# Open With



## Deke40 (Jun 27, 2002)

Win 9X - A neat registry hack to have "Open With" always available in the right-click pop-up context menu is as follows: Open Regedit and go to the key HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AllFilesystemObjects. Add a new key called Shell, add a new key to Shell called openas, and to openas add a new key called command. Now double-click on the Default icon in the command key and, in the Value data field, enter C:\WINDOWS\rundll32.exe shell32.dll,OpenAs_RunDLL %1 and click on OK. Exit Regedit and you're done.


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## Dark Star (Jun 8, 2001)

Very Cool Deke 

I'd like to find the registry hack to have the "Open With" Dialog to *Unchecked* where it reads "Always use this program to open this file" 
You can uncheck the box but it defaults back to a "checked box" 

Keep em comming Deke 

DS


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## Deke40 (Jun 27, 2002)

Ask and you shall receive:

Change Default Of "Open With" Box To Unchecked





"This tweak permanently unchecks the "Always use this program to open this file type" checkbox on the "Open With" dialog
box, when opening a non-associated file type. Run Regedit and go to:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Unknown\shell\openas\command

Add %2 to the current "Default" value as shown here:

C:\WINDOWS\Rundll32.exe Shell32.dll,OpenAs_RunDLL %1 %2

Close Regedit and press F5 to refresh the Desktop."


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## Dark Star (Jun 8, 2001)

How you find that so fast?

Great Find!!! that's the ticket  

More than once now I've attempted to "open with" the wrong thing  and having that box checked by default made things even worse. 

Thanks for the tweak to permanently uncheck it 

DS


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## jimi (Jun 14, 2000)

Deke i'll just 2d what DS said - great tweak - now i'm gonna have to go and make the change to all of my users machines but hey thats better the standard response of "well i didn't know what to do so i tried..........." one less headache thank you, DS thanks for asking for it


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## MacFromOK (Mar 19, 2001)

_______________________________________________
Deke, my Win95 system (OSR2) doesn't have this key:
*HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AllFilesystemObjects*
So apparently that's for Win98 and up...

The second tip (changing default of "Open With")
works great though. Thanks. 

Cheers, Mac


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## deuce (May 26, 2001)

Hey thanks... I've always wondered how to do that.   Really helpful.


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## Mosaic1 (Aug 17, 2001)

For any who want to use this tweak and do not have AllFilesystemObjects 

Perform the tweak under this key. This is the one most people use. 
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*

One quick thing to those of you using the %2 to uncheck the box:

If you find that after you associate a file, that association doesn't stick, it is because of the space you will have typed after the %1

Sometimes this one has a nasty side effect. Others it works just fine. Just a heads up.

Edited to correct possible confusion. My directions left a bit to be desired. Sorry.


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## Deke40 (Jun 27, 2002)

If my memory serves me right you can acheive the same effect by deleting the %1 instead of adding the %2. So if you have problem with file association like Mosaic1 mentions just go that route.


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## Mosaic1 (Aug 17, 2001)

Deke,
Sorry. If you remove the %1, instead of opening the file in question, the program associated will open blank. In the case of a program opened with IE, the Homepage will open. Or try to. the %1 is a place holder telling Windows to open that particular file.

The hack is good. It works. It just can have a little problem sometimes. Easy enough to remove it . It's good to be able to trace a problem. This one doesn't always develop immediately. That makes it tough to track if you are not aware. 

Mo


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## Deke40 (Jun 27, 2002)

Mosiac1- You are absoulety right. I didn't try opening a file after removing the %l. I only checked to see if the default was not check marked. Bad advice and I apoligize.


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## Deke40 (Jun 27, 2002)

By the way does not typing the space after the %l eliminate the problem of the reassociation not sticking?


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## VidsGuy (Jun 27, 2002)

DEKE !!!!!!!!!  

YOU DA MAN !!!!!!!!! Fantastic tweak !!!

Thanks for all your help, here and elsewhere !!!


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## Mosaic1 (Aug 17, 2001)

Deke,
If you are using the %2 you need the space. %1 %2
I would remove the command entirely and retype it not using the %2. Or you can back off and remove everything after the %1 being sure there is no space after the 1. Not using the %2. 

