Separate file association names?

MidnightGarden

Currently, every file type associated with Notepad++ is just listed as Notepad++ Document which makes it impossible to, for example, filter specifically for, say, .json files in explorer, or anything along those lines.
Is there an easy way to separate out the file associations? Or is that just how it works and there’s not much to do about it.

Terry R

@MidnightGarden

Because File Explorer writes “Notepad++ Document” this means a file type has been associated with that application. So File Explorer writes the app name, not the extension name.

So a way of getting somewhat closer to what you want is to untick the selection in the File Explorer View tab (under Options) that says “hide extensions for known file types”. This will then display the entire file name.

Terry

PeterJones

@MidnightGarden said in Separate file association names?:

Or is that just how it works and there’s not much to do about it.

It’s the way that Windows prefers it to work, and over the years they have made it progressively harder to do it another way. It’s technically possible for someone with a knowledge of how file associations work in the registry (*) to be able to create their own filetypes, and associate those filetypes with Notepad++… but it’s way beyond the scope of this forum to go into the nitty-gritty details.

You can get some hints from various registry hacks that have been shared over the years in the forum, but this isn’t really the right place to ask. Other than knowing the path to the notepad++ executable, usually c:\program files\notepad++\notepad++.exe, the entire process is Notepad++-agnostic, so even if you find an example for some other app, the basic instructions would still apply. (It wouldn’t surprise me if your favorite search-engine’s AI were able to get you started in the right direction, if you’re willing to take a risk; if you’re lucky, it might even still provide you links to human-generated/vetted instructions. But whatever wrote the instructions, editing your registry can brick your system, especially if you don’t understand what you’re doing, so buyer beware.)

*: there’s at least 3 or 4 different ways it’s been handled over the years, and it’s a complicated mess trying to dig into it