"Create new text document" option missing from context menu

Question 1

I noticed today that there is no longer a "Create new text document" option in my Windows 7 (x64 Ultimate) context menu when I right click. No idea how or when it disappeared, point is it's gone.

After searching Google for people with the same problem I tried following a post in this guide.

But I got stuck right away because I don't see a .txt key in my registry under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT. I only see a .text but I am not sure if that is the same thing.

Question 2

Have a look a this post: superuser.com/questions/34704/…

Question 3

I gained access to another PC running Windows 7, a computer on which the context menu was intact. I peeked at the registry of this machine and copied exactly what was entered. Doing so resolved the problem on my desktop with the broken context menu.

Following all the instructions listed above, the two Strings within the .txt key that I needed were Content Type and PerceivedType.

So then to recap, if you are facing a similar issue, here is what I did to fix this problem. Hopefully it works for you as well.

(First backup the Registry.)

Open regedit.exe
Expand HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT and look for a .txt key. If none exist, create one.
Within the .txt key, create two new Strings: Content Type and PerceivedType.
(Right click) Modify... and the value for Default should be txtfile.
(Right click) Modify... and the value for Content Type should be text/plain.
(Right click) Modify... and the value for PerceivedType should be text.
Create a new key with the name ShellNew within the .txt key.
Within the ShellNew key, create a new String with the name NullFile.
Within the ShellNew key, create a new Expandable String Value with the name ItemName.
(Right click) Modify... and the value for ItemName should be @%SystemRoot%\system32\notepad.exe,-470

Here are two screenshots of what the final outcome should be:

Enter image description here

Question 4

Diddnt really work for me, it seems that windows limits the number of entries on the context menu- I just removed some programs which had added context items and txt showed up.

Question 5

To make it work i had to delete all other folders under .txt except ShellNew

Question 6

it worked fine here, you just need to log off after making changes to the registry

Question 7

Worked perfectly on Windows 10, without reboot, after deleting 5 unnecessary other context menu items.

Question 8

Here, Notepad++ had seemingly changed the default value (at least its value was "Notepad++_file"). Changing it back to "txtfile" did the trick.

Question 9

Create a new file with the .reg extension, copy, paste, save and run.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
; clear the key
[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt]
; and recreate
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt]
"PerceivedType"="text"
@="txtfile"
"Content Type"="text/plain"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt\ShellNew]
; @C:\Windows\system32\notepad.exe,-470
"ItemName"=hex(2):40,00,43,00,3a,00,5c,00,57,00,69,00,6e,00,64,00,6f,00,77,00,\
 73,00,5c,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,6e,00,6f,\
 00,74,00,65,00,70,00,61,00,64,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,65,00,2c,00,2d,00,34,00,\
 37,00,30,00,00,00
"NullFile"=""

Question 10

Also, restart explorer afterwards (or just reboot)

Question 11

Can you also mention how can I change the Label like instead of "New Text Document" add "New Text File" ?

Question 12

@VickyDev no easy way, as expected of Windows, which in this case forces you to use only localized strings using its "MUI" technology, which stores everything in a binary format. After you compile the binary (docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/intl/…), you have to replace the default value of "ItemName", which is "@%SYSTEM%\notepad.exe,-470", to a reference to the compiled string using an "indirect string" pointer (docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/intl/…).

