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Trying to google this is driving me nuts and I don't know if it is even possible: Can I modify the Windows Ribbon with my own .bat files or whatever?

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I would want to add a few handy short "macros" to run things. Not even sure which language you'd have to use, but very interested to learn more about it.

Spurious
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4 Answers4

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I am pretty sure (greater than 90%) that you cannot change the Windows Explorer ribbon.

Explorer (and its functionality) is used as an underpinning for file operations by many applications (Office and more) and so is fixed in its nature.

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@John is correct that file explorer ribbon items cannot be changed or new items cannot be created.

Instead you can create context menus (the menus which appear when you right click files/folders or objects in Windows shell and file system). You can explore file association and shell/context menu keys at HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.

wasif
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John is "right" only in so far as the ribbon is fixed. He is wrong in his reasoning: "It is used as an underpinning for file operations by many applications (Office and more) and so is fixed in its nature."

The only reason the ribbon cannot be customized is that MS is a horrible software designer and does not care a whit about the user, for this same reason you cannot see in the sidebar what folders have sub folders unless you mouse over them. MS responds to requests that the "twirly" arrows be visible at all times (as they were in the past) by telling users "the software works as it should." These guys at MS have no right to own the national OS monopoly!

The ribbon is just a visual interface, OF COURSE it could be just partially visible without also limiting the background functions! In my case for instance I simply don't want to see most of it, because it is useless to me and cluttered. It should be editable as to what you see, but like everything in MS catalog it is subject to the junk design team at MS. John is making excuses where he should be making a criticism.

C. Kent
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C. Kent says ->

"The only reason the ribbon cannot be customized is that MS is a horrible software designer and does not care a whit about the user, for this same reason you cannot see in the sidebar what folders have sub folders unless you mouse over them. MS responds to requests that the "twirly" arrows be visible at all times (as they were in the past) by telling users "the software works as it should." These guys at MS have no right to own the national OS monopoly! The ribbon is just a visual interface, OF COURSE it could be just partially visible without also limiting the background functions! In my case for instance I simply don't want to see most of it, because it is useless to me and cluttered. It should be editable as to what you see, but like everything in MS catalog it is subject to the junk design team at MS. John is making excuses where he should be making a criticism."

You opinion is correct. In WindowsXp OS, Windows Explorer, there was an "always visible" tool bar option in "View" that was completely customizable and did not block the view of any files in that directory. You could add links to the toolbar for copy, paste, delete, properties and print with their corresponding visual icons that were always visible, and very handy, while those same editing and informational links were listed in word form in a compact drop down menu from a separate menu bar (File, Edit, View). Very streamlined, functional and easy to use.

My guess is that when the new smarty-pants techs took over after Bill left for retirement that they felt pressure to justify their paychecks by making changes to the OS. ANY CHANGES. Even if those changes make things more clunky, less efficient, and less customizable. Like, if they're not changing things, then what are they doing during the course of their job right? They can't just leave it exactly the same as the former OS version. They have to make changes to justify their paychecks, and.. to prove their egos. They took a beautifully efficient OS like Windows 7 and and just obliterated the streamlined efficiency of it. But hey, change is good, any change, even if it sucks. Or so they want us to believe.

-- They really could care less about the end user. It's all about them and what they want for their own self interests, not about the customer/end user.

Prime example of stupid to justify a paycheck: -Windows10 --> Including freakin web results in with the PC contents search from the search bar that resides in the desktop taskbar. Why in creation if you're trying to find something within the contents of your PC would you want search results included from the freakin web? It took me 2 hours of searching the internet to find out how to remove web results from my PC contents search after I installed Windows10.

Hey everybody, I got an idea, lets make a web browser so that when people search the internet for something it includes search results from the contents of their PC. We can call it cluster-$#%! web browser. It'll be great!! What do you think Bill? Do you think I'm smart? Huh? Do ya? Do Ya?

T. Rice
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