If you work a lot with text files and Notepad, you may want to add it to the context menu, so that when you right-click on any file, you will have the option to open it with Notepad.
Personally I find myself needing to use Notepad on a very regular basis, so this tweak definitely saves some time and effort. It is very simple to implement and requires a simple edit of the Windows Registry.
Add Notepad to the Context Menu
Note: Be careful when editing the Registry, you do so at your own risk.
First you need to open the Registry Editor, type “regedit” into the quick search box and hit enter.
In the Registry Editor, browse to the following location: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\
You will need to create a new key in the “shell” folder. Do this by right-clicking the “shell” folder and selecting New -> Key.
For this example, we called the new key “Open in Notepad”, but you can choose your own name for the key. This is the text that will appear in the context menu.
Now we need to create a subkey in the “Open in Notepad” folder. Repeat the step above, right-click on “Open in Notepad” and select New -> Key. You will need to call this key “command”. Your key structure should appear as below.
The next step is to edit the “Default” value in the command folder. Double-click the “(Default)” value or right-click and select “modify”. Enter the following value: “notepad.exe %1″.
Click “OK” and you are done. Now when you right-click on a file, you will see the option to “Open in Notepad”. This will give quick and easy access to editing text files and other files that need to be viewed in a basic editor.
If you prefer other editors over Notepad, the same process applies. You just need to know the full path to the editor you want to run, for example, something like Notepad++ would need a value of: “C:\Program Files\Notepad++\notepad++.exe %1″