Question 13

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt]
"PerceivedType"="text"
@="txtfile"
"Content Type"="text/plain"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt\PersistentHandler]
@="{5e941d80-bf96-11cd-b579-08002b30bfeb}"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt\ShellNew]
"ItemName"=hex(2):40,00,25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,\
 6f,00,74,00,25,00,5c,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,\
 00,6e,00,6f,00,74,00,65,00,70,00,61,00,64,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,65,00,2c,00,\
 2d,00,34,00,37,00,30,00,00,00
"NullFile"=""
[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\txtfile]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\txtfile]
"EditFlags"=dword:00010000
@="Text Document"
"FriendlyTypeName"=hex(2):40,00,25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,\
 00,6f,00,6f,00,74,00,25,00,5c,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,\
 32,00,5c,00,6e,00,6f,00,74,00,65,00,70,00,61,00,64,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,65,\
 00,2c,00,2d,00,34,00,36,00,39,00,00,00
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\txtfile\DefaultIcon]
@=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,74,00,25,\
 00,5c,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,69,00,6d,00,\
 61,00,67,00,65,00,72,00,65,00,73,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,2c,00,2d,00,31,\
 00,30,00,32,00,00,00
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\txtfile\shell]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\txtfile\shell\open]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\txtfile\shell\open\command]
@=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,74,00,25,\
 00,5c,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,4e,00,4f,00,\
 54,00,45,00,50,00,41,00,44,00,2e,00,45,00,58,00,45,00,20,00,25,00,31,00,00,\
 00
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\txtfile\shell\print]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\txtfile\shell\print\command]
@=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,74,00,25,\
 00,5c,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,4e,00,4f,00,\
 54,00,45,00,50,00,41,00,44,00,2e,00,45,00,58,00,45,00,20,00,2f,00,70,00,20,\
 00,25,00,31,00,00,00
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\txtfile\shell\printto]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\txtfile\shell\printto\command]
@=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,74,00,25,\
 00,5c,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,6e,00,6f,00,\
 74,00,65,00,70,00,61,00,64,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,65,00,20,00,2f,00,70,00,74,\
 00,20,00,22,00,25,00,31,00,22,00,20,00,22,00,25,00,32,00,22,00,20,00,22,00,\
 25,00,33,00,22,00,20,00,22,00,25,00,34,00,22,00,00,00
[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SystemFileAssociations\.txt]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SystemFileAssociations\.txt]
"PerceivedType"="document"
[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.txt]
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.txt]
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.txt\OpenWithList]
"a"="NOTEPAD.EXE"
"MRUList"="a"
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.txt\OpenWithProgids]
"txtfile"=hex(0):

Question 14

While this may answer the question, it would be a better answer if you could provide some explanation why it does so.

Question 15

Worked for me on Win10, no restart needed.

Question 16

Can you also mention how can I change the Label like instead of "New Text Document" add "New Text File" ?

Question 17

This is the only solution that works.

Question 18

Microsoft updates sometimes change permissions thereby killing acls for context features. After all these years it still happens to some of us.

Go to Desktop-> mouse 2 -> New
The populated Context Menu should be present.

If not, see earlier posts and check/fix the registry (great stuff!).
If yes, but not inside folders, then

Go to documents-> Mouse 2 -> New
If a folder is the only choice you get, then you've been excluded. To fix this make a "New Folder" in Documents, open it and then on a blank space inside that folder Mouse 2 -> Properties-> Security (Tab) -> <user name> -> Permissions for <user name> -> Allow (I recommend "Full Control" for yourself) -> Apply.

I didn't need to reboot. I got this from a brainiac maniac in IT at work, hope this helps you too.

Question 19

Just add the .txt key yourself and then make sure that the following string value is there:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt\ShellNew\NullFile

The shell will use it to decide which items to put on the 'New' menu.

enter image description here

Microsoft has a KB article about it here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/140333

If you're adding a brand new type (or fixing a broken one) you may need to add another entry to specify the text used. The default entry for the HKCR.txt should be 'txtfile'. Then make sure you have a HKCR\txtfile entry with default entry something like 'Text Document':

enter image description here

Close all instances of Explorer (ideally reboot) and that should work.

Question 20

I tried all these suggestions and still no create new text document option. I even tried downloading a program mentioned in the other thread linked by Ganesh, the program called ShellNewHandeler. No .txt option in my context.

Question 21

Updated to include information about the 'txtfile' entry.

