{"id":213,"date":"2008-04-24T00:08:54","date_gmt":"2008-04-24T00:08:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/198.58.113.91\/blog\/?p=213"},"modified":"2019-06-24T17:40:19","modified_gmt":"2019-06-24T17:40:19","slug":"add-the-open-with-notepad-context-menu-option-for-all-file-types","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/add-the-open-with-notepad-context-menu-option-for-all-file-types\/","title":{"rendered":"Add &#8220;Open with Notepad&#8221; to the Right-click Menu for all file types"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>There are situations where you need to open plain-text files having an unknown or unregistered file extension using Notepad. By default, no file association exists for extension-less files and files with unknown extension in Windows. So, to open those files, you use the <b>Open With<\/b> option and select <b>Notepad<\/b> from the list.<\/p>\n<p>And, it becomes even more difficult if Notepad is not readily available in the &#8220;Open with&#8221; sub-menu, in which case you need to browse to select <i>Notepad.exe<\/i> in the Windows folder every time.\u00a0Adding the <b>Open with Notepad<\/b> option in the context menu (for all files) makes the job easy. It would save you a couple of mouse clicks every time.<!--more--><\/p>\n<div class=\"rp\"><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/open-with-notepad-plus-right-click-menu-windows\/\">Add &#8216;Open with Notepad++&#8217; to the Right-click Menu in Windows<\/a><\/div>\n<h2>Add &#8220;Open with Notepad&#8221; to the right-click menu<\/h2>\n<p>To add the <b>Open with Notepad<\/b> command in the right-click menu for all file types, follow these steps:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Download <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/openwithnotepad.zip\">openwithnotepad.zip<\/a> and save it to Desktop<\/li>\n<li>Unzip the contents (two <i>.reg<\/i> files) to a folder<\/li>\n<li>Right-click the file <b>openwithnotepad.reg<\/b> and then choose <b>Merge<\/b>. This adds the &#8220;Open with Notepad&#8221; entry to the context menu for all files.<br \/>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4866\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4866\" style=\"width: 665px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4866\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/open_with_notepad.png\" alt=\"add open with notepad to right-click\" width=\"675\" height=\"228\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4866\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">&#8220;Open with Notepad&#8221; context menu entry.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The above <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/how-to-use-reg-files-registration-entries-windows\/\">.reg file<\/a> creates the required registry keys and values for you under the following branch.<\/p>\n<pre>HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\*\\shell<\/pre>\n<p>If you plan to remove the Open With Notepad option at some time, run the file undo .reg file.<\/p>\n<h4>Registry file<\/h4>\n<p>Here are the contents of the above .reg file in case you want to make your own.<\/p>\n<pre><code>Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00\r\n\r\n[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\*\\shell\\Notepad]\r\n@=\"Open with Notepad\"\r\n\"Icon\"=\"notepad.exe,0\"\r\n\r\n[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\*\\shell\\Notepad\\command]\r\n@=\"notepad.exe \\\"%1\\\"\"\r\n<\/code><\/pre>\n<h4>Add &#8220;Open with Notepad&#8221; as an extended context menu<\/h4>\n<p>If you want the &#8220;Open with Notepad&#8221; option to appear only when using the <kbd>Shift<\/kbd> key during right-click, you can implement it as an extended item, by adding a registry value named <strong>Extended<\/strong>. Here is the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/how-to-use-reg-files-registration-entries-windows\/\">.reg file<\/a> that does it automatically.<\/p>\n<pre><code>Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00\r\n\r\n[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\*\\shell\\Notepad]\r\n@=\"Open with Notepad\"\r\n\"Icon\"=\"notepad.exe,0\"\r\n\"Extended\"=\"\"\r\n\r\n[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\*\\shell\\Notepad\\command]\r\n@=\"notepad.exe \\\"%1\\\"\"\r\n<\/code><\/pre>\n<p>Copy the above contents to Notepad, and save the file with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/how-to-use-reg-files-registration-entries-windows\/\">.reg<\/a> extension, e.g., <code>openwithnotepad2.reg<\/code>. Double-click to run the file.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> Be aware that opening binary files such as <i>.exe<\/i>, <i>.dll<\/i>, <i>.com, <\/i>etc. using Notepad and accidentally saving them would cause the files to become corrupt, and they&#8217;ll no longer run. Use this <b>Open with Notepad<\/b> only for files containing text content.<\/p>\n<p>The registry edits work in all versions of Windows, including Windows 10.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There are situations where you need to open plain-text files having an unknown or unregistered file extension using Notepad. By default, no file association exists for extension-less files and files with unknown extension in Windows. So, to open those files, you use the Open With option and select Notepad from the list. And, it becomes &#8230; <a title=\"Add &#8220;Open with Notepad&#8221; to the Right-click Menu for all file types\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/add-the-open-with-notepad-context-menu-option-for-all-file-types\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Add &#8220;Open with Notepad&#8221; to the Right-click Menu for all file types\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-windows"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1954,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/associate-autocad-script-scr-notepad-screen-saver\/","url_meta":{"origin":213,"position":0},"title":"How to Associate AutoCAD Script (.SCR) Files With Notepad?","author":"Ramesh","date":"March 9, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"AutoCAD Script files and Windows Screen Savers, both use .SCR file extension. If you're trying to change the .SCR file type association to edit your AutoCAD scripts with Notepad or any other editor, you'll note that the Open With... right-click menu option isn't available for .SCR files. That's because they're\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/w10\/autocad-scr.