Computer Hope
Microsoft => Microsoft Windows => Windows XP => Topic started by: Pete on December 05, 2014, 07:36:41 AM
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I'm missing certain items from the context menu "Send to". The one I most need it "Desktop (create shortcut)" but others are missing too. In fact, all I do have are the floppy and DVD drives. Some more info which might help:
1) All the necessary items appear in c:\documents and settings\[USER]\sendto just not on the menu.
2) They DO appear on the menu for administrator users on my PC but not "limited" users. That is also so if I temporarily change a non-administrator to an administrator.
3) I know you can tinker with "Send to" settings via TweakUI but I have not done that.
4) Suggested solutions which I have found on other sites are as follows. Neither of these has worked in my case.
regsvr32 /i shell32
regsvr32 sendmail.dll
shell:sendto
fixsendto.vbs
Any further suggestions would be much appreciated.
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PowerToys for XP... (http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/microsoft_windows_xp_powertoys.html)
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Many thanks. I've downloaded that "toolbox" but am not sure which of the many tools in it will do what I need. None seems obvious from its file-name. Would you point me in the right direction, please? (Sorry if I'm being a bit thick.)
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No problem...it's the Send To context menu editor...
You don't have to install all of the tools...
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Oh dear, that makes me feel very stupid!
I think either I'm blind or I've downloaded the wrong toolbox. All that was extracted from the zip file I downloaded were the following:
ClearType.exe
CmdHerePowertoySetup.exe
DeskmanPowertoySetup.exe
HTMLSlideShowSetup.exe
ImageResizerPowertoySetup.exe
MagnifierPowertoySetup.exe
PowerCalcPowertoySetup.exe
RAWViewerSetup.exe
SlideshowPowertoySetup.exe
SyncToy.msi
TaskswitchPowertoySetup.exe
TimershotPowertoySetup.exe
TweakUiPowertoySetup.exe
TweakUIPowertoySetup_ia64.exe
WinColorSetup.exe
I cannot see the Send To context menu editor.
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Sorry 'bout that...it's in the TweakUI setup....
1st 1 is for 32 bit Win...2nd is 64bit.
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You can also just open the "Send To" folder in Windows Explorer and copy the locations of other folders you want to add.
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Many thanks for responding. That's what I meant in point "1)" of my original post; everything I want to have on my context menu is already in that folder (it just doesn't appear on the menu).
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Sorry 'bout that...it's in the TweakUI setup....
1st 1 is for 32 bit Win...2nd is 64bit.
I've installed that. It looks like the same version of "TweakUI" which I already had (Point "3)" of my original post) but I can't swear to it. Either way, I cannot find the "Send To context menu editor" in it.
I'm not doing very well, am I?!!!
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Okay. See if this helps: http://windowsxp.mvps.org/sendtofix.htm
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Okay. See if this helps: http://windowsxp.mvps.org/sendtofix.htm
Thanks again for responding.
That site says...
"When you ... choose Send To, none of the application shortcuts (that you've added manually) may be shown in the Send To drop-down menu. However, the standard items, non-shortcuts such as the following are shown:"
Even though the missing menu items are the standard ones and not ones which I've added manually, I did try their suggestion. That was the "fixsendto.vbs" I mentioned in my original post.
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Do you have an XP CD (of the same version you are running - hopefully sp3)? If so, you can try running sfc /scannow to see if that helps
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BTW, did this just start? If so, What is new or different since the last time everything worked properly (ie, new hw, new sw, virus, error, etc)?
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BTW, did this just start? If so, What is new or different since the last time everything worked properly (ie, new hw, new sw, virus, error, etc)?
It's now getting near to 8 pm where I live and I have no more time to spend on the PC today. Sorry!! I will definitely answer tomorrow and give you the result of the sfc /scannow .
(Just didn't want you to take my prolonged silence as ingratitude or disinterest!)
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Appreciate the courtesy, but don't worry about that. We've all been doing this a long time and know better than to expect immediate responses :)
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Appreciate the courtesy, but don't worry about that. We've all been doing this a long time and know better than to expect immediate responses :)
OK, thanks.
To answer your question: I can't be sure how long I've had the problem. I rebuilt, i.e. reinstalled WinXP on that particular PC earlier this year. When I use it, I'm normally logged on as an administrator and the context menu is properly populated. The other day I used my non-administrator's ID and wanted to send a shortcut to my desktop. That's when I discovered the problem. I cannot say whether that was the first time I have wanted to do that with that ID since the rebuild but it could be.
