Viewing Source

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Is there a way to designate another text editor for viewing the source code of a webpage besides Notepad or the other applications seen in the menu in “Options/Programs”? I’m using MSIE 5.5.

Thanks,

Jeff

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Well, I figured it out and thought I would post the answer here in case anyone else wanted to do the same thing.

In Windows Explorer go to “View/Folder Options/File Types” (Win98 SE). Scroll down until you find “HTML Document”. Click on “Edit”. In the menu items under “Actions” double click on “edit”. In the dialog that will appear for the text box “Application used to perform action” click the “Browse” button and find the .exe file for the program you want to use. [In my case it was “Editpad Lite”]. Click “OK” all the way out.

Open MSIE and go to “Tools/Internet Options/Programs”. In the “HTML editor” the program you just designated in the File preferences should be there. Choose it. Now, whenever you want to view a page source, just click down arrow next to the “Edit” button on the Toolbar and choose that program. .

Jeff

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Thanks Pilgrim – this helped me out with another file association problem. Cheers.

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Jeff, if you change that FileType association, are you ADDING your editor in addition to Notepad, or are you REPLACING Notepad with your editor?

Also, my Tools | Internet Options | Programs shows FrontPage as my default editor. Yet the button on my Toolbar shows the Word “W” next to the Edit drop down list. Why?

Lastly, when you right-click a webpage and choose Veiw Source, you are still given Notepad as the Default source viewer. Strange…

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You’ve probably discovered by now but anyway…

Changing the FileType association ADDS the editor to the available list in InterNet Explorer. Notepad is still available.

Jeff changed the “edit” function, I haven’t tried this but if you wish to change the rightclick – view utility then perhaps you need to create a “view” function in the FileType association as there isn’t one by default?

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Just a follow-up. I tried to look into this in more detail. WHAT A STRANGE AREA!! I do not understand how this all works.

Yes, if you change the “edit” shell command, a new editor is ADDED and the old one(s) remain(s). Yet there still remains the “Edit with Microsoft Word for Windows” in the File Menu — regardless of what you set as your default HTML editor under Tools. And the Word icon still remains on the dropdown button on the Toolbar. And Notepad still remains the editor if you right click to “View Source” — despite what you have chosen as the default program!

In the registry, the LAST entry you added is the editor listed in this key:

HKEY_USERS.DEFAULTSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerDefault HTML Editorshelleditcommand

However, this is NOT the same editor that is listed in this key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwareCLASSEShtmlfileshellEditcommand

Additionally, I could not easily find a a key with a list of all the programs that are listed as HTML editors in IE. It must exist somewhere, but I could not find it.

It is just very strange and not entirely as straight forward as I would have thought!!

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