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TICKET ARCHIVE -> Finder Contextual Menu causes Finder to crash

Jacksloadedgun - Feb 14, 2006 - 6:22 pm

when ever i try to "right click" or "ctrl-click" something in finder, it "resests" the desktop images such as my recycle bin and folders i have placed on the desktop and does not allow me to use the pull down menu that pops up in programs like safari and mail.

earthsaver - Feb 14, 2006 - 6:48 pm

In other words, activating the contextual menu in the Finder is causing the Finder to crash. I suggest trashing the Finder's preferences. In a Finder window, navigate to Home > Library > Preferences and drag the file com.apple.finder.plist to the Trash. Logout and login.

Let me know how that goes. Also, if you don't have carpal tunnel problems, I recommend using keyboard shortcuts instead of contextual menus for faster actions.

- Ben

Jacksloadedgun - Feb 14, 2006 - 8:52 pm

alright thank you very much for your suggestion, i'm really new to the whole mac interface so the shortcuts are coming along slowly.

i deleted the plist like you suggested, i'm not just waiting on my software updates to finish and then i'll log in and log out.

i'll let you know how it goes. thanks.

earthsaver - Feb 14, 2006 - 8:56 pm

My shortcut learning recommendation is to (1) always look through the menus of a new application to explore what commands can be activated with a shortcut; and (2) when I want to do something, check the appropriate menu for the command and, if there's a shortcut, use it immediately.

The Mac visibly selects menu commands when interpreting keyboard shortcuts. And, you can press a shortcut while the menu is open. So, you can use a shortcut while staring at the desired menu command and ease your learning process.

Jacksloadedgun - Feb 14, 2006 - 9:43 pm

the deleting of the file did not work, it just rearranged my folders.

earthsaver - Feb 14, 2006 - 9:58 pm

Well, you can put the Finder preferences file back and replace the one there, so you don't have to re-set all your prefs. Now, I just searched MacFixItForums.com and discovered this is a pretty common problem under Tiger, due to the version of Stuffit Expander you have installed likely not compatible with Tiger. Since the contextual menu module of Stuffit only functions in the Finder, that's why it causes the Finder to crash but no other apps.

So, you should try removing StuffitCM from Home > Library > ContextualMenuItems. You'll need to logout and login again to fully clean the system, but before you do, you should repair permissions, a good action to take after updating software as you just did. In case you haven't done this before: Open Disk Utility, select your hard disk, and click Repair Disk Permissions. Logout and login when it's done.

Does that do the trick?

Jacksloadedgun - Feb 15, 2006 - 7:47 am

nope didn't work.

earthsaver - Feb 15, 2006 - 10:32 am

Do you have any other contextual menu plugins in that folder? Was StuffitCM even there? What about in your Main Library folder?

Jacksloadedgun - Feb 16, 2006 - 11:59 pm

woops, i accually checked some of my settings and i didn't delete the correct file, i was thinking my home folder was my "login name" folder and delete those files. but i accually relized i had set my finder options to open to the home folder when i oped and window checked what you said to and the stuff it file was there, i deleted it, and it did work. thank you very much for your help it's greatly appreciated.

you may close this.

thanks again

-josh

earthsaver - Feb 17, 2006 - 8:15 am

Before I close, just to clarify: Home is the folder containing your username and the house icon, hence calling it Home. I suggested the alternate location because I thought maybe it would have gotten installed there for all users to access. Are you clear on the difference?