You can then reboot and use the computer. Try another association. If it still doesn't stick, then removing the key and redoing it usually helps. Before you perform the %2 tweak, exporting the key first is a good idea. Exporting is best anytime you make a change. You then have the original as insurance.

You can try the %2 again. If the problem recurs, then either stop using the tweak or redo it again.


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## Davey7549 (Feb 28, 2001)

Oh boy...Oh boy.....Oh Boy......Davey has two registry guru's to shadow and learn from! 
Mo I am sure was considering me a pest at times!

Dave


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## MacFromOK (Mar 19, 2001)

_________________________________________________
I've discovered something that may be useful...

I leave regedit open and just re-open Windows Explorer
(or whatever) to test changes. Any changes made to the
registry are realtime (immediate), and it saves searching
each time for the keys/values I'm working with. 

Obviously this doesn't apply to registry entries that affect
Windows startup procedures...

Cheers, Mac


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## MacFromOK (Mar 19, 2001)

One other thing about the "Open With" setting. Since %2
is a variable, you might want to use a zero or a one instead.

Cheers, Mac 

*[EDIT]*
Using "C:\WINDOWS\rundll32.exe shell32.dll,OpenAs_RunDLL %1 0" does NOT work. Windows adds the trailing 0 to the filename (%1). The "Open With" menu will pop up, it just won't open the file. 
Sorry for the mistake... 

So I've been using %9 (instead of %2) since I doubt this command line parameter will ever contain anything. %2 should work just as well as long as it doesn't contain a value. The premise here (I assume) is to feed "openas" an empty variable. I'm guessing there's possibly a value of some type that could be passed that would check/uncheck the box, if Windows didn't add it to the filename...


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## MacFromOK (Mar 19, 2001)

_________________________________________________
A few more notes...

I tried adding the "AllFilesystemObjects" key, but Win95
ignored it.

I added a viruscan key to "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell",
which worked great, but would automatically run on any
unassociated file if I left-clicked it.

To solve this problem, I tried adding the "openas" key to
"HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell", but the virus scanner
would still run on any unassociated file if I left-clicked it.

However, I renamed the "openas" key to "Open", and it
works like a charm. Now when I left-click associated files,
they run,and unassociated files pop up the "Open With"
window. And on right-click, I have my virus scanner.

The only oddity is that I have two "Open" menu items
when right-clicking associated files. The one I added
is not bold print like the original, so I can click it to get
the "Open With" window if I want.

The "Open" menu item also appears on unassociated files,
but it does the same as the "Open With" menu item.

Thanks for the great tips guys. 

Cheers, Mac


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## Dark Star (Jun 8, 2001)

> _Originally posted by MacFromOK:_
> *_________________________________________________
> I leave regedit open and just re-open Windows Explorer
> (or whatever) to test changes. Any changes made to the
> ...


Mac.... As always thinking outside the box  thanks that's a jewell, we liiiiiiike it.


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## Mosaic1 (Aug 17, 2001)

Mac,

Here's how it works. The Default for most files is OPEN. If a file is not associated, and you use left click, the open with box appears. That's default behavior. Unless you have gone to
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell
And added a key under that.

The order of the subkeys listed there determines which program is the default to open unassociated files. Because you had the AV listed first, it became the default. You added openas. But that was listed below the AV and so it made no difference. BUT You then added OPEN and because OPEN is the normal default verb it took precedence.(at least that's my guess.) Even though the command for this entry was to bring up the open with box.

You added another entry. It appears in the right click menu.
(The Bold entry on the menu denotes that as Default action.)
You can rename that extra non bold open entry you added back to openas if you like.

To get openwith as the default then go back to the key and click Shell
Double Click on default and modify. Type *openas* to set it as the default for unassociated files.

Or redo the entire key. Make the openas entry first on the list and then add the AV entry.

EDIT: I edited this to make the explanation clearer. Hope it helps.

Whatever the command is, that is what determines the action. You can name the key whatever you like. However, certain verbs have precedence. OPEN is one of those.


