32-bit shell-extension on XP Pro x64 ?

Defenestration · Post by **Defenestration** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 8:10 pm

I'm running XP Pro x64, but my file manager is only 32-bit based and so cannot load 64-bit shell extensions.

How can I force TextPad to install/use the 32-bit shell extension so I can have the TextPad context menu in my file manager ?

Alternatively, how can I do this manually ?

Post by **helios** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 12:07 pm

You could try searching the Registry for ShellExt64.dll, and then rename it to ShellExt32.dll. We haven't tried this so don't know if it will work, but hopefully your file manager will pick it up. If you try this, you should probably reboot your computer.

Defenestration · Post by **Defenestration** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 9:52 pm

The renaming trick didn't work, however I have found out how to do it. For anyone that's interested, simply add the following to the registry (or save it to a .reg file and double-click it). No re-boot is necessary, and you will want to change the path if you have installed TextPad to a non-default location:

Code: Select all

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Classes\*\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\TextPad]
@="{ABECE8A0-FF84-4efb-82AE-9B3181CE097D}"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Classes\CLSID\{ABECE8A0-FF84-4efb-82AE-9B3181CE097D}]
@="TextPad"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Classes\CLSID\{ABECE8A0-FF84-4efb-82AE-9B3181CE097D}\InprocServer32]
"ThreadingModel"="Apartment"
@="C:\\Program Files (x86)\\TextPad 5\\System\\shellext32.dll"

BTW, it would be nice if TextPad did this automatically in the next version, as it doesn't appear to have any side-effects but will show the TextPad context menu item on both 32-bit and 64-bit apps.