Cannot get .nfo files to be associated with notepad.

I run Kodi. It uses .nfo files to describe metadata for media content.

Windows uses .nfo for msinfo32.exe files.

I'm trying to set the association from the command line. If I do this by right clicking an .nfo file and open with, navigate to notepad.exe and tick always open with it works fine.

if I use assoc .nfo=txtfile the association is set but .nfo files are still associated with msinfo32

There's no point using ftype as the txtfile type is already associated with notepad.exe

If I update the OpenWithList and remove msinfo and set the MRUList to notepad.exe only it doesn't work as as soon as I try to open an .nfo file, which Windows still sees as an msinfo file it will add back the msinfo32.exe openwithlist entry and set the MRULIst to use msinfor32.exe first.

No matter what I do I cannot set it such that Windows sees the .nfo file as a txtfile from the command line or tweaking registry entries for .nfo extension.

The following images show (a) when the associate is set via right click and (b) when using assoc .nfo=txtfile

How can I get Windows to see .nfo files as txtfiles, using only command line tools and/or registry tweaks?

Download SetUserFTA, because you have to defeat W10's security hashes for changing file type associations.

Code:

 SetUserFTA.exe .nfo txtfile

Thank you. that works.
I tried give you rep but it wouldn't let me.

I'll just add this. For a lot of those human readable files like NFOs, YAML, JSON, etc I just use Notepad++. Once installed you just right click the file and from the context menu and Open With Notepad ++. It'll make life a lot easier. Also, Notepad++ is excellent at massaging data and whatnot. It'll even highlight PHP errors or what ever. Like a non escaped parsed character.

F22 Simpilot said:

I'll just add this. For a lot of those human readable files like NFOs, YAML, JSON, etc I just use Notepad++. Once installed you just right click the file and from the context menu and Open With Notepad ++. It'll make life a lot easier. Also, Notepad++ is excellent at massaging data and whatnot. It'll even highlight PHP errors or what ever. Like a non escaped parsed character.

True that. And I use Notepad++ extensively. Probably 2 - 4 hours a day.
I just find it easier, as do the people whose PCs I build, to be able to double click to open a file and have it open with noptepad/notepad++. Right click is just too hard for some poeple

My only wish - syntax checking batch code.

You can do syntax highlighting in NP++.

Above, go to language | B | Batch. Or you can customize a user defined language. Adding Notepad++ custom syntax highlighting with User Defined Language (UDL NPP Fallout MSG Markup) - YouTube

Sublime Text is an alternative to NP++.

Comparison of text editors - Wikipedia

I've used UltraEdit as well which is mighty powerful, but mighty expensive.

Right. Yes, I use syntax highligting. I should probably have said "debugging". The most common errors, unbalanced " or (, ), % or !
They can be a pain to track down in scripts that are 10,000+ lines long.

I might take a look at sublime text. Thanks for the tip

Batch Script - Debugging

F22 Simpilot said:

Batch Script - Debugging

Lol, yes thanks for that. I use all those techniques described there and then some. But it would still be nice to be able to run through a script and look for errors without actually executing the script, especially when the script is "destructive". When it crashes you then have to restore, fix (if you can find the cause), and try again.

There is an old program called batcodecheck. It has lots of issues but was a start. Sadly, when you use enabledelayedexpension this program can't handle it and reports every variable as en error.

Another commercial program CMDDebug allegedly provides such capability, but it too has many issues and is not really effective.

Doing it manually as I have for decades so I muddle through.
Anyway, completely off topic now.

Notepad++ is not a debugger. It'll highlight "apparent" errors, but not debug lines of code, for that matter something like batch.