entry, so it is just a question of deleting that registry entry.
  
  I will see about adding that as a feature in the next version.
  1. Gordon November 16, 2022 at 7:45 pm
    
    Thank you very much for this tool, works great on Windows 10 with Office 365! Just curious if you added a way to remove it from the menu. I was surprised at your response about removing it.
    1. Daniel Pineault Post authorNovember 16, 2022 at 8:21 pm
      
      No, I haven’t developed any removal means because:
      
      You can change the name, thus the registry key associated
      You can change the extensions targeted, thus the registry key associated
      
      Furthermore, you can change the settings in the db, so I would have no reliable means to know what was previously run.
      
      Hence, because of the flexibility I incorporated into the tool, instead of a locked down predetermined set of registry keys, it is much more difficult to automate the removal of. It is however very easy to remove manually for the rare case that one might want to remove it.
      
      Also, this is not a commercial solution. I don’t make a dime from anything I provide here in my blog! It is a free utility I have simply provided here in the hopes it can be of use. It is completely unlocked with full source code, so anyone could add any functionality they want.
      1. Daniel Pineault Post authorNovember 17, 2022 at 12:25 pm
        
        I’ve uploaded a new version which now includes an uninstaller.
Ben Sacherich May 2, 2019 at 9:56 am

Daniel,
Thanks for creating the UI to make this easy and bringing this cool Windows Explorer technique to everyone’s attention. I’ve been using a technique like this with a .reg registry file that was created by former MVP Jon Evans and Dev Ashish. From time to time, when Windows and Office updates are pushed out, these context menus will get erased and I have to add them back. Having a .reg file on hand makes it easy to restore the settings. It’s also helpful to have on hand when using other computers or sharing with my team. A downside is that I have to maintain .reg files for each version of Access that is used.
A feature idea would be to have your utility export a .reg file.
Also, .mdw and .accdt are two additional extensions that can be supported. (Yes, I still have one application using Access Workgroup security and the .mdw gets bloated after a while.)
Bill Mosca June 25, 2019 at 3:33 pm

Daniel – What a nifty database! I have several computers with different versions of Windows and Office. Modifying the context menu regkeys so they work in the specific environments is a pain. They occasionally are overwritten by policy updates and such. Now I can easily get them back again.
1. Daniel Pineault Post authorJune 26, 2019 at 6:15 am
  
  Yeah, pretty proud of this one! What’s nice is it can be used for other programs as well.
Norman Weiss November 28, 2022 at 9:38 pm

its a bit off topic

is there any switch that can help with error handling ?

for example i currently run my access programs via task scheduler and sometimes the access database gets opened by someone else exclusively the issue is that the task scheduler doesn’t just close the task it continues to run

or sometimes when i need to force the running task to end the next time it runs i don’t know how to get it to run via the command line since i need to click yes to the warning message which says that something happened to the file the last time it was open do you want to open it is there any switch that i can pass which will be equivalent to pressing yes
1. Daniel Pineault Post authorNovember 29, 2022 at 6:56 pm
  
  This has always been a major pain. When you automate, you need to first validate if a lock file exists and abort if one does.