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## MacFromOK (Mar 19, 2001)

> _Originally posted by Mosaic1:_
> * The order of the subkeys listed there determines which program is the default to open unassociated files. Because you had the AV listed first, it became the default. You added openas. But that was listed below the AV and so it made no difference. BUT You then added OPEN and because OPEN is the normal default verb it took precedence.(at least that's my guess.) Even though the command for this entry was to bring up the open with box.*


Hiya Mosaic,

Unfortunately this is NOT correct (for Windows 95 anyway).
That was one of the first things I tried before posting here,
because they were listed (in regedit) in the order added.
It didn't work though, and when I closed and re-started
regedit, it shows them in alphabetical order anyway. Also,
when I tried your suggestion about the default for "shell",
I removed the "Open" key, and when I added it back it still
works fine, even though it's the second one added (the virus
scan key was never removed).

BTW, setting the "shell" default to "openas" or
"C:\WINDOWS\Rundll32.exe Shell32.dll,OpenAs_RunDLL %1 0"
doesn't work either. No problem though, it works perfectly
the way it is. 

Cheers, Mac


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## Mosaic1 (Aug 17, 2001)

> The order of the subkeys listed there determines which program is the default to open unassociated files. Because you had the AV listed first, it became the default. You added openas. But that was listed below the AV and so it made no difference. BUT You then added OPEN and because OPEN is the normal default verb it took precedence.(at least that's my guess.) Even though the command for this entry was to bring up the open with box.


 It works in Windows 98 SE.

The first on the list in the key:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell
Becomes the default to open unassociated files. Yes. Keys are arranged in alpha order. I guess I assumed your AV was still ahead of Openas alphabetically.( the behavior you described sounded like that was the case) But the verb OPEN takes precedence over anything, no matter the order and no matter the command . Unless you go to:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Unknown\shell
Set the default string value for shell as openas. Then openas will be default no matter what you set in HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell as default.
That works in win98Se as well.

Or set openas (so long as you have an openas key under shell)
as the default for:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell
to make openas default for unknown file types.

I have tested this out many times in my own Registry. And for Win98 SE it works. I would think it would be the same in Win95. I am very surprised it isn't.

I don't have a copy of Win 95 to test .


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## MacFromOK (Mar 19, 2001)

Hey Mosaic,

*The first on the list in the key: 
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell 
Becomes the default to open unassociated files.*

Unfortunately, this just ain't so in Windows 95. I removed and re-added the "Virus Scan" key after adding "openas" originally ("Virus Scan" is the actual key name). The virus scan program still ran on all unassociated files until I renamed "openas" to "Open" (I also tried naming it "Open As" and "Open With").

*HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Unknown\shell 
Set the default string value for shell as openas. Then openas will be default no matter what you set in HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell as default. 
That works in win98Se as well.*

This works perfect. I set the "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Unknown\shell" default to "openas", and was able to remove the "Open" key under "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell" (later added "Open As" again). Apparently this default didn't work in "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell" because I had changed the "openas" key to "Open" (duh...).

I'm learnin' a lot from this thread. Thanks. 

Cheers, Mac


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## Mosaic1 (Aug 17, 2001)

Mac,
This was bothering me and so I erased all entries from the key. I went back in and did it all kinds of different ways to be 100% certain. Sorry. This was a bit confusing. I was wrong about one point. 



The order in which the subkeys are added manually does decide the default unless you name one of them Open which takes precedence. The Alpha order will decide it if you import the subkeys all at once from a registry file because everything is added at one time and therefore the first on the list is set as the default. In your case Virus Scan was entered first and so it was the default until you changed that using the Shell>default entry. 

Thanks for keeping me on my toes. I now realize why I drew the wrong conclusion. My Alpha order was that the first addition I made manually was always the first alphabetically. DUH! 

Mo


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## Deke40 (Jun 27, 2002)

And to think I started this post. You guys lost me about 6 or 8 posts back. I have only been at this for 18 months, but if I keep reading and understand a small portion of your posts, I'll feel as if I will know enough to not destroy my operating system. I knew Mo's expertise from another forum and I'm finding out there are a lot of knowledgeable folks out there. My motto is as follows:

"Knowledge is of two kinds: we know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it." 