Question 22

Thanks for your help. However, for some reason still no context menu entry for text documents. My registry editor screenshot looks identical to yours. Is it possible some sort of software is conflicting causing this?

Question 23

Try creating a dummy key (e.g. for '.tst'). That's how I tested out these instructions. It didn't work for me until I created a tstfile entry and pointed the .tst default key to it.

Question 24

I had this same problem, and even though all the registry keys appeared to be correct, the option for a new Text Document stubbornly refused to appear.

Only after also adding an empty text file named empty.txt to my machine's \Windows\ShellNew folder, did the option show up for me. (The "empty" part of the name appears irrelevant -- Windows will look up the file type's friendly name in the registry. But the extension matters.)

Don't ask me why/how/when the file disappeared...or became required, if it wasn't already there at some point. But that last step is what made things work in my case.

Question 25

1. Click on HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT and look for a .txt in regedit.exe

2. Do export and (keep a copy as a backup) and copy paste the following code.

3. Finally import it as .txt . That's it. It works for me on Windows 10.

//credit goes to blackout1000 http://www.cnet.com/forums/discussions/no-new-text-document-thru-right-mouse-click-menu-52234/

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt]
"Content Type"="text/plain"
@="txtfile"
"PerceivedType"="text"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt\OpenWithList]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt\PersistentHandler]
@="{5e941d80-bf96-11cd-b579-08002b30bfeb}"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt\shell]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt\shell\open]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt\shell\open\command]
@="notepad.exe %1"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt\ShellNew]
"NullFile"=""

Question 26

Can you also mention how can I change the Label like instead of "New Text Document" add "New Text File" ?

Question 27

(answer copied from https://www.tenforums.com/customization/184763-adding-notepad-right-click-new-menu.html) Working for me with Notepad++

if you just want to see an entry called "New" > "Notepad++ Document" in the context menu, then

start Notepad++ as Admin, and then go to Settings > Preferences > File Association and then select Notepad under 'Supported extensions', pick .txt and press the Right hand arrow to transfer it under 'Registered extensions'.

This will give you the context menu for New - Notepad++ Document. If you want to reverse the change, simply go through Notepad++ as Admin and move the .txt extension back to Notepad.

Question 28

Nice one, this one fixed my issue!

Question 29

Same problem, but all the keys had their correct values. I just changed the value of ItemName to

C:\apps\Notepad++\notepad++.exe,-470

(That is, using the path where I have Notepad++ installed), and it worked. All my other entries are back in the "New" sub menu.

Question 30

Here's the correct version:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt]
@="txtfile"
"Content Type"="text/plain"
"PerceivedType"="text"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt\OpenWithList]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt\OpenWithList\notepad.exe]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt\PersistentHandler]
@="{5e941d80-bf96-11cd-b579-08002b30bfeb}"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt\ShellNew]
"NullFile"=""

Question 31

This is virtually a duplicate of Theva's answer. The intention is that each answer provide a solution that is substantially different from what has already been contributed.

Question 32

Jan's answer is the most complete and accurate, however, as user Hightower mentioned, Windows limits the number of items that can appear in the "New" right click menu.

If you already have more than a few options...remove some that are already there. As soon as I removed the options for Word, Excel and Visio documents, sure enough, the Text Document option appeared.

Question 33

How did you remove them?

Question 34

i use windows10. i solved this way

Click on HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT and look for a .txt in regedit.exe
Find .txt
New -> key. key name is ShellEx

