Solved Persistent double entry in Explorer's Open With rightclick menu

[ToughDiamond]

When I rightclick a .txt file in Explorer and go to Open With, there are 2 entries for NotePad. I've tried deleting the registry key in here:


Computer/HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\,txt\OpenWithList


but it made no difference. Anybody know how to fix this? Frankly I'm baffled as to why removing it from the registry had no effect.

 

[Brink]

Hello ToughDiamond,

If you like, you might see if using the method in the tutorial below may be able to delete the Open With entries for you.

:ar: Open with - Clean Up and Remove Programs

 

[ToughDiamond]

Thanks, Brink. I tried that, and sure enough it removed one of the double entries from the .txt menu. But the trouble is, it also removed the NotePad entry from the menu of all other filetypes, such as .doc, .rtf, .m3u etc. (unlike the .txt case, these weren't double entries before). The program OpenWithView doesn't allow the user to disable menu items for a specific filetype, it's all-or-nothing.

So to get the functionality back for those other filetypes, I've used another free program called Default Programs Editor to add an entry for NotePad to the main rightclick menu (not the Open With list - Default Programs Editor doesn't seem to know that exists). See picture. Not a perfect solution, but I guess functionally it'll work.

 

[Brink]

By default, when you use Open with to open a file with an app, the app will be added to the list.

If you like: Open with Notepad - Add or Remove from Context Menu of Files

 

[ToughDiamond]

I tried that - Open With > Choose Default Program > Browse. It opened in NotePad at the time, but didn't add it to the list. It won't appear in the Recommended Programs / Other Programs lists either.

 

[Brink]

That is odd.

 

[ToughDiamond]

Odd, yes. I guess it could be something to do with my removal of that registry key, but a) I foolishly didn't create a backup, so can't easily put it back, and b) I'm sure I remember seeing the Choose Default Program option behave like that once before, long before I ever messed with the registry. I can't remember the outcome, or which particular filetype was causing the trouble.

 

[ToughDiamond]

Interesting - I thought I'd try re-enabling NotePad in OpenWithView. The result is that NotePad now appears again in the OpenWith menu, and the pesky double entry in the menu for .txt files hasn't returned. Time will tell whether all is good for all filetypes, but it's looking good so far.


There's a few things I don't understand:
1. Why did NotePad have a double entry in the first place?

2. Why didn't deleting the registry key have any noticeable effect?
3. Why did disabling NotePad in OpenWithView not simply remove NotePad from the OpenWith menu for all filetypes?
4. Why did the author of OpenWithView make it a global thing rather than allowing the user to specify the filetype they wanted to alter? Surely most users would want to disable an app for just one filetype, not all of them?

5. Why didn't the NotePad double entry not come back after re-enabling NotePad in OpenWithView?


Not that I'm complaining - at least everything seems to be working again. Wouldn't be the first time there was something about Windows I haven't understood.

 

[Brink]

Q1-3) It may have been added by some program?

Q4) That would make a good feature.

Q5) Clearing the item may have cleared and reset it, so adding it back only restored the default item.

 

[ToughDiamond]

The only thing I've used that's known to alter the filetypes is DefaultProgramsEditor, which doesn't let me alter the OpenWith menu. Can't rule out mischief by some program or other quietly changing it, though I can't think what.


Yes what I didn't realise about OpenWithView is that re-enabling an app after disabling it is probably an important step when using it.

 

[ToughDiamond]

A further observation - I eventually restored my computer to a system image made before the Open With problem had been solved, so I had to do the fix again. Result was that it didn't initially work. Same problem as before - when I disabled NotePad with OpenWithView, one of the 2 entries for .txt files was removed but there was no NotePad entry at all for other apps that I like to open with NotePad, and subsequent re-enabling just reverted to the double entry problem. I rebooted after each operations just to be sure. . Then, mysteriously, after going round in such circles 2 or 3 times, everything suddenly went right again I've created a new system image so I don't have to go through that process again.

 

[Brink]

Very odd, but smart thinking.