Software Alternatives & Startups

zgen VS ShellNewHandler

Compare zgen VS ShellNewHandler and see what are their differences

zgen

A lightweight plugin manager for Zsh inspired by Antigen. Keep your .zshrc clean and simple.

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?

ShellNewHandler might be a bit more popular than zgen. We know about 2 links to it since March 2021 and only 2 links to zgen.

social mentions
2 vs 2
Developer Tools popularity
100% vs 0%

Base details

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

zgen
ShellNewHandler
Website github.com sourceforge.net
Listed in

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

zgen 4 features
ShellNewHandler 0 features
  • Speed
    Zgen is known for its fast startup times compared to many other Zsh plugin managers, which is achieved by caching the result of sourcing scripts.
  • Simplicity
    It offers a simple interface for managing plugins. Users can easily declare plugins in a script and let Zgen handle the setup, making it user-friendly.
  • Minimalist
    Zgen is minimalist and does not include unnecessary features or bloat, appealing to users who prefer lightweight solutions.
  • Easy to Use
    The setup and management of plugins with Zgen is straightforward and doesn’t require deep technical knowledge, making it accessible for beginners.

Possible disadvantages

  • Maintenance
    Zgen has not received updates in quite some time, which might lead to issues with newer Zsh versions or other plugins if compatibility changes.
  • Community Support
    The community around Zgen is smaller compared to more popular plugin managers, possibly leading to fewer third-party resources like tutorials or forums.
  • Feature Set
    Zgen lacks some advanced features found in other more actively developed plugin managers, such as dependency management or built-in theme management.
  • Caching Complexity
    While caching improves speed, it might lead to complexities in updating or debugging plugins, as users need to clear the cache manually to ensure changes take effect.

No features have been listed yet.

Analysis

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

zgen
ShellNewHandler

No analysis of zgen 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
zgen
ShellNewHandler
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%

User comments

Share your experience with using zgen 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.

zgen 2 mentions
ShellNewHandler 2 mentions
  • 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 zgen and ShellNewHandler

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