By the way, for what it's worth, I do not have the same problem on my other (main) PC. There the menu is complete for all user-IDs, whether administrator or not.
I tried your suggestion with sfc /scannow. I don't know whether it terminated normally or prematurely but it gave me no message, either positive or negative, and did not resolve the problem.
If you have any more ideas (or anyone else has), I'll gladly try but I don't think I want to spend toooooo much more time on this. It's an annoying little glitch but hardly a show-stopper. When I want to put a shortcut on the desktop of my non-administrator ID, I can do it via my administrator ID.
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Try Here (http://www.winhelponline.com/articles/124/1/Restore-missing-Desktop-create-shortcut-entry-to-the-Send-To-menu-in-Windows-XP.html)
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Try Here (http://www.winhelponline.com/articles/124/1/Restore-missing-Desktop-create-shortcut-entry-to-the-Send-To-menu-in-Windows-XP.html)
Many thanks for those suggestions. I had already tried the first two (as mentioned in my original post). I just now tried the third, even though the resolution notes stated that "This happens if the file Desktop (create shortcut).DeskLink is missing from the SendTo folder..." (as mentioned in my original post, that is not the problem in my case). It was still worth a try and I had nothing to lose but, unfortunately, it did not resolve the problem.
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It may be happening just on the guest account because of some anonymous security setting...does it work proper in the Admin account ? ?
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It may be happening just on the guest account because of some anonymous security setting...does it work proper in the Admin account ? ?
Yes, as mentioned in my original post, the context menu is properly populated for my Administrator's account; just not for any of my three "Limited" accounts.
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Then it's a permissions issue in Admin settings...
Alternatively you could try and install Send To and accept "for all users"...
That may do it.
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It's worth noting that the SendTo folder used to populate the menu is the folder on the current user's account.
So if your username was Pete, than you would want to check this folder:
C:\Documents And Settings\Pete\SendTo
Note also that the SendTo menu is a hidden folder, so you may need to enable Hidden files (Tools->Folder Options, View Tab, and in the "Advanced Settings" list there is a "Hidden Files and Folders" Option- you would want to select "Show Hidden Files and Folders".
Are those items listed there? On a XP machine where it is functioning, I have 4 items listed (mail recipient, Desktop as Shortcut, Compressed (zipped) folder, and My Documents) Are these listed properly in the corresponding Document folders for each user? You may want to copy the items from the corresponding administrator folder to the folder of your limited User.
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Just checking...wouldn't that make the Users send to functions wind up in the Admins corresponding folders ? ?
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Just checking...wouldn't that make the Users send to functions wind up in the Admins corresponding folders ? ?
copying from C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\SendTo (The corresponding administrator folder) to say C:\Documents and Settings\Pete\SendTo won't cause new items to appear in the first folder, no.
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Just to clarify: The four items mentioned by "BC_Programmer" (the ones you normally see on the "Send to" context menu) were all in C:\Documents and Settings\Pete\SendTo. When logged on as "Pete", I could see the items in the folder but they did not appear on my context menu. When logged on with my admin ID, I can see the items in each of the limited users' SendTo folders as well as in the administrator's.
When "patio" mentioned that it was a permissions issue, it rang loud alarm bells. With the benefit of hindsight, I should have thought of that before. I checked the access rights* and found that none of the limited users had any access to their own SendTo folder!! How that happened, I cannot imagine but I then gave each limited user full access to their own SendTo folder. This solved the problem and the context menus are properly populated for each user!!
*In case it helps anyone else, I did that as follows. Re-start in Safe Mode. Open Explorer and right-click on, say, ...\Pete\SendTo. Click on Properties and then on the Security tab. The next dialogue box looks a bit like CACLS but, being a GUI, is easier to use. In there, you can define what access each user has to the selected folder (or file). By the way, if you have XP Pro, you might wonder why I say start in Safe Mode. In XP Home, that's the only way to get to it.
So, very many thanks to "patio" for pointing me in the right direction and to everyone else who gave valuable contributions and suggestions. I would also like to thank everyone who was interested enough to read this thread. As I write this, it has been viewed far more often than many other threads!
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Good to hear you are fixed up...
That setting may in fact be a Win default...i'd have to check a new User account to see...i'll do that later.
By the way...Welcome Aboard...