Accessing Excel.xls files

[dedndave]

use .TXT

[Magnum]

Since I bought the software, it's reasonable to expect it to work.

Andy

If necessary, a M.I.F. may be necessary.  :t

[Vortex]

Speaking of Excel, it's hijacked all .csv files and insists on using their icon instead of the icon of a freeware program Anger Writer.

Hi Magnum,

You will have to tweak the registry or play with the settings of the freeware application to restore the original file associations.

[dedndave]

Since I bought the software, it's reasonable to expect it to work.

you'll pardon me if that makes me laugh, a little   

[Magnum]

Glad you see some humor in this situation.

It's not all that funny for me right know.

I am finding freeware replacements for some of the Office 2010 functions that I like to use.

Then I will be able to give Office 2010 the heave ho and tell it "Don't let the door hit your ar*se on the way out.  :icon14:

Then my Office 2000 will be free of the "bully."

I found something humorous yesterday.

Microsoft has a page on how to revert back to sp2.

It says "sometimes some programs behave differently when a service pack is installed and reverting to an earlier service pack can be used in troubleshooting."

I think the non-lawyer version of that statement might be more understandable if it was worded thusly

In the process of making this service pack, we decided that some things had to go and we didn't have time to list what would not work anymore or blah blah blah in the service pack description.

When you buy our software, it is time limited. Regards, B.G.  ;)

Gotta get back to finishing an outline for a Bug-Hunter-Repairer-Surgeon program that I will be working on.

Andy (Bill G.s brother)

[dedndave]

if you have to remove XP SP3, you will be happier to rebuild from scratch - lol

[Magnum]

My install disk is sp2.

Are you suggesting going lower and manually installing security updates ?

[dedndave]

i always manually install them, although i go a little past SP3

what i am saying is - SP3 does not usually uninstall cleanly, as far as i know
you are likely to end up with a buggy system

[Magnum]

I am only considering going back to sp2 to ascertain if sp3 is interferring with some of the programs on my computer.

Some m.s. gurus and a few weinerheads predicted the "end of the world" if I did so. 

I recall sp3 caused problems with faxing documents and it stopped autoplay with pen drives.

[dedndave]

well - give it a shot - see how it goes
i don't know about fax - haven't done that for some time

as for autoplay - that is a security issue
they probably turn it off because a pen-drive can have a virus on it
much of what SP3 installs has to do with security
and - they "fixed" a lot of security issues by disabling things and prompting the user   ::)
i don't remember what i did - i must have checked a box to enable it or something

worse comes to worse, autoplay handlers follow a chain in the registry
and you can always make your own chain
a bit involved - but a good way to learn about the registry   :P

[Magnum]

I would like to get back and fix the file handling problem.

I thought about getting a registry export from someone who is using XP Pro sp3.

I think importing someone else key entries for this using qeditor as the editor would narrow down the problem.

I plan on being on this problem "like white on rice."

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\txtfile

I'll recap the problem.

Something is preventing the correct icon from being displayed in explorer.

I will attach a pic.

Andy

[dedndave]

and - you want it to be a QE icon ?

the easy way is to use Folder Options, File Types tab



click the Advanced button and change the icon
you will have to browse to where QE.exe is and select one

[dedndave]

now - if the problem is something else....

let's say you want it to open with NotePad again, you can do that by editing the Open "action" in the actions list
and - make Open the default action

[dedndave]

if you change the actions or icons for .TXT files, it may change them for other file types that are perceived text files, as well
if this happens, you can create a new Programmatic Identifier for text files
when you do this using the snap-in, it names them something like ft0001, ft0002, etc
but - you can create your own programmatic identifier and name it any unique name you choose

this should be done in HKLM\Software\Classes

then - change the programmatic identifier in
HKLM\Software\Classes\.txt
that is the "default value" or "@" if you export it or merge it from a .REG file
edit it to point to your new programmatic identifier and edit the actions with the snap in (or manually)

[Magnum]

Look again at the picture and note the icon that is displayed.

There will be a short quiz.  :t