What is “SkyDrive Pro” Option and How to Activate it or Remove it from Context Menu After Installing Microsoft Office 2013?
Several Windows users who are using Microsoft Office 2013 are wondering about a new option “SkyDrive Pro” which was added in all files and folders context menu after installing Office 2013.
This new context menu option is grayed out so you can’t actually use it. It just shows whenever you right-click on a file or folder in Windows. Following is a screenshot showing this option in context menu:
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Actually SkyDrive Pro is a new name for Microsoft SharePoint. Since this option is currently disabled, it makes no sense to have it in context menu. Several AskVG readers have contacted me and asked me a way to remove it.
So I opened my favorite Registry Editor and started looking for its entry. After spending a few minutes, finally I found it and got success in removing as well as activating it.
So if you also want to activate the option or remove the option from context menu, follow these simple steps:
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1. Type regedit in RUN or Start Menu searchbox and press Enter. It’ll open Registry Editor.
2. Now go to following key:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AllFilesystemObjects\shell
3. Under shell key, you’ll see another key “SPFS.ContextMenu“. That’s the key which is showing “SkyDrive Pro” option in context menu.
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4. To remove the option from context menu, right-click on “SPFS.ContextMenu” key and select Delete. It’ll delete the key and you’ll no longer see the option in context menu.
You can also remove “SkyDrive Pro” option from context menu using Command Prompt. You just need to unregister a DLL file.
1. Open Command Prompt as Administrator as mentioned here and then provide following command:
For 32-bit users – regsvr32 /u “%programfiles%\Microsoft Office\Office15\GROOVEEX.DLL”
For 64-bit users – regsvr32 /u “%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Office\Office15\GROOVEEX.DLL”
2. You’ll get a confirmation message as shown in following screenshot:
That’s it. It’ll immediately remove the option from context menu. Thanks to our reader “Helper” for this tip…
If you get some kind of error such as file not found while executing the above mentioned command, it might be possible that you have installed more than one language in your Windows. In such condition, you should use following command:
regsvr32 /u “%programfiles%\Microsoft Office 15\root\Office15\GROOVEEX.DLL”
Thanks to our reader “DarkGhosthunter” for this tip…
I also found a way to activate this option. Actually its disabled in context menu because Microsoft is using CommandStateHandler String to disable it. We can enable it using following steps:
1. When you select “SPFS.ContextMenu” key, in right-side pane you’ll see a String “CommandStateHandler“. Its value would be set to {573FFD05-2805-47C2-BCE0-5F19512BEB8D}.
To activate the option, double-click on CommandStateHandler String and remove the text from Value data field i.e. make it empty.
That’s it. Now you’ll be able to click on the “SkyDrive Pro” option in context menu and it’ll show following 4 new sub-options:
- Browse on SharePoint
- Copy link
- Share…
- View errors…
2. As you can see although we can enable the “SkyDrive Pro” option but its sub-menus are still grayed out. To enable them, you’ll need to go to following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CommandStore\shell\
Under shell key, you’ll see following 4 keys:
- SPFS.BrowseOnSharePoint
- SPFS.CopyLink
- SPFS.ResolveError
- SPFS.Share
Select each key one by one and in right-side pane, double-click on “CommandStateHandler” String and remove the text from Value data field i.e. make it empty as you did in Step 1.
That’s it. As soon as you do it for all 4 keys, all 4 sub-menus will also get enabled as shown in following screenshot:
PS: If you don’t want to edit Windows Registry manually. You can download following ZIP file which contains ready-made Registry scripts to remove, activate and restore “SkyDrive Pro” option in context menu:
Download Registry Script to Remove or Activate “SkyDrive Pro” Option
Thanks for sharing this valuable trick VG , I think no other websites wrote about this yet . ASKVG.COM is always the first website to share such ideas .
What happens if you activate it? Does the options actually work?
Thanks a lot VG! I installed office 2013 and then removed it because it was to laggy, but the SkyDrive Pro option was still there and it annoyed me, but now it’s gone and i’m happy.
Better way:
regsvr32 /u “C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office15\GROOVEEX.DLL”
As always, the first to update us all!
How on earth do you get to know all this stuff??
Anyways, Thnx for the awesome post.
——————————————————–3 CHEERS FOR ASKVG.COM!———————————————–
hey VG, my GROOVEEX.DLL doesnt seem to exist? so I cant register it in CMD, any ideas? the context menu isnt greyed out any more.
^^ Make sure the file exists in the mentioned directory.
Hi VG, it doesnt exist, but why not? Thank you for the quick reply Vishal 🙂
^^ Are you looking for the file in “Office15” folder? If it doesnt exist, then you should not get the option in context menu.
Yeah, I’m in the right file:
s7.postimage.org/w684uxraz/Untitled.jpg
Is that any help?
^^ Your Office15 folder contains so less files. Try to check in “Program Files (x86)” folder.
I’m on W7 starter, might that have something to do with it? theres no Program Files (x86) file either.
^^ Might be. Is Office 2013 successfully installer in your system? Are you able to use Word, Excel and other Office applications?
Yes, I can use all the applications. in program fines I have a separate Office 15 folder though.
s12.postimage.org/a5baobi8d/unititled.png
Hi, this fix looks great if I can get it to work. W7, Wave/15,E4 plan, 2013 all loaded and running okay. I ran the enable script and get the SkyDrive Pro option to activate but on each one instantly get ‘this file is no longer available’. The script didn’t add CommandStateHandler,Sync or NeverDefault so I did manually with blank entries. The ‘Default’ still points to grooveex.dll -should it? Cheers.
This was the first link in many that talked about this greyed out SkyDrive Pro showing as a right click object even though within our OCT created installation we said to NOT include SkyDrive Pro.
So to avoid any further end users from calling the help desk and asking the same question of us, we contacted and burnt support hours to get an answer from MS as to why this showed up when we said, install nothing SkyDrive Pro with the 2013 ProPlus deployment. At first their answer from the Office support team side of things, use the above methods as described. With some extra pushing and an actual support person taking the case personally and to help us, MS as of May 2013, they released a hot fix that on install this will no longer appear, unless you include the feature to install SkyDrive Pro. Go figure, what we should have expected in the first place.
support.microsoft.com/KB/2810019
The executable files can be extracted with a /extract command line. Take all the MSP files and place them in the folder named ‘updates’. Any new installations will now only show the SkyDrive Pro right click context feature when you install SkyDrive Pro.
ALSO, their is an XML file that is included in the folder of files when using the /extract command. The XML file can be used to send out a uninstall and install that will cure any deployment that had been before this release.
Wow! What a great trick! You must be a computer hacker or something, you’re so good with computers!
I’m being sarcastic. If you just learn a little about the systems you play around with, rather than going straight to regedit like an idiot, you’d see this is just the new Sharepoint. Most people don’t use it. Go to Add/Remove, Change your Office install and make SkyDrive Pro (Sharepoint) ‘Not Available’. It’s gone from the context, and your computer for good.
If you actually are using Sharepoint (SkyDrive Pro) then you’ll want the context anyway.
thank you very much.. but it shows ” the file is no longer available. It may have been removed from the server.” Does this mean i have deleted the file of skydrive pro?
^^ May be. You can try other methods mentioned above as well.
Inadvertently, I REMOVED the “SkyDrive Pro” Option instead of activating it.
How do I reinstate the Registry Entry in order to enable activation of the option ?
TIA,
= Raj =