Skip to main content

windows 7 - How can I add a program to the context menu of all files?


Similar to the way Notepad++ adds "Edit with Notepad++" to the context menu of all files, or how most Antivirus products will add a global "Scan this file" option, I would like to add a particular program to the context menu for all file types.


Thanks to DOSBox, I'm a little familiar with manually creating file associations and creating context menu options for specific file types.


http://www.dosbox.com/wiki/Associating_the_Configuration_File_in_Windows


However, I've got one program I'd like to add as a context menu globally because it can be used with files that have almost any extension. What registry keys do I need to modify for this, and what common pitfalls should I avoid in order to not break things here?


I'd rather do this manually, so that I'm intimately familiar with what changes I'm making to the system, rather than use a third-party tool. The OS I'm doing this on is Windows 7 x64, but it would be great if the same method could be used all the way back to XP. I can probably figure out the necessary command syntax myself - I just need to know which keys to go after and how to format the commands and labels to be properly recognized in those keys.



Answer



Here is how you do it with an executable, I would assume it could be done with any program.


Open regedit.exe through the start menu search or run box, and then browse down to the following key:



HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ *\shell



Right-click on “shell” and choose to create a new key, calling it “Open with (your program name)”. Create a new key below that one called “command”. Double-click on the (Default) value in the right-hand pane and enter in the following:



"C:\Folder path where the program resides\Program.exe" "%1"



The change should take effect immediately… just right-click on any file and you’ll see the next menu entry.


.
Screenshots:


. Registry Editor: Creating a key


.


Registry Editor: Finished file-command


Source of Information (sort of)


. [Note: Article-comments report author's method works for Vista; and also XP. - Ed.]


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Use Google instead of Bing with Windows 10 search

I want to use Google Chrome and Google search instead of Bing when I search in Windows 10. Google Chrome is launched when I click on web, but it's Bing search. (My default search engine on Google and Edge is http://www.google.com ) I haven't found how to configure that. Someone can help me ? Answer There is no way to change the default in Cortana itself but you can redirect it in Chrome. You said that it opens the results in the Chrome browser but it used Bing search right? There's a Chrome extension now that will redirect Bing to Google, DuckDuckGo, or Yahoo , whichever you prefer. More information on that in the second link.
Post a Comment
Read more

linux - Using an index to make grep faster?

I find myself grepping the same codebase over and over. While it works great, each command takes about 10 seconds, so I am thinking about ways to make it faster. So can grep use some sort of index? I understand an index probably won't help for complicated regexps, but I use mostly very simple patters. Does an indexer exist for this case? EDIT: I know about ctags and the like, but I would like to do full-text search. Answer what about cscope , does this match your shoes? Allows searching code for: all references to a symbol global definitions functions called by a function functions calling a function text string regular expression pattern a file files including a file
Post a Comment
Read more

How do I transmit a single hexadecimal value serial data in PuTTY using an Alt code?

I am trying to sent a specific hexadecimal value across a serial COM port using PuTTY. Specifically, I want to send the hex codes 9C, B6, FC, and 8B. I have looked up the Alt codes for these and they are 156, 182, 252, and 139 respectively. However, whenever I input the Alt codes, a preceding hex value of C2 is sent before 9C, B6, and 8B so the values that are sent are C2 9C, C2 B6, and C2 8B. The value for FC is changed to C3 FC. Why are these values being placed before the hex value and why is FC being changed altogether? To me, it seems like there is a problem internally converting the Alt code to hex. Is there a way to directly input hex values without using Alt codes in PuTTY? Answer What you're seeing is just ordinary text character set conversion. As far as PuTTY is concerned, you are typing (and reading) text , not raw binary data, therefore it has to convert the text to bytes in whatever configured character set before sending it over the wire. In other words, when y...
Post a Comment
Read more

linux - CentOs 7.1 - Install Tomcat 8

I am using this tutorial as a setup reference to getting a Tomcat 8 running on CentOs 7.1 , but after typing: [root@localhost tomcat]# sudo systemctl start tomcat I get the error: Job for tomcat.service failed. See 'systemctl status tomcat.service' and 'journalctl -xn' for details. systemctl status tomcat.service prints the following: [root@localhost tomcat]# systemctl status tomcat.service tomcat.service - Apache Tomcat Web Application Container Loaded: loaded (/etc/systemd/system/tomcat.service; disabled) Active: failed (Result: exit-code) since Wed 2015-11-25 16:54:33 CET; 1min 19s ago Process: 45873 ExecStart=/opt/tomcat/bin/startup.sh (code=exited, status=203/EXEC) Nov 25 16:54:33 localhost.localdomain systemd[1]: Starting Apache Tomcat Web Application Container... Nov 25 16:54:33 localhost.localdomain systemd[1]: tomcat.service: control process exited, code=exited status=203 Nov 25 16:54:33 localhost.localdomain systemd[1]: Failed to start Apache Tomcat Web App...
Post a Comment
Read more