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The Windows Context Menu appears when you Right-Click an object, whether it’s the Desktop or a file. The problem is, it’s missing some very basic options! We’re going to change all of that: This Registry Hack is part of a series on hacking the Windows Context Menu.

Clean Up the “Open With” Option

When you right-click on a file, one of the context menu options is “Open With“. It lets you choose to open the file with a program other then the default program that is registered with Windows. This list will change depending on the type of file you’re right-clicking. Sometimes the lists can get pretty long: When you install a program, they usually add themselves to this list! Sometimes, the programs that are listed just don’t work for that file type at all - Why would you want to open an .mp3 file with Internet Explorer?!

Let’s Clean This Mess

Warning: Before you play in your Windows Registry, please read this important information on editing the Windows Registry.

Open the Registry Editor by hitting the Windows Key+R, typing regedit and navigating to this location:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts

Once you expand the FileExts folder, you should see a bunch of file extensions. Expanding an extension’s folder should reveal folder named: OpenWithList. This is where all the list of programs, to open that file, is stored.

Example

Let’s expand the .html folder. As you can see from the following image, my computer thinks the following programs should open an html file:

• Firefox
• Dreamweaver
• Internet Explorer
• Notepad
• Word

Removing Programs

Now, I may occasionally use Notepad to edit html code, but why would I use Word?! I wouldn’t. You can remove entries by right-clicking the key (in the right pane), and clicking Delete. Easy!

Adding Programs

We don’t need the Registry to add a program to the list. Right-Click the file in question, click Open With->Choose Program. In the dialog that opens, you can choose any program you want! If it’s not listed, click the Browse button and navigate to any program - just remember that most programs can’t open any file!

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