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To carry out the actions we need another step and there are several choices. Although keyboard options are available, I find that the easiest way is with the mouse. A single click (right or left ) on an item in the context menu carries out the next step in the action for that item. For some items it opens a second window with more details. These expandable items have a small right-pointing triangle on the right side. The program RunPlus and the function Send To are examples in the figure above. Usually, simply hovering with the mouse pointer will expand these items.
The categories of possible actions vary depending on the nature of the object being clicked. For a file, the menu contains software operations for that particular type of file, including the default "Open" and any operations that installed applications, such as WinZip or anti-virus programs, may have added. Some kinds of file will have the operations Print and/or Edit. The basic file management functions Cut, Copy, Create Shortcut , Delete, Rename are also in the menu. Two very important functions, Send To and Properties, deserve separate discussion and are considered on separate pages.
Being able to open a file from the context menu is useful for those who experience difficulty with the left double-click. Senior Citizens in my classes often find this alternate method of opening files to be easier.
The context menu for a folder is slightly different. The folder menu has entries for "Explore" and "Find". For a folder the default "Open" provides a single-pane view of the contents of the folder. The function "Explore" provides a double-pane (or Explorer) view of the folder contents. "Find" allows a search of the folder contents. On the particular computer shown above the program Partition Magic also stuck itself into the folder menu.
Some more examples of context menus are given in the two figures below, showing the menu for the Desktop and the Menu Bar, respectively.
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The file menu shown in the very first figure above at the beginning also contains an entry "Open with..." This is a very useful function that allows the selection of any program present on the computer as an alternate choice for opening a file. This function is not normally in the regular context menu in Windows 98 but is already present in Windows XP. It may be added in Windows 98 by those who know how to edit the Registry or by way of readily available REG or VBS files. Fortunately for those loath to the idea of Registry editing, there is a simple way to get a context menu containing "Open with..." First select (highlight) the file of interest by a single left-click. Then, holding down the Shift key, right-click the file. The context menu that opens will now have an added entry "Open with..." Not only does "Open with" allow the choice of a different program to open a file, but also it allows a permanent change in the default program for opening a file. The figure below illustrates the function. Note the option of putting a check by "Always use this program to open these files". The "Open with" option is useful for changing file associations and for those times when you may want to use more than one program for a given function. More is available on this subject in the discussion of file associations.