My expertise is the latter.


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## Mosaic1 (Aug 17, 2001)

Hi Deke,
I was wondering if you were the same Deke from Winguides. 

Also, if you think this was confusing, you wouldn't believe what has been happenning on my misbehaved computer. I am telling you it is plain strange. And I am going to call my ISP about it. They won't believe it either. But I have suffered through this and I feel like sharing my pain! LOL 


Mo


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## MacFromOK (Mar 19, 2001)

Hey Mosaic, 



> _Originally posted by Mosaic1:_
> * The order in which the subkeys are added manually does decide the default unless you name one of them Open which takes precedence.*


Yep, I also erased the keys (and the default "\Unknown\shell" value) and tried it again, and you're right. I also found that if you re-name the first key added, it loses it precedence (I assume Windows considers it a new key entry at that point). Apparently that's what I did originally (when I couldn't get the precedence straight). Sorry for the confusion... 

Thanks again Mo. 

BTW Deke, I'm really glad ya started this thread. 

Cheers, Mac


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## MacFromOK (Mar 19, 2001)

Hey guys, I gotta another registry question...  

I recently started using Outlook Express as my email program, and I'm wonderin' if you know of a way to get my "Virus Scan" item on it's menu so I could scan attachments before opening. It'd be a lot faster than saving the attachment, then scanning it.

When I right-click on an attachment there's a "Quick View" menu item that gives this message:

"There are no viewers registered for this type of file".

I'd be glad to "register" my virus scanner under this menu item if you have any idea what key(s) I need to look for...

Cheers, Mac


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## Deke40 (Jun 27, 2002)

I'll probably get a howl about this. I use AVG and it put it there when I installed it.


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## Deke40 (Jun 27, 2002)

Mac

I meant it installed my virus scan under Tools in OE not on the right click menu under Quick View.

As far as I know AVG scans the attachment with the email. This is from the AVG help: The program checks all incoming and outgoing email attachments for the presence of any virus threats.


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## rhettman5 (Dec 3, 2000)

Deke is correct, AVG menu should be in O/E tools, last entry, if you go to AVG control center/E-Mail/ put a check in the "Use Outlook Express 5 Plug-in" it should work.

Note : When I first got AVG, the E-Mail scan did not work, I had to reinstall AVG, making sure I/E was shutdown when I did the install, works great now !...Rhett


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## Mosaic1 (Aug 17, 2001)

Mac,
I had tried to access those menus many times and never was able to do it. I found nothing in the registry. I think using a particular AV which scans email and attachments is the best you'll be able to do.

I believe the menu is built from a dll. I would have to go into OE and open each in a utility like Resource Hacker to find the correct menu. (If in fact, I could find the* context menu entries*. I am not sure if that can be done.) It is easy to remove an item or even rename it. But adding? That's adding a menu item, writing code for the menu item to access and recompiling a dll. RH recompiles changes. I am not certain of the details.

I know you can program. Is this possible?

Internet Explorer itself gives you the menu ext key in the registry to add items to context menus. But not to OE menus. Maybe have a look at MSDN? AVG added something. A Plug-in. How to write it? But that only added to the Menu Band. Not to the context menus.

Mo


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## MacFromOK (Mar 19, 2001)

Hey Mosaic,

_Originally posted by Mosaic1:_
*I believe the menu is built from a dll. I would have to go into OE and open each in a utility like Resource Hacker to find the correct menu. (If in fact, I could find the context menu entries. I am not sure if that can be done.) It is easy to remove an item or even rename it. But adding? That's adding a menu item, writing code for the menu item to access and recompiling a dll. RH recompiles changes. I am not certain of the details.

I know you can program. Is this possible? *

I hate using DLLs in the first place, so I'm not that familiar with 'em. I did find the "Quick View" menu item in the msimnui.dll though, and I can probably rename it to "Virus Scan"... 

