{"id":24227,"date":"2021-06-18T14:08:02","date_gmt":"2021-06-18T08:38:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/198.58.113.91\/blog\/?p=24227"},"modified":"2021-06-18T14:29:26","modified_gmt":"2021-06-18T08:59:26","slug":"associate-file-no-extension-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/associate-file-no-extension-program\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Associate a Program with Files that have No Extension"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shell extensions for file names with no file extension can be registered under the following:<\/p>\n

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\.]<\/pre>\n
<\/p>\n
For example, to associate a program (for example, Notepad.exe) to open all files with no extension, use the following registry keys:<\/p>\n
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\.]\r\n@=\"\"\r\n\r\n[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\.\\shell]\r\n\r\n[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\.\\shell\\open]\r\n\r\n[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\.\\shell\\open\\command]\r\n@=\"<path to notepad.exe> %1\"<\/pre>\n
Here is an alternative method:<\/p>\n
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\.]\r\n@=\"NoExtFile\"\r\n\r\n[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\NoExtFile]\r\n\r\n[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\NoExtFile\\shell]\r\n\r\n[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\NoExtFile\\shell\\open]\r\n\r\n[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\NoExtFile\\shell\\open\\command]\r\n@=\"<path to notepad.exe> %1\"<\/pre>\n
NOTE: “NoExtFile<\/code>” is not a predefined name, and therefore it can be anything. Adding other shell extensions is similar to adding shell extensions for file names with extensions.<\/p>\n
This article was previously published under Microsoft KB Q236014, titled “INFO: Shell Extensions for File Names with No File Extension.”<\/p>\n
Whereas, implementing the menu under the following key shows the menu for all file types — including the extension-less files.<\/p>\n
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\*\\shell<\/pre>\n
Example<\/h3>\n
You can add shell menu entries (e.g., “Open with Notepad<\/a>“, “Open with Notepad++<\/a>“, etc.) for extension-less files under the [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\.]<\/code> registry key.<\/p>\n
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00\r\n\r\n[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\.\\shell\\openwithnotepad]\r\n@=\"Open with Notepad\"\r\n\r\n[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\.\\shell\\openwithnotepad\\command]\r\n@=\"c:\\\\windows\\\\notepad.exe \\\"%1\\\"\"<\/pre>\n
The above registry file<\/a> adds the following registry keys and values:<\/p>\n
\"associate<\/p>\n
The Notepad entry is now shown in the right-click menu for extension-less files (only).<\/p>\n
\"associate<\/p>\n
As there are no other menu entries, the Notepad option will be the default — i.e., double-clicking a file with no extension opens it in Notepad. If you don’t want to make it the default context menu option, you’ll have to add the NeverDefault<\/code> registry value, as below:<\/p>\n
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00\r\n\r\n[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\.\\shell\\openwithnotepad]\r\n@=\"Open with Notepad\"\r\n\"NeverDefault\"=\"\"\r\n\r\n[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\.\\shell\\openwithnotepad\\command]\r\n@=\"c:\\\\windows\\\\notepad.exe \\\"%1\\\"\"<\/pre>\n
The above registry file adds the custom menu item but doesn’t make it as the default — i.e., “Open with” remains as the default option.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Shell extensions for file names with no file extension can be registered under the following: [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\.]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[7],"tags":[441],"class_list":["post-24227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-windows","tag-registry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":213,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/add-the-open-with-notepad-context-menu-option-for-all-file-types\/","url_meta":{"origin":24227,"position":0},"title":"Add “Open with Notepad” to the Right-click Menu for all file types","author":"Ramesh","date":"April 24, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"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\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows"","block_context":{"text":"Windows","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"add open with notepad to right-click","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/open_with_notepad.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/open_with_notepad.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/open_with_notepad.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":273,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/add-the-open-file-location-context-menu-for-shortcuts-in-windows-xp\/","url_meta":{"origin":24227,"position":1},"title":"How to Add “Open File Location” Right-Click Option in Windows XP","author":"Ramesh","date":"May 9, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Windows Vista and Windows 7 include the Open file location context menu item for Shortcuts, which helps you quickly open the target folder of a shortcut. In Windows XP, it takes four mouse clicks to accomplish the task. To open the target folder of a shortcut in Windows XP, you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows XP"","block_context":{"text":"Windows XP","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-xp\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/opentargetdir.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4021,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/take-ownership-via-right-click-context-menu-add\/","url_meta":{"origin":24227,"position":2},"title":"Take Ownership of File or Folder via Right-click Menu","author":"Ramesh","date":"September 6, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"We saw how to Take Ownership of a file or folder using the takeown.exe command-line tool. You can add the \"Take Ownership\" command to the right-click menu to make it easier to access. Add \"Take Ownership\" to the right-click menu Download take_ownership_context_menu.zip, unzip the file, and run the enclosed REG\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows"","block_context":{"text":"Windows","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"take ownership - success - check status","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/takeown_results_cmd.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/takeown_results_cmd.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/takeown_results_cmd.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/takeown_results_cmd.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":48037,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/new-rich-text-format-missing-windows-11\/","url_meta":{"origin":24227,"position":3},"title":"New \u201cRich Text Format\u201d (RTF) missing from Right-Click menu in Windows 11","author":"Ramesh","date":"May 22, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"In Windows 11, the New menu does not list the \"Rich Text Format\" (often abbreviated RTF) entry by default. 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