Right click 'Open With' Command missing. Help Please.

Anonymous
2009-09-21T20:08:24+00:00

I realised a few days ago that the right click context menu 'open with' command is missing. However its there at the top of the window on the 'menu bar' or whatever.

Not sure how it happened. Maybe when i installed MS .Net Framework 3 SP1 or maybe when I cleaned registry with CCleaner.

I need to get it back please. Could u tell me how??? thanks.

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Accessibility

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Anonymous
2009-09-22T12:20:29+00:00

Hi, scurvy:

By design, the Open With menu option is not available when you right-click executable files (.cmd, .bat, .pif, .scf, .exe, .com, or .scr), or shortcuts to executable files.

If you've lost the Open With menu option for ALL file types, including non-executable files, follow this steps:

  1. Click Start, All Programs, Accesories, Notepad.
  2. Copy and paste this text:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\Open With]

@="{09799AFB-AD67-11d1-ABCD-00C04FC30936}"

  1. Click File, Save As, name the file "OpenWith.reg" (WITH THE QUOTATION MARKS) and click OK.
  2. Now double-click OpenWith.reg, click Continue, Yes, OK, and see if the problem is solved.

P.S: My personal advice is not to use ANY registry cleaner on the system.

Microsoft MVP Windows Desktop Experience

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  1. Anonymous
    2016-12-28T19:31:24+00:00

    Not working. Still hhave the cmd in the right click menu

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-07-23T12:16:04+00:00

    I've followed all the advice to try and get my OpenWith option back but nothing works.

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-03-08T18:18:42+00:00

    I have a similar issue, but not quite the same. I've tried to read through all 10 pages of this post but if I overlooked one with this set of circumstances, I apologize. I am on Windows 10, upgraded from a fresh install of Windows 7. I do not have the "open with" option on a right-click of a folder containing jpeg files. As a photographer this is something I use all the time on my other Windows 10 machine, a laptop, to open folders in an app called PhotoMechanic, which gives thumbnail previews along with many editing tools. I do have "open with" available on the desktop machine that's giving me this trouble when right-clicking individual jpegs, just not on the folders containing them. Will the same notepad registry edit script work for fixing this? Reluctant to try it without asking, since I don't want to muck something up. Thanks.

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  4. Anonymous
    2016-03-02T19:57:48+00:00

    I think we all know that there are (usually) other ways to open a particular type of file.  That's not the question.  The question is: how do we get back the "Open With" functionality?  This is something that some of us at least think is extremely useful.  Personally, I can't imagine what Microsoft was thinking when they removed this functionality.

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