So how do I "register" a viewer that runs under the OE "Quick View" menu item? When I click it, I get is this message:
*"There are no viewers registered for this type of file".*

I found a couple of "QuickView" registry keys:

*HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\MSN_Phone Book\QuickView

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\QuickView*

but haven't had any success with 'em yet... Any ideas?

Cheers, Mac


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## Mosaic1 (Aug 17, 2001)

You have Win95 and I have Win98Se. I do not have the file msimnui.dll

I think it is a lot more complex than this, though. You can go in and rename the menu entry. Recompile the file and replace the original with the changed file in DOS. But the code will not have been changed. Quick View will still be there no matter the name. You have to match the code to it . And I don't know how to do that. 

I really think this is not a registry hack. I believe it's a Programming task. 

I found I could use Quick View offline to view jpg's. But when I tried to quick view an attached jpg I couldn't.


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## MacFromOK (Mar 19, 2001)

Hey Mosaic,

The *msimnui.dll* is in C:\Program Files\Outlook Express, but my version is probably older than yours (IE 4.72).

_Mosaic1 wrote :_
*I really think this is not a registry hack. I believe it's a Programming task.*

I think you're right. When I change the quickview path in the registry, the only thing it affects is the "Open With" list of programs (it changes "quikview" to the exe name of the new path). And QuickView still runs from OE, so it's hardcoded in somewhere.

I've changed the menu item name to "Virus Scan" in the DLL, so I'll prowl thru the others and see what I can find.

BTW, I ran quickview from Start->Run with a filename, and it reset it's file associations in the registry, and now it runs OK instead of giving the error message. Go figure...

I'll keep tinkering with it for a while and let ya know if I find anything else out.

Cheers, Mac


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## Mosaic1 (Aug 17, 2001)

I have come to the conclusion that Quickview can't open all file types. After many hours of research. I found two sites I htink you'll find interesting.

http://www.woram.com/letter/01-01.HTM

http://www.windowsitlibrary.com/Content/368/07/2.html

msoeres.dll seems to have replaced msimnui.dll
I opened msoeres.dll and found the menu you talked about.

Not sure what you did with start>run.

I also have been trying to find information on adding to the OE context menu. Nothing. Just a lot of people asking how. Others telling them it cannot be done. MSDN has nothing. 
Lots of information on IE but not for OE.

As one of the articles said, Quikview views a file. But acting upon a file is a different story.


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## Dark Star (Jun 8, 2001)

*"I recently started using Outlook Express as my email program, and I'm wonderin' if you know of a way to get my "Virus Scan" item on it's menu so I could scan attachments before opening. It'd be a lot faster than saving the attachment, then scanning it."*

You guys lost me somewhere near the top of this page and sure enough Mosaic 1 said... *"I also have been trying to find information on adding to the OE context menu."* ... after a couple hours of searching I see nada, zip, zero as far as *adding to the OE context menu"* ... there's always something gained from any search.

... but to get back to your question Mac, I see that...

AVG will certify all incoming and outgoing mail to be Virus Free.
*Set your E-Mail to scan all mail or mail with attachnments only.*
This is the message at bottom of your mail:
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.330 / Virus Database: 184 - Release Datelast update)

DS


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## MacFromOK (Mar 19, 2001)

Hiya DS, 

Deke and Mosaic have mentioned AVG, but I don't use it...


Hey Mosaic, 

On the Windows Start->Run menu I browsed for quikview.exe (C:\Windows\System\Viewers\quikview.exe I think), when it apeared in the Run box, I added a text filename as the parameter. It ran ok, and when I checked the registry entries again there were more file types added to the list (under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\QuickView) including TXT and EXE files. I also add %1 to the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\QuickView\shell\open\command path, and so far it works on all file types I've tried when choosing QuickView from "Open With" (including EXEs). I think I read somewhere that there's one type of file it won't open, but I don't remember what it was...

Cheers, Mac


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## Mosaic1 (Aug 17, 2001)

Hi Mac,

I think at least one file type is gif. Two more are htm and mht.

Strange. I cannot get anything to open in quikview using the run menu. 
Could you post the exact command you used please? 


LOL I did my research looking for something to add to OE context menus. There is one such utiltiy I found. But it's for a MAC.
I wonder if it would work for you, MAC ? 

