Get rid of duplicate context menu items for printer  

I have 2 printers (HP & Epson) that are wirelessly connected to my Win10 computer. I had a problem with my HP printer, called HP support, who eventually fixed the problem of it not scanning. However, when they finished, my shortcut to the Epson printer looked like this:


During the fix for the HP, they created the same problem with the HP printer & I think they fixed it by deleting the HP printer from Start/Run/Control Printers & then adding it again. However, I'm not sure. The Epson printer is the only one which has always been reliable.

Should I delete & recreate the Epson to get rid of the duplicate context menu items or is there another way?

Thank you in advance!

Hi, you can try using Shellexview (free). Just search for it- that may let you disable it.

There are other programs you can use to delete entries.

dalchina said:

Hi, you can try using Shellexview (free). Just search for it- that may let you disable it.

There are other programs you can use to delete entries.

Thank you for this. I downloaded the program, but after it loaded, I couldn't find anything called Epson. Since it doesn't install itself, I can't right click a shortcut, etc. & get an option to remove anything. I previously used a utility by HACE, called mmm, but that was on Windows XP. This installed itself into context menus & let you remove or hide various items. They still have it, but it's last review was in 2009, so I'm wondering if it's the best utility for Windows 10.
I'll try to see what else might be available.

my shortcut to the Epson printer looked like this:

Actually I should have asked - to which shortcut, where are you referring?

dalchina said:

Actually I should have asked - to which shortcut, where are you referring?

Actually, I found that both the printer & a shortcut to the printer both have multiple context menu entries. This is the printer:

I just noticed that if I right click on the EPSON WF-3620 Series, there's no multiple entries on the context menu for the printer or a shortcut to the printer...only on the one that sayss EPSON47407F. Not sure if I can just delete that printer because the one on the left works.

dalchina said:

Actually I should have asked - to which shortcut, where are you referring?

Thank you very much. I finally just deleted the extra printer (47407F) & the problem went away. I think it was because I had duplicate printers.

I downloaded ShellexView & ShellMenuView, but I find them difficult to use. I used to have a utility called "mmm" by HACE Mmm - Free download and software reviews - CNET Download.com, but it doesn't work in Win10. What was great about it, is that you actually installed it & every time you right click anything, you can open it & it will delete or hide anything on the context menu...so it required no knowledge of the context menu name. I haven't been able to find a replacement for Win 10.

If you know of any such utility, please let me know.

Again, thank you for your help!

Hi long long ago in a Windows far away there used to be cfi shelltoys- 32 bits only, now dead. Fantastic array of features, and like MMM allowed rarely used context menu entries to be pushed into a subfolder.

I don't know of any other such, nor of any that allows you to specify extensions are only shown on SHIFT rt click e.g.
I have the Pro version of FileMenu tools- that doesn't as far as I know.
The venerable Contextedit is still valid, useful for certain detailed things but a bit obscure.

In passing I'll mention this excellent free tool:
Easy Context menu v1.6

At first it looks nothing much. But it allows
- creation of new items
- addition and modification of a lot of extra items
- disabling existing context menu entries and registy access

dalchina said:

Hi long long ago in a Windows far away there used to be cfi shelltoys- 32 bits only, now dead. Fantastic array of features, and like MMM allowed rarely used context menu entries to be pushed into a subfolder.

I don't know of any other such, nor of any that allows you to specify extensions are only shown on SHIFT rt click e.g.
I have the Pro version of FileMenu tools- that doesn't as far as I know.
The venerable Contextedit is still valid, useful for certain detailed things but a bit obscure.

In passing I'll mention this excellent free tool:
Easy Context menu v1.6

At first it looks nothing much. But it allows
- creation of new items
- addition and modification of a lot of extra items
- disabling existing context menu entries and registy access

I checked out Easy Context Menu & it looks great...I'll have to play around with it. Thank you very much for all your advice! It is much appreciated.

Additional:
I thought I'd pass this along in case anyone else had/has this problem.

I noticed the same problem with my HP printer (multiple context menu entries). HP support deleted my printers & reinstalled them with the latest drivers. However, I ended up with 2 HP printers in my Devices & Printers. HP support told me that one was for printing & copying & one was for scanning. The one for scanning still has the multiple context menu entries, so I'll just have to live with it.

Additional as of 4/16/20:
My scan shortcut also stopped working & there were multiple context menu items when you right clicked the printer (in Devices & Printers). This was finally solved with the following:

WinLogo+R > Control Printers > Delete ALL HP printers, faxes, etc.

Then: Control Panel > Programs & Features > Uninstall >ALL HP Officejet Pro > Uninstall

Regedit > Printers (& all sub folders) > Delete ALL HP Officejet entries
> Software > Delete ALL HP Officejet entries >Reboot

Control Printers > Add printer wizard

Go to the printer's website & download the package for drivers & features for your printer.
Run it & reboot.