How to make notepad++ the default editor for a Windows batch file?

Question

In Windows, if you right-click a .bat file, there's an "Edit" option, which opens the .bat file with notepad. How do I make Windows use Notepad++ instead?

Note that this is different from the question How do I set Notepad++ as the default editor?. In that question, user asks for a way to make Notepad++ the default opener for specific file types. This is not what I want here, since I expect that double-clicking on .bat files executes them.

score 34 · Accepted Answer · edited Jan 28 '21 at 18:38

34

Change the program associated to the "Edit" verb for batch files:

Run RegEdit (as admin)
Navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\batfile\shell\edit\command.
Modify the Default and change Value Data from %SystemRoot%\System32\NOTEPAD.EXE %1 to "C:\Program Files (x86)\Notepad++\notepad++.exe" "%1"
Close RegEdit.
Right-click -> "Edit" should now open batch files in NotePad++.

Note: You may have to adjust your path to Notepad++.exe if it resides in a different folder on your system.

Also note: This is a system-wide change.

edited Jan 28 '21 at 18:38

blackboxlogic

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answered Mar 12 '14 at 18:04

Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007

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@MarkDuncan That's not really an alternative way to assign Notepad++ to the R-Click -> Edit menu entry. ;) – Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007 Mar 06 '15 at 15:53
@Techie007 - No it's a quick and easy way without the need to rewrite any registry entries. I came here looking for the same solution(edit with another program) but then realised drag and drop would be sufficient. – t31os_ Mar 07 '15 at 11:49
Used to do this, but it's not working after win8. Is there any way to do this in win8 / win10 ? Btw I'm using notepad2. In win8/win10, it will show "windows can't open this type of file (.cmd / .bat)" – Til Jul 02 '17 at 08:48
@POW Just did it in Win 10. Working correctly, no errors. – user287352 Oct 27 '18 at 00:44
Never mind. Not working for Sublime Text 3. Sublime tries to open the folder and the file, presents it like it's a blank document, and asks you to save when you try to close it. – user287352 Oct 27 '18 at 00:49
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I had to put quotation marks around `%1` to make it work with file paths with spaces: `"%1"` – Peter Wood Nov 21 '18 at 09:23
In 2022, notepad++ installs at `C:\Program Files\Notepad++\notepad++.exe` – blackboxlogic May 19 '22 at 18:25

score 2 · Answer 2 · edited Jun 30 '21 at 18:07

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If there are spaces in the filename being edited then double-quotes (") can be used to surround the argument. For example:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Notepad++\notepad++.exe" "%1"

edited Jun 30 '21 at 18:07

MrWhite

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answered Dec 08 '18 at 11:40

Johned

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How to make notepad++ the default editor for a Windows batch file?

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