Program not appearing in "Open with" menu

I

Industrial One

I recently moved a video editting program from its old location to a
proper one (C:\Program Files) but now whenever I right-click an AVI
file, it does not appear in the Open with list, even when I browse to
the program in its new location by clicking on "choose program" its
icon does not appear in the list.

What controls this? I would assume there are some orphaned registry
values somewhere.
 
J

James D Andrews

Industrial One banged his head on his keyboard to write :
I recently moved a video editting program from its old location to a
proper one (C:\Program Files) but now whenever I right-click an AVI
file, it does not appear in the Open with list, even when I browse to
the program in its new location by clicking on "choose program" its
icon does not appear in the list.

What controls this? I would assume there are some orphaned registry
values somewhere.
Click to expand...

Did you uninstall it and re-install to the new location or did you just
move the program files/folders?

--
-There are some who call me...
Jim


"Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler."
- Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
 
I

Industrial One

Industrial One banged his head on his keyboard to write :



Did you uninstall it and re-install to the new location or did you just
move the program files/folders?

--
-There are some who call me...
Jim

"Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler."
- Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
Click to expand...

It's not really installed, it's more or less a stand alone program.
You unzip it and use it.
 
D

David H. Lipman

From: "Industrial One said:
It's not really installed, it's more or less a stand alone program.
You unzip it and use it.
Click to expand...

Then the first time you ran it, it made some changes to the Registry, probably under HKCU,
and by you moving its physical location you broke the links those changes referenced.
 
I

Industrial One

From: "Industrial One" <[email protected]>











Then the first time you ran it, it made some changes to the Registry, probably under HKCU,
and by you moving its physical location you broke the links those changesreferenced.
Click to expand...

So how do I fix this? Would a registry optimizer be practical?
 
M

Mayayana

You should never move a program. Uninstall, then
reinstall.
it does not appear in the Open with list, even when I browse to
the program in its new location by clicking on "choose program"
Click to expand...

That sounds like the window for opening unregistered file
types. Isn't .avi registered? (It should have some kind of
icon other than the generic-EXE-with red/blue/green-dots
icon.)

The EXE needs to be registered if it's to appear as
an option for opening with. If you moved it then it's not
registered. Or rather, it's registered but the EXE file is
considered missing. To fix that, go here:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\

Look for a key named like VideoEdit.exe, check the default
value, and make sure it matches the current path.


Another option that's handy for often-used programs is
to just add their own Open With menu.

Go to HKCR\*\shell

Add a new subkey named anything.
(They appear in alphabetical order on the menu.)
The default value there will show on the menu.

Under that, add a subkey named "command".
The default value there should be the exe path
followed by a space and then "%1" (with the quotes).

Like so:

HKCR\*\shell\Notepad\
default value: "Open with Notepad"

HKCR\*\shell\Notepad\command\
default value:
"C:\WINDOWS\System32\NOTEPAD.EXE" "%1"

HKCR\*\shell\Z7zip\
default value: "Open with 7-Zip"

HKCR\*\shell\Z7zip\command\
default value:
"C:\Program Files\7-Zip\7zFM.exe" "%1"

I currently have 6 of those on my context menu.
Very handy. I can run an HTML file or right-click
to open in my HTML editor. I can open anything in
Notepad to view it as plain text. I can run a ZIP
file in my default ZIP handler, or right-click to open
it in 7-Zip instead. I can double-click a GIF to
view it in IrfanView, or right-click and open it in
Paint Shop Pro.....etc.

Notice I named the 7-Zip key
"Z7zip". The name of that key doesn't matter.
I just use the Z to make it show after
"Open with Notepad" on the context menu.
 
D

Don Phillipson

Industrial One said:
Then the first time you ran it, it made some changes to the Registry,
probably under HKCU,
and by you moving its physical location you broke the links those changes
referenced.
Click to expand...
So how do I fix this? Would a registry optimizer be practical?
Click to expand...

You need not touch the registry directly: just assign
File Association to link AVI files with this app. You can
do this via / Help / File Association.
 
J

James D Andrews

Mayayana banged his head on his keyboard to write :
You should never move a program. Uninstall, then
reinstall.


