Cannot create a new txt file in explorer - please help

anykey · Mar 25, 2009

I used to be able to do a right click in Explorer and create a new txt file.
I found this feature very handy for quick txt notes.
This option is not available on the context menu in Seven.
What's happened to it?
Thanks,

Dwarf · Mar 25, 2009

Hi anykey,

This option is still available on my system. The following image shows the right click menu from the folder Libraries > Documents.

What do you get from the same location on yours?

anykey · Mar 25, 2009

Hello Dwarf, righto I have done as requested and gone to the same location Libraries > Documents. (I am using build 7000)

Everything is the same as your image, with the exception of the menu item Text Document.
Instead I have the item Rich Text Document.
Which means that a MSWord Rich Text Document is created, whereas I require a straightforward Text Document like in your menu.
Any ideas please...

limneos · Mar 25, 2009

Perhaps the default program for .txt extensions has been changed on your system.

Try creating any document, renaming it to .txt

(go to Organize - Folder Options and View , uncheck Hide Extensions for known file types )

, then right-click it , select Open With - Choose Default Program and select Notepad.

Then see if its fixed

myzr7 · Mar 25, 2009

I'm running 7000 and I have both options Rich text and text ?

View attachment 6477

anykey · Mar 25, 2009

limneos said:
Perhaps the default program for .txt extensions has been changed on your system.

Yes. I use Notepad++. I have done for a long time. I prefer it to MSNotepad.

limneos said:
Try creating any document, renaming it to .txt
(go to Organize - Folder Options and View , uncheck Hide Extensions for known file types )
, then right-click it , select Open With - Choose Default Program and select Notepad.
Then see if its fixed

Thanks limneos.
Righto, I have done what you said and re assigned the association to MSNotepad.
To test it. I clicked on a txt file and it opened in Notepad. (yuk

)

Howvever, on the right click context menu, I still have no option to create new txt doc.
Poo.

I have changed my associate back to Notepad++.
Is that it then. Am I stuck without this option

limneos · Mar 25, 2009

Try running this registry file I created for you.

It should add New - Text Document to your context menu and fix your problem.

anykey · Mar 25, 2009

Umm, I am sorry to say it did not work.
Nothing is different.
The context menu is unchanged.

I even re-booted and still nothing had changed.
I then ran the reg file again.
Sorry nothing has been added nor changed.
Thanks for trying

limneos · Mar 25, 2009

hmm...

Try this reg file too.

Let me know of what happens.

No need to restart, if it works, it should work at once.

anykey · Mar 25, 2009

Hooray hooray hooray.
I think you may has guessed that this time it worked, ha ha.
I ran the reg file and did a right click. I could not see any change.
No, I thought.
Right clicked again and the text document option is there.
Dunno if it was there first time and I missed it. I hardly think so.
Prolly getting too excited.

Umm, now something has happened.
I have WinPatrol running - you may know the Scotty Watchdog.
Now here's a funny thing.
WinPatrol is telling me that it has detected a change in file type associations.
And get this: from Notepad++ to MSNotepad.
Would your reg file have caused that...

Fizban · Mar 25, 2009

Curious... What's a journal document? It's in my context menu, but when I clicked to create a new one and made it and then clicked on it asked me what program to open it with so apparently it has no default program to be opened with.

ebartolon · Mar 25, 2009

Horray!

limneos · Mar 26, 2009

anykey said:
Hooray hooray hooray.
I think you may has guessed that this time it worked, ha ha.
I ran the reg file and did a right click. I could not see any change.
No, I thought.
Right clicked again and the text document option is there.
Dunno if it was there first time and I missed it. I hardly think so.
Prolly getting too excited.

Umm, now something has happened.
I have WinPatrol running - you may know the Scotty Watchdog.
Now here's a funny thing.
WinPatrol is telling me that it has detected a change in file type associations.
And get this: from Notepad++ to MSNotepad.
Would your reg file have caused that...

Well the reg file only adds the ShellNew property to the registry.
Try changing back the assosiation to Notepad++, and if you lose the context menu again, there, you found the culprit.

Perhaps it's an incompatibility with Notepad++ and Win7 context menus. If changing to Notepad++ disables the New Text Document, let me know of the Path where notepad++.exe resides, and i will make you a reg file to use that instead.

Dwarf · Mar 26, 2009

Fizban said:
Curious... What's a journal document? It's in my context menu, but when I clicked to create a new one and made it and then clicked on it asked me what program to open it with so apparently it has no default program to be opened with.

Hi Fizban,

The following images should explain what this is. Basically, it is a tool that allows you to make hand written notes with a tablet pen on a tablet PC.
This is how these files appear.

When you select one of these, the following appears. Note that the first time you run it, you will be asked to install a printer driver, for which you will require administrative credentials.

For more information, see Help.

anykey · Mar 26, 2009

limneos said:
Try changing back the association to Notepad++, and if you lose the context menu again, there, you found the culprit.

Perhaps it's an incompatibility with Notepad++ and Win7 context menus. If changing to Notepad++ disables the New Text Document, let me know of the Path where notepad++.exe resides, and i will make you a reg file to use that instead.

Hello limneos, umm, well it all seems to be working well this morning

I cannot understand why.
Yesterday, When Winpatrol asked permission to change the association (from Notepad++ to MSNotepad) I agreed, and I could then create a new txt file per your reg file.
I tried again now and I can still create a new txt file. Hooray.
Clicking to open it, it opens in Notepad++. Hooray.
I checked the association using Set Associations, and it says Notepad++.
Nevermind, I think Winpatrol has got it's knickers in a twist.
So, at the time of writing all is well.

Maybe you can show me the path in the registry that you corrected.

btw the Program Files path is:
E:\Program Files\Notepad++
but I don't think you need that now.

Thanks again for all your help,
anykey

Fizban · Mar 26, 2009

Dwarf said:
Hi Fizban,

The following images should explain what this is. Basically, it is a tool that allows you to make hand written notes with a tablet pen on a tablet PC.
This is how these files appear.
View attachment 6499
When you select one of these, the following appears. Note that the first time you run it, you will be asked to install a printer driver, for which you will require administrative credentials.
View attachment 6500
For more information, see Help.
View attachment 6501

Ahh, that explains why I'd never used them, never owned a tablet PC.

Dwarf · Mar 26, 2009

Hi Fizban,

You don't have to have a tablet PC. The program works perfectly well with the mouse, and I suspect that it will work just as well with a USB tablet pad and pen (although I haven't tried this).

garysgold · Mar 26, 2009

Works fine with my wacom USB tablet and pen.

Gary

princerouge · Sep 26, 2011

disable you UAC.

iansane · Dec 16, 2011

Reg fix file number 1 worked for me. I see it just puts in a registry entry for .txt that I saw somewhere on another forum but the other forum confused me.

I think the guilty culprit for me was Ccleaner. I love that program but will have to look more carefully when running the reg cleaner after an update. I've gotten so used to trusting it because it always works perfectly and keeps my registry clean of crap so I blindly clicked on fix problems without saving a backup. duh, not to brite on my part.

This must be something that several AV and reg cleaning programs have falsely called a bad registry entry because I saw the same problem in many places while searching for this.

Oh well, good to have a fix now.

Thanks

Cannot create a new txt file in explorer - please help

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