Software Alternatives & Startups

PolyMC VS ShellNewHandler

Compare PolyMC VS ShellNewHandler and see what are their differences

PolyMC

Fork of MultiMC with additional features like mod downloading and supporting other package formats like flatpak or appimage

Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Open source
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, PolyMC seems to be a lot more popular than ShellNewHandler. While we know about 60 links to PolyMC, we've tracked only 2 mentions of ShellNewHandler.

social mentions
60 vs 2
Other popularity
100% vs 0%

Base details

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

PolyMC
ShellNewHandler
Website polymc.org sourceforge.net
Pricing
Open source
—
Listed in

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

PolyMC 4 features
ShellNewHandler 0 features
  • Customizability
    PolyMC offers extensive customization options, allowing users to tailor the launcher to their specific needs, such as managing multiple Minecraft instances and modpacks with ease.
  • Open Source
    Being an open-source platform, PolyMC allows users to inspect, modify, and contribute to its codebase, fostering transparency and community-driven development.
  • Cross-Platform Support
    PolyMC supports various operating systems including Windows, macOS, and Linux, making it accessible to a wide range of users.
  • Multi-Instance Management
    The launcher enables easy management of multiple Minecraft instances, which is beneficial for users who want to play different versions or modpacks without conflicts.

Possible disadvantages

  • Less User-Friendly for Beginners
    While feature-rich, PolyMC can be overwhelming to new users not familiar with modded Minecraft or launcher customization, requiring a steep learning curve.
  • Limited Official Support
    PolyMC, being a community-driven project, may not have the same level of professional support or frequent updates as some commercial alternatives.
  • Potential Stability Issues
    As with many open-source projects, users might encounter stability issues or bugs, especially when new Minecraft updates are released.
  • Dependency on Community
    The reliance on community contributions means that development pace and feature additions can be inconsistent or reliant on volunteer effort.

No features have been listed yet.

Analysis

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

PolyMC
ShellNewHandler

No analysis of PolyMC yet.

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
PolyMC
ShellNewHandler
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%

User comments

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

Log in or Post with

Social recommendations and mentions

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

PolyMC 60 mentions
ShellNewHandler 2 mentions
  • Minecraft java edition
    Could I suggest trying a different launcher such as PolyMC? You can get this on deck in Linux linkand sign into your microsoft account to access Java. This version also has the benefit of you being able to get modpacks. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Minecraft Modpacks
    Handles it very easily with the right launcher. Check out https://polymc.org/. Source: almost 4 years ago
  • Securing Open Source Organizations - A PolyMc Case Study
    To quote PolyMc's website, PolyMc is "an Open Source Minecraft launcher with the ability to manage multiple instances, accounts and mods. Focused on user freedom and free redistributability.". - Source: dev.to / about 4 years ago

View more

  • 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 PolyMC and ShellNewHandler

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