Software Alternatives & Startups

Memacs VS ShellNewHandler

Compare Memacs VS ShellNewHandler and see what are their differences

Memacs

What did I do on February 14th 2007? Visualize your (digital) life in Org-mode - novoid/Memacs

Rating
0 reviews
ShellNewHandler

SourceForge.net: ShellNewHandler details page

Rating
0 reviews
Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Which is more popular?

Based on our record, ShellNewHandler seems to be more popular. It has been mentioned 2 times since March 2021.

social mentions
0 vs 2
Travel popularity
100% vs 0%

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

Memacs
ShellNewHandler
Website github.com sourceforge.net
Listed in

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

Memacs 5 features
ShellNewHandler 0 features
  • Comprehensive life-logging
    Memacs converts a wide variety of data sources (emails, git logs, phone calls, photos, RSS feeds, etc.) into Org-mode format, enabling a unified and comprehensive personal information archive that acts as an external memory or 'Memex'.
  • Org-mode integration
    By outputting everything into Emacs Org-mode format, Memacs leverages the powerful searching, filtering, agenda, and tagging capabilities of Org-mode, making it easy to query and navigate your personal data.
  • Modular and extensible architecture
    Memacs is designed with independent modules for each data source. Users can pick and choose which modules to use, and developers can extend the system by writing new modules in Python for additional data sources.
  • Open source and privacy-respecting
    As an open-source project, Memacs keeps all your personal data under your own control on your local machine. There is no dependency on third-party cloud services, which is ideal for privacy-conscious users.
  • Temporal navigation of personal data
    Memacs indexes information by date and time, allowing users to navigate their life history chronologically using the Org-mode agenda view, which is a powerful way to reconstruct context around past events.

Possible disadvantages

  • Steep learning curve
    Using Memacs effectively requires familiarity with both Emacs and Org-mode, which are themselves known for having steep learning curves. This makes the tool inaccessible to users who are not already invested in the Emacs ecosystem.
  • Manual setup and configuration
    Setting up Memacs modules, configuring data source paths, scheduling data imports (e.g., via cron jobs), and integrating everything into a coherent workflow requires significant manual effort and technical knowledge.
  • Limited and aging documentation
    While the project has a README and some resources, the documentation can be sparse or outdated for certain modules, making it difficult for new users to get started or troubleshoot issues.
  • Maintenance and activity concerns
    The project's development pace has slowed over time, and some modules may be outdated or broken due to changes in the APIs or formats of the data sources they target, raising concerns about long-term maintenance.
  • Emacs dependency
    Memacs is tightly coupled to Emacs and Org-mode. Users who prefer other editors, note-taking systems, or organizational tools cannot easily benefit from Memacs without adopting the entire Emacs ecosystem.

No features have been listed yet.

Analysis

An editorial look at what each product does well and who it suits.

Memacs
ShellNewHandler

Overall verdict

  • Memacs is a solid open-source personal information management tool that excels at aggregating your digital life data into Org-mode, making it a great choice for Emacs users who value data ownership and long-term archiving.

Why this product is good

  • It aggregates data from many sources (emails, tweets, git commits, RSS, phone calls, calendars, files, and more) into a unified Org-mode format
  • It is free, open-source, and well-documented with a modular architecture that makes it extensible
  • It leverages the power of Emacs Org-mode for searching, filtering, and reviewing your personal history
  • It emphasizes data ownership and privacy by keeping your information in plain-text files you control
  • It has an active development history and a dedicated community around Org-mode and personal information management

Recommended for

  • Emacs and Org-mode power users who want to centralize their digital footprint
  • People interested in personal knowledge management and quantified-self tracking
  • Privacy-conscious users who prefer plain-text, self-hosted data storage
  • Developers and technically-inclined users comfortable with configuring Python scripts and command-line tools
  • Anyone wanting to archive and search their historical digital activity over time

Overall verdict

  • ShellNewHandler is a niche, lightweight utility hosted on SourceForge designed to give users more control over the Windows 'New' context menu (the ShellNew menu). It can be considered good for its specific narrow use case, but it is an older, minimally maintained tool that may not suit all users, especially those on modern Windows versions.

Why this product is good

  • Provides direct control over customizing the Windows right-click 'New' menu, allowing users to add or remove file type entries
  • Lightweight and free, without bundled bloatware typical of some other free utilities
  • Simple and focused in scope, making it easy to understand for its specific purpose
  • Open distribution via SourceForge allows transparency and no-cost access

Recommended for

  • Power users who want to declutter or customize the Windows New context menu
  • IT administrators managing standardized desktop environments across multiple machines
  • Users comfortable with older utility-style tools and Windows registry-related tweaks
  • Not recommended for casual users seeking modern, actively supported software with regular updates

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
Memacs
ShellNewHandler
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%

User comments

Share your experience with using Memacs and ShellNewHandler. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

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Social recommendations and mentions

Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.

Memacs 0 mentions
ShellNewHandler 2 mentions

Tracking Memacs since Jun 2026.

  • I recently got libreoffice, but now the new option in right click looks like a mess. Can someone help me get rid of them please?
    Use Shell New Handler. Run the portable app and simply untick the items you don't want to appear in your new context menu. Source: about 4 years ago
  • This menu should be easy to add/remove programs to... Who is really creating Access Databases from this menu often enough to keep it here? (Not me!) Is there an easy way to edit this?
    I've always used ShellNewHandler for this. It's a really simple portable utility that allows you to remove most of the items from that menu. Tested it out on Windows 11 and it's still compatible. Source: over 5 years ago

Alternatives to Memacs and ShellNewHandler

When comparing Memacs and ShellNewHandler, you can also consider the following products.