I think unless you can find a utility of some kind, or change your AV, you are going to be stuck. If I ever find anymore information I will post it. 


Mo


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## griffinspc (Nov 16, 2001)

Hey Mo, Check this (back to the original question)

This setting will allow you to use Notepad to open a file by simply right clicking on the icon. 
- Go to the key "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell".
- Under shell create a new key called open, and edit the string "(Default)" to read "Open With Notepad".
- Under open create a new key called command, and edit the string "(Default)" to read "notepad.exe %1". 
Now when you right click on a file you should see "Open with Notepad" as one of the options. 

I use it all the time for ini files, etc. and it sure beats the heck out of scrolling down to Notepad every time.


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## MacFromOK (Mar 19, 2001)

OK, I got it to work....

It took some programming in VDS (Visual Dialog Script).
Here's roughly the steps I took:

1. Changed the OE "Quick View" menu item to "Virus Scan" in the OE DLL (as mentioned earlier).

2. Changed the name of the EXE file from "quikview.exe" to "quickview.exe" (inserted the "c").

3. Changed the path in HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\QuickView\shell\open\command to show the new "QuickView.exe" filename (the registry automatically picked up the change, but it used the DOS shortname which looked kinda wonky in the "Open With" program list).

4. Made a small program in VDS to capture the parameters being passed to "quikview.exe" by OE, named it "quikview.exe", and copied it to C:\Windows\System\Viewers. It ran when I clicked on my renamed "Virus Scan" menu item in OE.
BTW, here's the parameters:
%1 = -v
%2 = -f: (path\filename is immediately after the"-f:" no space)

5. Rewrote the small VDS program to remove the first 3 chars of %2 and run my virus scanner on the path\filename. OE copies the file to the Windows\Temp dir before running QuickView, so I added a popup asking if I want to delete the file.

Works perfect.

BTW, I also found that if the real QuickView won't open a file, you can run the filename from Windows Start->Run (as mentioned earlier) and the next time it will prompt you for the default viewer and then open it.

You can also add file types to the QuickView key. I added one for .DSC files (VDS source code) to test it, so I'll show the steps I used:

1. Under "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\QuickView" add a key, and name it the file type you want (I used ".DSC")

2. Get the default value of the file type key where it's listed under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT (mine was "dsc_auto_file"), and set the new key's default value to this. You might just use your key name (minus the period) and add the "_auto_file" to it, not sure about this though.

3. Under "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\QuickView" open an existing filetype key and copy its' subkey name (mine are all the same: "{F0F08735-0C36-101B-B086-0020AF07D0F4}").

4. Add a key to your new key and give it this name.

5. Set the new subkey's default value to "SCC Quick Viewer". This seems to be a generic default value of the other subkeys that aren't word documents or whatever (might check yours in case they use a different one).

And it works without asking to use the default viewer.

*Mosaic...*
I just noticed you posted since I started this reply (yeah, I'm kinda slow...). Here's the Run command I used (my Windows folder is named Win95):

*C:\WIN95\SYSTEM\VIEWERS\Quikview.exe c:\test.dat*

I mentioned this earlier, but I had also added %1 to the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\QuickView\shell\open\command path...

BTW, Quickview wouldn't open GIF files for me either, but it does open HTM\HTML files. Maybe some of the other stuff in this post will give ya some ideas...

Cheers, Mac 

[EDIT]
My spelling...


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## Deke40 (Jun 27, 2002)

Here is a way for registry shy people to do the open with trick in griffinspc's post:

Create a shortcut to the program you want to use in the Windows\SendTo folder. This lets you click the file with the right mouse button, click Send To, and then click the program you want to use to open the file.


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## MacFromOK (Mar 19, 2001)

Hey Deke,

Have you tried this with QuickView? I tried it, and also added %1, then %2 in case it wasn't getting the filename, but it doesn't work...

Cheers, Mac


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## MacFromOK (Mar 19, 2001)

AAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHH!

Never mind, it works perfect Deke. My spelling is killing me today. Sorry...  

