The default method of opening unknown files forces you to go through a list of known applications and is generally a pain to deal with. That is why I like to have a context menu option for "Open with Notepad" so that I can quickly open up files without having to go through a lot of trouble. Just follow the steps below
Step 1: Open windows registry editor (WinKey+R and enter regedit and press Enter).
Step 2: Browse to the following key:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell
Step 3: Right-click on "shell" and choose to create a new key naming it "Open with notepad". This is the label which will appear when you right click. You can change it to anything you want. Eg: "Open with Firefox".
Step 4: Right-click on the newly created key and create another key and name it "command" EXACTLY. Don't name the key anything else.
Step 5: Double click the value under the command key and enter this:
notepad.exe %1
Again this step can also be modified to specify a program other than notepad. For example to open with Firefox enter the following value:
firefox.exe %1
If you by any chance did not understand the steps above or you are too lazy to follow it then here is an easy way. Registry files can be used to automate tasks like this. You can download the registry file for this trick here. After downloading, double click the file and click Yes. And it will done automatically for you!
The effect would be seen immediately. No need of restarting the system. Please remember to like and share! If you would like to get a batch file to automate the steps please use the contact form provided in the blog.
No comments: