Stephen Harris said:
I'm trying to get the Notepad to save by default in Unicode rather than
ANSI. I use a font that has characters that don't work with ANSI, and
I've remapped the keyboard to add several more characters that I use often
enough, and they don't translate into ANSI either. I can do it manually,
but I have to do it every time I save something anew in the Notepad.
Is there a registry setting I can change to get the Notepad to save to
Unicode by default? And what might that be?
You could try Orient which saves as by default in Unicode.
http://jacob.saportas.free.fr/Download.html
There is probably a way to change Orient to be the default text editor,
I've seen it done with other new and improved text editors. Maybe
something like rename notepad.exe to notepad.bak and then rename
Orient.exe to notepad.exe and move its files to the C:\Windows folder.
Orient saves to Unicode by default and Ansi is a choice in the dropdown
menu.
The reverse of Notepad. Also I think the author of Orient would likely
know
if the default save as behavior of Notepad can be changed fairly easily
and
how to do it. Orient does a 12/55-56 --> conversion to unicode if it
matters.
Regards,
Stephen
SH: This is how to change notepad.exe to another default text editor.
I did something similar and had to reboot to safe mode to write to
C:\windows\system32\dllcache
from Google:
"Well it turns out that I found my own answer... just changing file
associations
is not what I had in mind. I need to able to completely replace NOTEPAD.EXE
with another editor.
And herein lies the answer:
http://www.notepad-replacements.com/notepadxp.html
****************************************************************
In this step by step guide, I will show you how to permanently replace
Notepad
on Windows XP with the text editor of your choice. I am using EditPad Pro in
the
example but the procedure works with any decent Notepad replacement. I am
showing how to do it with EditPad Pro simply because it is the editor I use
all
the time. This web site was created entirely in EditPad Pro, except for the
graphics.
You can keep your web browser open while following these instructions. Just
make
sure that Notepad is not running.
I have tried to keep these instructions as simple as possible, so that
anybody
can follow them.
Note that it is important to follow these instructions exactly. If I say
that
you need to overwrite Notepad, then you should do so. Otherwise, I cannot
guarantee that these instructions will have the proper effect.
Making a backup of Notepad.exe
If you would ever like to restore plain old Notepad.exe, you will need to
make a
backup copy first. Without the backup copy, you will have no easy way of
restoring the original Notepad.
To make the backup copy, insert a floppy disk into your computer. The floppy
disk should have at least 100 KB of free space on it.
Find Notepad.exe in the C:\WINDOWS folder using Windows Explorer.
Right-click on
it, and select copy from the context menu (screen shot).
Then right-click on the floppy disk drive in Windows Explorer, and select
Paste
from the context menu (screen shot). Windows will now place a copy of
Notepad.exe onto the floppy disk.
Important: It is important that you copy Notepad, and do not move it. Leave
the
original Notepad in place, so we can overwrite it later.
Part 1: Make a copy of EditPad Pro
and rename it to Notepad.exe
Step 1: Find EditPadPro.exe (screen shot)
By default, it is installed into C:\Program
Files\JGsoft\EditPadPro\EditPadPro.exe. If the option to hide extensions of
known file types is activated on your computer (it is by default), then the
file
will appear as "EditPadPro" instead of "EditPadPro.exe".
Step 2: Copy EditPadPro.exe (screen shot)
Right-click on EditPadPro.exe and pick Copy from the context menu.
Step 3: Paste EditPadPro.exe (screen shot)
Right-click on the empty space in the right pane in Windows Explorer, and
pick
Paste from the context menu. You will then see a new file appear with the
name
"Copy of EditPadPro.exe".
Step 4: Rename Copy of EditPadPro.exe (screen shot)
Right-click on the new file "Copy of EditPadPro.exe" and pick Rename from
the
context menu.
Step 5: Type Notepad.exe as the new name (screen shot)
Type in Notepad.exe on the keyboard and press the Enter key to rename "Copy
of
EditPadPro.exe" into "Notepad.exe".
Part 2: Move the new Notepad.exe
into the DllCache folder.
Windows XP has a feature that protects vital system files from being
modified.
Notepad is considered a vital system file. Therefore, we must first
overwrite
the hidden backup copy of Notepad with our EditPad Pro in disguise. The
hidden
backup copies of the vital system files are kept in a secret DllCache
folder. We
will first change some settings to make it visible. (If you wondered why a
naked
Windows XP installation takes so much disk space, that's because almost
everything is installed twice. One copy that you'll actually use, and one
copy
for backup.)
Step 6: Select Tools|Folder Options from the menu (screen shot)
Step 7: Turn ON "show hidden files and folders" and turn OFF "hide protected
operating system files" (screen shot)
In the Folder Options screen that appears, turn ON "show hidden files and
folders". Then turn OFF "hide protected operating system files". You may
need to
scroll down the list of options to see these two options. Windows will then
ask
you if you really want to turn off the option to hide protected files. Click
on
Yes. You can leave all other options as they are. Press OK to close the
screen
after changing options as needed.
Step 8: Cut the new Notepad.exe (screen shot)
Right-click on the copy of EditPadPro.exe that we have renamed to
Notepad.exe,
and pick Cut from the context menu. After you do that, the Notepad.exe icon
will
look ghostly compared to the other icons.
Step 9: Paste Notepad.exe into Windows\System32\dllcache (screen shot)
Use the folders pane in Windows Explorer to navigate to the
C:\Windows\System32\dllcache folder. Then right-click in the empty space of
the
right hand pane listing all the files in the dllcache folder. In the context
menu, select Paste.
Step 10: Confirm to replace Notepad.exe (screen shot)
Windows will now ask if you are sure you want to replace Notepad. Click Yes.
Part 3: Copy the new Notepad.exe
into the Windows folder.
Step 11: Copy the new Notepad.exe (screen shot)
Right-click on the new Notepad.exe that you just pasted into the dllcache
folder
(and now shows with a green EditPad icon), and select Copy from the context
menu.
Step 12: Paste Notepad.exe into the Windows folder (screen shot)
Navigate to the C:\Windows folder. Right-click in the empty space of the
right
hand pane and select Paste from the context menu. Windows will again ask you
to
confirm (screen shot). Just click Yes.
Step 13: Tell the Windows File Protection to get lost (screen shot)
Windows will now detect that you have just replaced one of it's "vital
system
files" (he he). It will then notice that the copy in the dllcache folder has
also been tampered with! So Windows will ask you to insert your original
Windows
CD into your computer, so it can restore plain old Notepad. Do not insert
the
CD. Just click Cancel. Windows will insist, but click Cancel again and
Windows
will stop complaining.
Part 4: Congratulations
Step 14: Turn "hide protected operating system files" back on (screen shot)
To prevent bad mistakes, it is a good idea to turn on the option to hide
protected system files. Tampering with some of those files can really make
your
computer stop working, so it is best to hide them so nobody can mess with
them
by accident. Pick Tools|Folder Options from the menu in Windows Explorer,
and
activate "hide protected operating system files" again.
)