Cheers, Mac


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## Mosaic1 (Aug 17, 2001)

Mac,
Looks like you have been busy. Great job!

I did the registry edit to add to the quickview list last night. I tried gif and no go. Did you look at the links I posted?

{F0F08735-0C36-101B-B086-0020AF07D0F4} is the SCC Quick Viewer CLSID

I cannot open html in Quik view.

Looks like you are more of an ingenious programmer than you thought. Kudos. 
I don't understand the details of the programming. Exactly how you did it. But I do know others have asked for this sort of thing. I am about at the Hello World level in VB 6. I never seem to get back to it. 
How did you make the program? If you have time I would love to learn more about it.

When you register a *new, unknown file type* by using the right click shift open with method, that file type's default is gif_auto_file

When a file type is created by a program or in Folder options, it's default is giffile.

DUH again. I was spelling it Quickview, not quikview! That's why it wouldn't work from the run command.

Details like that are important. I "misspelled it" Maybe time to give in and get glasses.

Thank you. I looked at my run history and saw that.

This has been very educational. It makes me want to go back and learn more about how to program. You said Visual Dialog Script. Does this get compiled? Or can it use Notepad and the scripting host to translate? Looks like it's Google for me.

EDIT: In case I didn't mention it before, I am really impressed. I envy your skills. That logic was so great.

Thanks Griff,
Yes. That's a good one.

Mo


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## MacFromOK (Mar 19, 2001)

Hey Mosaic, 

Thanks. VDS is so easy, I rarely use C/C++ unless I have to. The program I'm using as "quikview.exe" has only nine (9) lines of code. VDS does compile EXEs in the registered versions. All versions have an IDE with editor and help files.

There's a freeware version (16 bit - it doesn't compile) here:

http://www.simtel.net/pub/pd/26386.html

I'd recommend this to anyone that wants to program without spending months learning to do simple stuff. And if ya don't like it, it was free anyway... 

Even though the free version doesn't compile, you can create a shortcut to run programs thru the interpreter, so it's just about as good for your own use. The setup/install only creates a shortcut, so you don't even have to run it if you don't want to.

The newer versions are 32-bit and have a lot more features such as Windows registry access. There's a VDS 4 out, but I still use VDS3 since it does all I want.

LOL, here's the whole "Hello World" program in VDS code:

```
INFO "Hello World"
```
*QuickView:*

For some reason I can't open an HTML file from Start->Run either, but it will open if I choose QuickView from the "Open With" list. Strange...

Deke's "Send To" suggestion works great too. The only thing I haven't been able to view so far is GIF files.

Cheers, Mac


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## Mosaic1 (Aug 17, 2001)

Mac,
Thank you for all the information. I have no idea how you monitored the OE calls. But you did a great job. Tricks of the trade.

I can't open a html document using Quikview from any location.


I have to take the time to study VB 6 and go from there. When these things come up everybody expects them to be resolved in the registry. But that is not possible on many many occasions. 


I wonder what it would take to add a totally new entry to that menu. 

Mo


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## MacFromOK (Mar 19, 2001)

Hey Mosaic,

Monitoring the OE calls was simple. A VDS program takes any command parameters into variables %1 thru %9. Here's the VDS code of the original test program (compiled and named "quikview.exe"):

```
INFO [email protected]()%[email protected]()%[email protected]()%[email protected]()%[email protected]()%[email protected]()%[email protected]()%[email protected]()%[email protected]()%9
```
The "@cr()" is a carriage return\linefeed (like hitting the ENTER key), so each parameter was on a different line. There were only 2 parameters, so the others did nothing. When I clicked on the renamed "Virus Scan" menu item in OE, the parameters popped up in the INFO window. 

As far as adding items to the OE menu, Resource Hacker help (under "Modify resource") says this about adding controls (controls are buttons, text, etc. - anything on a dialog window):

"With dialog and menu resources, deleting controls or changing control IDs is likely to cause the modified program to crash. However, changing a control's caption is usually safe, as is modifying their position, size and visibility. *Adding a new control is unlikey to cause problems*. Renaming resources is also likely to cause programs to crash."

