Context Menu Bridge

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pfennig
Posts: 168
Joined: Wed Nov 08, 2006 8:39 am

Context Menu Bridge

Postby pfennig » Wed Aug 17, 2022 4:52 am

We'd like to try this new feature to get a single entry onto the Windows 11 context menu which for now sits in the old menu.

The help file states:
"First, ensure that your project already installs your IContextMenu based context menu implementations normally."

I'm not aware of a feature for doing this. We created this entry manually (in InstallAware) by creating a few registry entries that look like the following:

Code: Select all

Write Registry Key HKCR\<filetype>\, Our Project
Write Registry Key HKCR\<filetype>\Shell\Show\, $MENUTEXT$
Write Registry Key HKCR\<filetype>\Shell\Show\Command\, "$TARGETDIR$\Player.exe" "%1"

We didn't use CLSIDs and I'm not sure which would be the correct way to do this.

Any help is appreciated.
Best regards
pfennig

FrancescoT
Site Admin
Posts: 5360
Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2010 4:28 am

Re: Context Menu Bridge

Postby FrancescoT » Wed Aug 24, 2022 4:39 am

You should first create and include with your project your IContextMenu based context menu implementations:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/ad/implementing-the-context-menu-com-object

Then include the "Context Menu Bridge plug-in" to wrap your IContextMenu implementation.
Francesco Toscano
InstallAware Software

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pfennig
Posts: 168
Joined: Wed Nov 08, 2006 8:39 am

Re: Context Menu Bridge

Postby pfennig » Wed Aug 24, 2022 6:29 am

Thanks.

So, please correct me if I'm wrong, the workflow seems to be the following:
- These "IContextMenu based context menu implementations" need to be programmed.
- They have to be in a DLL which needs to become part of the IA project.
- In the IA script I use "Call DLL function" and let it create the "Context Menu COM Object(s)".
- After that I copy the relevant GUID(s) into the "Context Menu Bridge plug-in".
Best regards

pfennig

FrancescoT
Site Admin
Posts: 5360
Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2010 4:28 am

Re: Context Menu Bridge

Postby FrancescoT » Tue Sep 06, 2022 3:26 am

Installaware comes with a dedicated "Context Menu Bridge plug-in".

- These "IContextMenu based context menu implementations" need to be programmed.
- They have to be in a DLL which needs to become part of the IA project.


The first two points are correct. For the rest, just use you the plug-in to wrap your IContextMenu implementation.
https://www.installaware.com/context-menu-bridge.htm

Hope this helps you.
Francesco Toscano
InstallAware Software

White Papers (HowTos) - http://www.installaware.com/publication ... papers.htm
Publications - http://www.installaware.com/publications-review.htm
InstallAware Help -F1 anywhere in the InstallAware IDE

pfennig
Posts: 168
Joined: Wed Nov 08, 2006 8:39 am

Re: Context Menu Bridge

Postby pfennig » Tue Sep 06, 2022 10:10 am

Sorry, but if it has to work this way, I don't find this feature to be very useful, without the missing ability of creating the context menu in InstallAware itself.
Best regards

pfennig

JohnGaver
Posts: 67
Joined: Mon Feb 05, 2024 6:15 pm

Re: Context Menu Bridge

Postby JohnGaver » Sat Feb 24, 2024 12:52 pm

You're missing the point. The Context Menu Bridge is a Bridge.

It is not designed to be a way for you to create brand-new context menus for Windows 11. There's already plenty of (open source) projects which already do that very well, I'm sure you can find them quickly online.

The goal is for existing context menus - of which there's probably three decades of existing code out there, seeing as the IContextMenu interface was first introduced with Windows 95 - to be effortlessly ported to Windows 11, programmatically, and with zero effort to learn "three new development stacks" just to get your "darn" context menus showing on Windows 11 as first-class citizens again.

This page does a good job of explaining the labor that this Bridge saves you and your development team:

www.installaware.com/context-menu-bridge.htm
John Gaver
InstallAware Skunkworks
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