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":24227,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/associate-file-no-extension-program\/","url_meta":{"origin":213,"position":1},"title":"How to Associate a Program with Files that have No Extension","author":"Ramesh","date":"June 18, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Shell extensions for file names with no file extension can be registered under the following: [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\.] For example, to associate a program (for example, Notepad.exe) to open all files with no extension, use the following registry keys: [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\.] @=\"\" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\.\\shell] [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\.\\shell\\open] [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\.\\shell\\open\\command] @=\"<path to notepad.exe> %1\" Here is an alternative\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"associate extension-less files with a program","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/associate-extension-less-files-2.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8738,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/open-with-notepad-plus-right-click-menu-windows\/","url_meta":{"origin":213,"position":2},"title":"Add &#8220;Open with Notepad++&#8221; to the Right-Click Menu","author":"Ramesh","date":"April 19, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Many users have replaced Notepad with Notepad++ as the default text editor on their computers. Others use Notepad++ only when needed, and launch it via the Open with menu and choose Notepad++ from the list of options. This post tells you how to add the Open with Notepad++ command to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Notepad++ right-click menu in Windows","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/open-with-notepad-plus-registry-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/open-with-notepad-plus-registry-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/open-with-notepad-plus-registry-1.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/open-with-notepad-plus-registry-1.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":446,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/add-mail-recipient-as-path-option-send-to-menu-to-email-file-paths\/","url_meta":{"origin":213,"position":3},"title":"How to Email File Paths via the Send To menu","author":"Ramesh","date":"August 13, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Let's assume you're working in the training department of a firm and need to send training materials to recruits regularly. The usual way is to right-click on the file, click Send To, and click Mail Recipient. This attaches the file to the compose window in your mail client. How about\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"email file path context menu","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/outlook-message-email-file-path.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/outlook-message-email-file-path.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/outlook-message-email-file-path.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/outlook-message-email-file-path.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5732,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/replace-notepad-text-editor-notepad-plus-association\/","url_meta":{"origin":213,"position":4},"title":"How to Replace Notepad With Notepad++ or Other Editor","author":"Ramesh","date":"November 2, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"If you\u2019re looking at how to replace Notepad with Notepad++ or any third-party editor, this post explains how to do it. Notepad++ is a free source code editor and Notepad replacement that supports several languages. Let\u2019s see how you can replace Notepad with Notepad++ without replacing any system files. Notepad\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Utilities&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Utilities","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/utilities\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"notepad plus replace debugger notepad.exe","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/debugger-notepad-plus-switch.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/debugger-notepad-plus-switch.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/debugger-notepad-plus-switch.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/debugger-notepad-plus-switch.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1071,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/run-program-elevated-right-click-menu-windows\/","url_meta":{"origin":213,"position":5},"title":"How to Add a Right-Click Menu Option to Run a Program Elevated","author":"Ramesh","date":"August 18, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"From the Windows Taskbar, you can start a program elevated by holding the Ctrl & Shift keys and then clicking on a pinned shortcut. To launch a program elevated from the right-click menu, you can add custom entries and launch it using a script or using the NirCmd utility. Earlier\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"take ownership right-click menu","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/take_ownership_context_menu.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=213"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}