It gives an example of adding logos, but I don't know about something that you'd actually click on and expect a result. Like I said, I don't know that much about DLLs.

Cheers, Mac 

*EDIT*
Forgot that I used some text ("Test" in this case) in the VDS INFO command above. Otherwise, if there had been no command parameters, the INFO command would have given an error if it had nothing to show...


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## griffinspc (Nov 16, 2001)

Mo, you may need glasses but I need education. Apparently Oklahoma isn't the backwater we were all led to believe in school. LOL.


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## MacFromOK (Mar 19, 2001)

ROFL - I'm from Texas originally...   

Cheers, Mac


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## Deke40 (Jun 27, 2002)

Hey guys can I get a couple of extra posts added to my total for starting this. Even though you'll lost me a long time back.


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## jimi (Jun 14, 2000)

> _Originally posted by MacFromOK:_
> *ROFL - I'm from Texas originally...
> 
> Cheers, Mac  *


uhhhh you say that like it's a _good_ thing 

deke me too, but keep those reg tips coming, the always open with this program is a god send since most of my users seem to be a few wheaties short of a bowl


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## MacFromOK (Mar 19, 2001)

> _Originally posted by jimi:_*
> uhhhh you say that like it's a good thing
> *


Hiya jimi,

LOL, at least I know which "island" I'm from... 

Cheers, Mac


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## captainbaldo (Jan 30, 2002)

I apologize if someone already suggested this, but doesn't the "Open With" dialog come up if you hold down the shift key while right clicking on a file? If you click on the file with the left mouse button first to highlight it, then hold down the shift key and click on the file with the right mouse button. This seems to work every time I try it in Windows 98SE. I think this is an easier way to get the desired result for us too-stupid-for-regedit types.

--Cap


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## MacFromOK (Mar 19, 2001)

______________________________________________
LOL captain, that works fine in Win95... 

Thanks for the tip.

Cheers, Mac


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## Dark Star (Jun 8, 2001)

Now see that's just the problem with loading a new OS ... now I just have to go back and do all this stuff all over again. 

and add to the "send to" and all that other little stuff like get rid of the Z/A splash... Someone remember how to do the Z/A splash thingy? The list goes on and on and on 

DS


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## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

Yea look here.

How you can do away with the ZoneAlarm Splash Screen

http://forums.techguy.org/t60469/s.html


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## Dark Star (Jun 8, 2001)

Thanks to hewee and Mac for telling me about the Z/A splash removal.....

just add the -nosplash at the end after -nopopup so that the line reads ...

"C:\Program Files\Zone Labs\ZoneAlarm\zonealarm.exe" -nopopup -nosplash


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## aewarnick (Sep 3, 2002)

My box is always unchecked by default. Here is what I have:

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\openas\command]
@="C:\WINDOWS\rundll32.exe shell32.dll,OpenAs_RunDLL %1"

It worked for win95 and 98. I don't see any need for a %2 or anything else.


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## darothwell (Dec 2, 2002)

I have an error in my "Open With" context menu for Ulead ".ufo" file types. I somehow succeeded is have both Ulead PhotoImpact and Parsons Address Book (.ab2 file type) appearing in the context Open With menu for ufo files. I would like to delete the incorrect Address book file type from the Open With menu, but can't find (even with Microsoft Tech Support help) how to do this.

I am using Windows XP Pro.

Thanks


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## Deke40 (Jun 27, 2002)

I am using W98SE so don't know if this will help.

If you have applications listed that have been uninstalled then you can go to Explorer/View/Folder Options/File Types, single click on the program to highlight it and then click on the remove button.


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## darothwell (Dec 2, 2002)

Deke,

Thanks for your quick reply, but the solution that worked for me came from another source. I post it below for everyone' s use.

Doug

=================================

Open regedit.
(Start Menu> Run > Type: regedit)

Navigate to:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.ufo\OpenWithList

Look on the right hand side for the Parson's string and delete it.


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## andmed (Dec 22, 2002)

Can you help me?
In any situation checkbox "always open with this
program" is unavailable (is gray)
I use W2kpro

Thank you.
Andrei
Russia


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