How to Add the “Open with Notepad” Option to the Context Menu in Windows
Notepad might be a basic text editor, but it’s extremely useful when you want to edit text files quickly. With a simple registry hack, you can add the “Open with Notepad” option to the context menu in Windows and make the app easier to access. We’ll show you how to do that, and the instructions will work whether you’re using Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10, or 11.
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To include the “Open with Notepad” option in the right-click menu, start by launching the Registry Editor.
Be careful when using the Registry Editor, as you need toavoid messing up the Windows Registry. Furthermore, make sure youcreate a system restore pointbefore using the utility. That way, you can revert the changes in case you edit or delete something by mistake.
Press theWin + Rto open Windows Run. In the text box, typeregeditand hit theEnterkey. ClickYeson the UAC prompt to confirm that you want to edit the Windows Registry using the Registry Editor.
In the Registry Editor, expandHKEY_CLASSES_ROOT > *. Then, right-click theshellkey on the left panel and selectNew > Key.
Name this keyOpen with Notepad. Now, right-click theOpen with Notepadkey you just created and selectNew > Key. Then, name that keycommand.
Select thecommandkey on the left panel and double-click theDefaultRegistryentry on the right panel to open the Edit String dialog box. In theValue datatext box, enter the following string value and then click onOKto close the dialog box.
The below screenshot shows what entering the above string value should look like in the Registry Editor.
While you’re at it, you should also add the Notepad icon so it appears next to the “Open with Notepad” option in the right-click menu. To do that, right-click theOpen with Notepadkey that you previously created in the Registry Editor. Then, selectNew > Expandable String Valueand name itIcon.
On the right panel, double-click the newly-createdIconentry and paste the following string value in the text box forValue data:
ClickOKto close the Edit String dialog box for theIconstring value. You should also close the Registry Editor at this point.
Now when you right-click a file, you’ll see theOpen with Notepadoption in the context menu.
As you can see, the Notepad icon will also appear right besides it, which just makes it look nicer.
Making It Easier to Open Files With Notepad
When the options available on right-click menu in Windows seem limited, it’s good to know that it’s possible to expand them as you please. In this case, we’ve shown you how to add the “Open with Notepad” option to the context menu. Now, it should be easier to open text files with Notepad in certain scenarios.
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