Cannot Associate .txt File With Notepad++ For Admin Account

System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit

I have 2 types of accounts on my laptop: Administrator (Admin) & Standard User (User)

I installed Notepad++ from the Admin account in the folder C:\Apps\Notepad++.

For the User account, I was able to execute within a Command Prompt window:
.txt=C:\Apps\Notepad++\notepad++.exe
From then on, double clicking on a .txt file in the User account would launch notepad++.

For the Admin account, I repeated the above command within a Command Prompt window. However double clicking on a .txt file in the Admin account does NOT launch notepad++. Instead this dialog box opens: "Choose the program you want to use to open this file". So I click on Browse in this dialog box, navigate to the folder C:\Apps\Notepad++, select notepad++.exe, click on Open. But notepad++ never shows up in the dialog box. I can NOT get Windows 7 to associate .txt files with notepad++ for the Admin account. Note that in the Admin account I CAN navigate in Windows Explorer to the folder C:\Apps\Notepad++, double click on notepad++.exe and Notepad++ launches. So this appears to not be a permission problem in the Admin account??

One other interesting note... If I installed notepad++ to the default folder under C: and NOT to C:\Apps, the above association DOES work for the Admin account but NOT for the User account. Weird. That is why I installed notepad++ to C:\Apps\notepad++ -- I needed .txt files to be associated with notepad++ in the User account since that is where I do most of my work.

Why CAN I launch .txt files with notepad++ in the User account but I can NOT do this in the Admin account?

Can anyone tell me what is going on and how to fix this?

See the following for my previous post when I wanted to fix notepad++ with the User account: http://forums.majorgeeks.com/index....e-txt-files-with-notepad.316329/#post-1991192

 

You should be able to associate that specific program as the default one for text files. But you have to use the 'choose another program' option.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/18539/windows-7-change-default-programs
http://www.thewindowsclub.com/change-file-associations-windows

 

This process does NOT work for the Admin account, only for the User account. From the Start I access Default programs --> Associate a file type or protocol with a program.
I am presented with a list of Extensions. Scrolling down to .txt the description is "TXT File" and current default is "Unknown". I select .txt and click on Change Program. This dialog box opens: "Choose the program you want to use to open this file". So I click on Browse in this dialog box, navigate to the folder C:\Apps\Notepad++, select notepad++.exe, click on Open. But notepad++ never shows up in the next dialog box so I have no way to select notepad++.exe as the default for TXT programs.

The whole point of my post is that this normal process works for the User account but NOT for the Admin account.

 

If you sign in to the Administrator account default programs and file associations should work. If that isn't happening on your system, then you may have system file corruptions. So carry out the sfc /scannow procedure from this link:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-sg...l-to-repair-missing-or-corrupted-system-files

 

Thank you for the advice. I ran sfc /scannow yesterday and no integrity violations were reported.

It is a mystery as to why when I sign in to the Administrator account default programs and file associations do not work, yet this process works just fine with a User account.

Any other thoughts??

 

I figured it out. For the admin account, but not the user account, the path to notepad++.exe in HKEY_CURRENT_USER/software/classes/applications/notepad++.exe/shell/open/command
was wrong. I fixed the path and now the Admin account can correctly open txt files with notepad++.

I swear - there are times I hate Windows & Microsoft!!!!

 

Me too. I used to run Macintoshes and loved it. Now, I can't afford one and i can't quite handle Linux.