Is there a way to set Notepad++ to only be added to the rightclick context menu for relevant file types?
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I mean, it shows up on that of .png files and I doubt people use Notepad++ for that.
The issue with this is that there are a lot of apps with useless or nonsensical submenu entries which just clutters the menu and causes loading times at some point, even with a very fast machine.
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Notepad++ doesn’t currently have that option. When it installs, it adds an “Edit With Notepad++” for all files, not just known filetypes; you can either keep that for current behavior, or disable it (following the instructions in my final paragraph).
That feature is useful to people who suddenly get a file with a non-normal extension, and want to be able to use the right-click to open it. Or people who do use Notepad++ for looking at binary files (maybe with the HexEdit plugin), so would not find it out of the ordinary to look at a .png file in that setup.
The issue with this is that there are a lot of apps with useless or nonsensical submenu entries
Notepad++ is adding one entry – because many users over decades of use want it and/or have at least grown accustomed to it being there. In fact, when Windows 11 changed the way that applications must interact to get their “Edit with Notepad++” entry, there were many, MANY complaints to this forum and directly to the Developer, begging (no, insisting) that Notepad++ put itself back in the main right-click menu.
causes loading times at some point
Loading times of what? Notepad++'s loading time shouldn’t be influenced by whether or not is has an entry in the OS Right Click menu. And I would find it hard to believe, without hard data, that Notepad++'s single entry in the right click menu measurably increases the time to load the right click menu, or to load another application, or to load/boot the OS. Do you have real data that proves otherwise – for Notepad++ (not just “some other apps entries slow it down, so I feel like I can claim that Notepad++'s does”)?
However, if you don’t like that entry: If you get rid of Notepad++'s
C:\Program Files\Notepad++\contextMenu\NppShell.dll(you might have to follow the uninstall/unregister instructions in the user manual’s Right Click > Manual Installation/Registration section before it will allow you to remove it), then reboot, then the all-filetypes Right Click entry won’t be there. You would then have to use the OS’s “Open With” feature from the Right Click menu, instead of Notepad++'s specific entry, to allow right-click and/or double-click access for a given filetype (depending on whether you say “always open with Notepad++” or not).