"Open with TextPad" Context Menu and ShortCuts

Drxenos · Post by **Drxenos** » Sat Jul 02, 2022 3:33 pm

Hi, I don't know if my system is "broken," or if this is a known issue, non-issue, or deficiency with Windows...

But I can't use Window's context menu to open shortcuts to files in TextPad.

That is, if I right-click on a shortcut and click "Open with TextPad," the file will not open. If I do the same to the actual file (i.e., not a shortcut), it works fine. I can also open Symlinks this way just fine.

Doing as above, but choosing "Edit" on the shortcut will successfully open the file in NotePad.

Is this a bug or just not possible with TextPad?

Thanks.

terrypin · Post by **terrypin** » Wed Jul 20, 2022 8:52 am

I was unable to reproduce here with TextPad 7.6.4 (64-bit Edition) on my Win 10 PC, Version 20H2 (OS Build 19042.1706)

I don't think I've ever previously tried to use 'Open with' on a shortcut. I simply double click, or select and press the Enter key.

Does 'Open' from the right click context menu work OK?

Do all shortcuts give the same puzzling behaviour, or just TXT files?

Post by **AmigoJack** » Thu Jul 21, 2022 1:02 am

I can reproduce this with TextPad 8.4.2x64 on Windows 7x64, and it's rather an issue of TextPad than of Windows:

The context menu item "Open with TextPad" is a handler that belongs to TextPad - you recognize handler's menu items by having an icon and always coming after the other entries that don't have an icon.
The context menu items "Edit" and "Open" are just the Registry in Windows, bound to the filename's extension (and, with added magic, for LNK files displaying the referred file's context menu, not the one for LNK files itself). Registry settings can be changed easily by yourself. Example:
- HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt is obviously for this filename extension, having a default value of txtfile or similar.
- HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\txtfile\shell (or whatever the default value was instead of txtfile) has then for each context menu item an own key - at least open should exist (and similarily edit may exist).
- Each of those keys have the key command with a default value of what to execute per this menu item.
Having understood this layout you can easily add your own context menu item - just add your own key, f.e. named textpad along with a command key in it and so on. If you want it not only for TXT files, then add your own key under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell.

Long story short: stick with Open or your own entry and leave TextPad's entry with its icon alone if you care for LNK files.