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When you double-click a file in 'Windows Explorer' to open it, by default, Explorer launches the one application associated with it. But what if you want to open that file with another program? If a text file is too big, for example, Notepad won't load it, though WordPad will. Don't be bullied by Windows' single-app default. Set up Windows so that by right-clicking a file, you can open it with an alternative application. Windows 9x. Open Explorer and choose View�Options (Win 95) or View�Folder Options (Win 98). Click the File Types tab and select the type of file you'd like to open in multiple programs. Click Edit. Under the Actions list, click New to open the 'New Action' dialog box. In the box, type the command you want to appear in the context menu. If you occasionally want to open .txt files in WordPad, for instance, type something like 'Edit in WordPad.' In the box labelled 'Application used to perform action', type the full path name for the program you want to use to edit this file type (or click Browse and then click the app when you find it). Add quotation marks around the path name if the path contains any spaces or long names. With some applications (like WordPad), you may also need to add a space followed by '%1' after the path name. In the WordPad example, the application line should look something like: Click 'OK' once and 'Close' twice. From now on whenever you need to open a file in your alternate app, you can simply right-click the file icon and choose our new command. If you want one letter in the command to be designated as a keyboard shorcut, put an ampersand in from of that letter when you type the command in the context menu. So if you type 'Edit in &WordPad', you can select a text file in Explorer, press 'Shift'-'F10' to display the context menu, and then type 'W' to launch the file in WordPad. Use a letter that isn't already underscored on the menu. Windows 3.x. Start File Manager and select a file whose extension you occasionally want to open with an alternate app. Next, start Recorder; if you keep your everyday macros in a special file, open it. Choose Macro�Record. Type a name for your macro and designate a shortcut key. Make sure 'Playback' is set to 'Same Application', 'Speed' is set to 'Fast', and 'Enable Shortcut Keys' is checked. Under 'Record Mouse', choose 'Ignore Mouse'. Click 'Start'. If File Manager is not the active window, use the mouse (so this step won't be recorded) to activate it. Press 'Alt'-'FR' to open the Run dialog box with the selected file listed on the command line. Press 'Home' to move the cursor to the beginning of the Command Line box. Type the name of your application file (and the path, if necessary), followed by a space. For example, to use 'Write' to open any selected file, type write.exe and a space. The 'Command Line' box should now display your application name, a space, and the name of the file you selected in 'File Manager'. Press 'Enter' The file should not open in your designated application. Click the flashing 'Recorder' icon, or hold down 'Alt' and press 'Tab' until 'Recorder' is selected. (Since selecting 'Recorder' interrupts the macro, these keystrokes won't be recorded.) Leave 'Save Macro' selected and click 'OK'. Finally, restore the 'Recorder' window and choose File�Save to save your file. From now on, whenever you need to open a file in your alternate app, just make sure that 'Recorder' is running with your macros file open, select the file you need in 'File Manager', and press the shortcut key you assigned. |