How do I set defaulta to EDIT with one program but OPEN with another?

mediaman09 · 19 Feb 2012

All I want to do, as I have done in the past, is to default my browser to IE, and set my HTML editing tool to another program.

I have wasted hours (as is always the case with Windwos 7) to try and do this, but none the Control Panel 'set default" optiona distinguish between OPENING and file and EDITING a file.

And IE9 restricts HTML editors to Micorsoft product only.. like MS Word - which bloats files beyond beleif, and causing me endlesss problems for the most simplest of pages. ARRGGHHH !!!

If I used Open With on an HTML fine, I can choose and default Composer.EXE ; works great for editing, but no longer opens IE for browsing on a double click.

Totally frustrating user experience.

Is there anyway to EDIT with one program but OPEN with another? XP dis this no problem.

Influx · 19 Feb 2012

ShellMenuView is a small utility that display the list of static menu items that appeared in the context menu when you right-click a file/folder on Windows Explorer, and allows you to easily disable unwanted menu items.

Get ShellMenuView.

mickey megabyte · 19 Feb 2012

or, as a workaround, you can have multiple programs in your 'open with' list - of course, only one of them is the default, but they can still all be individually selected if needed:

How do I set defaulta to EDIT with one program but OPEN with another?-openwith.png

mediaman09 · 19 Feb 2012

Hmm, what about Pages / View Source in IE. How does one set that? Currently, its poininting to a program I have since uninstalled...so gather there is a way - a registry setting perhaps??

mediaman09 · 19 Feb 2012

I googled this and found some suggested registry changes ... it now recognizes the new location of the editor ( ie no longer points to old editor), but doesnt like the entry enough to execute. If I close the error, Notepap will pop up

I also tried this program : View Source Editor, the easy way to change the editor in Internet Explorer

I am now going through the trouble shooting suggestions here:
View Source Not Working in Internet Explorer at Registry Guide for Windows

So, seriously, all this, just to point to an HTML editor!! Hours and hours and hours of lost time .

Windows 7 - its great in those rare times when it works for more than a few days stragiht - but I truly despise it most of the time. I am stuck with it at the office, and hence at home, but ARRRGGGHHH !!

Sorry for tha rant. Jst total frustation with a sevent generation product.

kegobeer · 19 Feb 2012

Open with... works just fine. When you select the application, you have to ensure you do not tick the box that says "always use the selected program to open this kind of file". Once you use open with one time, that application should show up in the list of apps displayed when you choose open with.

That's how it works on my computers, anyway.

kado897 · 19 Feb 2012

FileTypesMan allows you to modify the context menu depending on the file type. You can change settings and add new ones. Get it here. FileTypesMan - Alternative to 'File Types' manager of Windows

mediaman09 · 19 Feb 2012

View Source should work fine as well.

I gave it another 30 minutes and got it to work, by:

1) deleting temp internet files
2) moving the soruce code to a cleane file path, eg C:\Tools\Kompozer\Kompozer.exe
3) searching the registry for Kompozer and changing the path accordingly.

So,

Left click on a HTML file will open IE (good)
Right click . Open With will let me temporarily chooe my HTML editor (good)
View Soruce will always bring up my editor (good)
IE / Page / Edit- the one thing that should work, is restcited to MS apps only. I will try next to change that to Notepad if I can. This is only because bad habits die hard, and I always go theer by mistake!

mediaman09 · 19 Feb 2012

View Source
To help others, just wanted to point out an easier way to change what View Source calls up:

1. Open Internet Explorer
2. Press the F12 button to start the Developer Tools
3. From the File menu, click Customize Internet Explorer View Source
4. Select one of the following options:
* Default Viewer
* Notepad
* Other…
If you choose Other…, you’ll be prompted to select the executable file of your preferred text editor. Use this option to set your third-party text editing program (e.g. Notepad+) to set as the default source editor.

Page Edit
I finally got Notepad to appear in the drop down list IE / Internet Options / Programs / HTML Editing, by using a clean Regsitry setting under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\.htm\OpenWithList . I selected Notepad, and it appears in the IE / Page menu. After a machine reboot, it worked.

Summary
Left click on a HTML file will open IE (good)
Right click . Open With will let me temporarily chooe my HTML editor (good)
View Soruce will always bring up my HTML editor (good)
IE / Page / Edit : Notepad