For millions of computer users, the mouse is an essential tool and working on a computer without it is almost unthinkable. And for the bulk of these users, the left button is the default way to use the mouse; with the right mouse button getting neglected most of the time. While there are some tasks you can perform with a right-click, there is not much you can do with it. Or is there? Installing a couple of free utilities can add a lot of functionality to the right mouse button.

Here are 20 things you can do with just a click on the mouse right button.


Synchronize between Folders
If you have multiple copies of the same folder and want to synchronize it quickly and effortlessly, what can be better than just right-clicking and synching two folders in a few mouse clicks — you can do that with the FileMenu Tools utility that add dozens of utility to the right-click menu — the ‘Synchronize’ option is one of them. You just need to specify the two folders to synchronize and choose the synchronization type – Unidirectional (one-way sync) or Bidirectional (two-way sync) and you are done.


Free Up Locked Files
Files which are locked for some reason can be deleted (with the previously mentioned FileMenu Tools for example). But what if you don’t want to delete but free up the file from whatever is locking it up? The aptly named Unlocker gives you few more options for dealing with locked files other than deleting them like moving it to another location or renaming it. You can also kill the process which is locking the file or just unlock the file without killing the process. Launch it by right-clicking on the locked file and it displays the different processes are possible for locking the file and lets you kill them to free up the file.

Unravel Unknown File Extensions
What do you do when you encounter file with unknown extensions? The obvious way would be to right-click and try to find a compatible application by clicking on the Open With option. It is basically a tedious task trying to find a suitable program from among the myriad software installed in your PC and more often than not, a compatible application might not be installed. In this scenario, OpenWith.org is a better alternative to the default Windows Open With feature. It finds matching applications to run the file. In situations where no compatible application is found, it gives you an option to download applications directly from the Net.


Easier Access to Folders
With Folder Guide you can avoid the hassle of navigating through a set of paths to access a particular folder. It provides you direct access to folders that you use frequently — just add the folders you want to access and it will show up in the ‘Folder Guide’ item when you right-click on the Desktop or Explorer window. Right-clicking on a particular folder allows you to add it to Folder Guide list for quick navigation to that folder.


Control and Manage Windows Tasks Easily
Process Manager adds a host of features when you right-click on a particular task in the taskbar or an active window. It lets you set the priority level or terminate a particular process without the hassle of running Windows Task Manager. There is also an option for making any window transparent where you can set the level of transparency. Other useful features include the ability to minimize applications to the system tray and displaying windows always on top of other open windows.

Shut Down PC with a Double (Right)-Click
Double-clicking with the left mouse button is nothing new but what about the right button? Yes, you can execute a number of tasks by double- (right) clicking with ClickZap. You can choose to Lock/Log out/Shutdown the computer or minimize/close windows with a right-click.


Run Applications and Tasks with Gestures
MouseWrangler lets you run applications or tasks by holding the right mouse button and moving the mouse in a particular direction. You can replace keystrokes like Alt+F4, Ctrl+C, etc with a particular gesture or create gestures that will open up any application.


Thumbnail Creation in a Jiffy
RightThumb adds a thumbnail creation option to the right-click menu. By default, this standalone utility doesn’t integrate into the context menu automatically, for integration into the context menu; you need to select the ‘Run in Context menu’ option. It allows you to save the thumbnail in four formats (BMP, GIF, JPG, and PNG) and provides some advanced options like setting the JPG quality/compression level for PNG files, sharpening the thumbnails after resizing, and advanced filters for resampling the images.


Encrypt and Be Safe
Locking a file can sound intimidating but it can’t get easier than just right clicking on it and encrypting it or decrypting it as the need arises — that’s exactly what AxCrypt does. Select a file to encrypt and enter the passphrase that will be used to unlock the file and it will be locked. The ‘Decrypt’ option will unlock the file. It’s as easy as that.


Selective Backup
If you just want to backup individual files without installing heavy duty apps, Developer’s Backup might be the perfect tool. You need to configure it to set the folders where you want to store all your backups by clicking on the ‘Right-click Backup’ tab. When you right-click on a file, the particular folder will be shown in the ‘Developers Backup’ menu.