That sounds like the window for opening unregistered file
types. Isn't .avi registered? (It should have some kind of
icon other than the generic-EXE-with red/blue/green-dots
icon.)

The EXE needs to be registered if it's to appear as
an option for opening with. If you moved it then it's not
registered. Or rather, it's registered but the EXE file is
considered missing. To fix that, go here:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\

Look for a key named like VideoEdit.exe, check the default
value, and make sure it matches the current path.


Another option that's handy for often-used programs is
to just add their own Open With menu.

Go to HKCR\*\shell

Add a new subkey named anything.
(They appear in alphabetical order on the menu.)
The default value there will show on the menu.

Under that, add a subkey named "command".
The default value there should be the exe path
followed by a space and then "%1" (with the quotes).

Like so:

HKCR\*\shell\Notepad\
default value: "Open with Notepad"

HKCR\*\shell\Notepad\command\
default value:
"C:\WINDOWS\System32\NOTEPAD.EXE" "%1"

HKCR\*\shell\Z7zip\
default value: "Open with 7-Zip"

HKCR\*\shell\Z7zip\command\
default value:
"C:\Program Files\7-Zip\7zFM.exe" "%1"

I currently have 6 of those on my context menu.
Very handy. I can run an HTML file or right-click
to open in my HTML editor. I can open anything in
Notepad to view it as plain text. I can run a ZIP
file in my default ZIP handler, or right-click to open
it in 7-Zip instead. I can double-click a GIF to
view it in IrfanView, or right-click and open it in
Paint Shop Pro.....etc.

Notice I named the 7-Zip key
"Z7zip". The name of that key doesn't matter.
I just use the Z to make it show after
"Open with Notepad" on the context menu.
Click to expand...

Are there any decent software apps - preferably freeware - that can
simplify this process for those who are terrified of working in the
registry?

--
-There are some who call me...
Jim


"What do you mean?" he said. "Do you wish me a good morning, or mean
that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel
good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?"
-Gandalf, after Bilbo Baggins says "Good Morning"
 
M

Mayayana

|
| Are there any decent software apps - preferably freeware - that can
| simplify this process for those who are terrified of working in the
| registry?
|

Not that I know of, but you could use a .reg file.
The following installs the Notepad menu:

------------------------------------------

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\Open With Notepad]
@="Open with Notepad"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\Open With Notepad\Command]
@="\"C:\\WINDOWS\\System32\\NOTEPAD.EXE\" \"%1\""

-------------------------------------------

Just copy that to Notepad, without the dashed lines,
and save as something.reg. Then right-click and click
Merge. To create the next menu just edit the .reg
file:

--------------------------------------
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\ZOpen With IrfanView]
@="Open with IrfanView"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\Open With Notepad\Command]
@="\"C:\\Program Files\\IrfanView\\i_view32.exe\" \"%1\""
-------------------------------------------

The worst that can happen is that the menu either
won't show up or won't work.

Note that the file path
and %1 are each surrounded by quotes. That's required
if there's a space in the path. Otherwise you get a
message like, "Windows can't find C:\Program".
 
I

Industrial One

  You should never move a program. Uninstall, then
reinstall.


 That sounds like the window for opening unregistered file
types. Isn't .avi registered? (It should have some kind of
icon other than the generic-EXE-with red/blue/green-dots
icon.)

  The EXE needs to be registered if it's to appear as
an option for opening with. If you moved it then it's not
registered. Or rather, it's registered but the EXE file is
considered missing. To fix that, go here:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\
Click to expand...

Failed, I couldn't find the application in question there. It's
actually right here: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\[application]\shell
\open\command\

Problem's fixed.
 
M

Mayayana

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\
Click to expand...

Failed, I couldn't find the application in question there. It's
actually right here: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\[application]\shell
\open\command\

Problem's fixed.
Interesting. I didn't know about that one. I wonder
how those keys get written. Most software installers
will register the EXE under App Paths, but I've never
known them to write to the Applications key.
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Similar Threads

clearing "open with" recommended program list 1
Open with ... 5
Open Program stopping shutdown 1
file type: can;t get a program into the list 2
open with list 4
Program to open with 3
Icons for an Upgraded Program 2
Desktop Program Icons Flash When Right Clicked 1

Top