enter image description here

Question 35

I had the same problem and it happened after installing Notepad++. None of the mentioned solutions resolved this issue for me, however I was able to get it to work when I added the following to the Registry:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Notepad++_file]
@="Notepad++ Document"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Notepad++_file\DefaultIcon]
@="\"%1\""
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Notepad++_file\shell]
@="open"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Notepad++_file\shell\Edit]
@="&Edit"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Notepad++_file\shell\Edit\command]
@="\"C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Microsoft Office\\Office16\\msohtmed.exe\" %1"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Notepad++_file\shell\open]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Notepad++_file\shell\open\command]
@="\"C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Common Files\\Microsoft Shared\\OFFICE16\\MSOXMLED.EXE\" /verb open \"%1\""
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Notepad++_file\shell\Print]
@="&Print"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Notepad++_file\shell\Print\command]
@="\"C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Microsoft Office\\Office16\\msohtmed.exe\" /p %1"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Notepad++_file\ShellEx]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Notepad++_file\ShellEx\IconHandler]
@="{42042206-2D85-11D3-8CFF-005004838597}"

Question 36

Removing Unwanted Context Items That Block New Text Document Entry

As explained in some of the other answers, Windows only allows a certain number of items in the right click New menu. So even if you have the .txt registry correct (as explained in the other answers), you may not see the Text Document entry in the New menu. Here's how to delete the extra entries.

Open Regedit.
Click the File -> Export -> All. Click Save to make a backup of your registry in case anything goes wrong. enter image description here
Navigate to Computer\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
enter image description here
Press CTRL-F to Search and type in ShellNew. enter image description here
Press F3 or Click Find Next.
When it stops on a "ShellNew" key, check the contents of the value ItemName (or it may be named command or FileName)

enter image description here

If the path shown is not for a file type you want in the context menu, delete the corresponding "ShellNew". Don't Delete any Keys which are not named simply "ShellNew".

enter image description here

Repeat 5-7 until you have deleted all the other unwanted ShellNew entries.
Check Your Context Menu To Verify .Txt Shows UP.
On Windows 10, you should be able to see the changes immediately, if not, try restarting the Windows shell using Task Manager: enter image description here
Test by right clicking in a folder you have permissions too (like the Documents folder). If you don't have permissions (e.g., in the root c:\ directory) you will see little if anything in the New menu. enter image description here

Question 37

My problem was that my "New → text file" didn't show up, but I had all the registers correct.

So I had to remove some programs from the list. Apparently Windows has a limit for how many programs to show there... I removed some Microsoft Office files I didn't use on a regular basis, and that worked for me.

Question 38

Removed them how?

Matt 1,0291 gold badge8 silver badges9 bronze badges · Answer 1 · 2013-09-10 14:09:51Z

I gained access to another PC running Windows 7, a computer on which the context menu was intact. I peeked at the registry of this machine and copied exactly what was entered. Doing so resolved the problem on my desktop with the broken context menu.

Following all the instructions listed above, the two Strings within the .txt key that I needed were Content Type and PerceivedType.

So then to recap, if you are facing a similar issue, here is what I did to fix this problem. Hopefully it works for you as well.

(First backup the Registry.)

Open regedit.exe
Expand HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT and look for a .txt key. If none exist, create one.
Within the .txt key, create two new Strings: Content Type and PerceivedType.
(Right click) Modify... and the value for Default should be txtfile.
(Right click) Modify... and the value for Content Type should be text/plain.
(Right click) Modify... and the value for PerceivedType should be text.
Create a new key with the name ShellNew within the .txt key.
Within the ShellNew key, create a new String with the name NullFile.
Within the ShellNew key, create a new Expandable String Value with the name ItemName.
(Right click) Modify... and the value for ItemName should be @%SystemRoot%\system32\notepad.exe,-470

Here are two screenshots of what the final outcome should be:

Enter image description here

Diddnt really work for me, it seems that windows limits the number of entries on the context menu- I just removed some programs which had added context items and txt showed up.
To make it work i had to delete all other folders under .txt except ShellNew
it worked fine here, you just need to log off after making changes to the registry
Worked perfectly on Windows 10, without reboot, after deleting 5 unnecessary other context menu items.
Here, Notepad++ had seemingly changed the default value (at least its value was "Notepad++_file"). Changing it back to "txtfile" did the trick.

rindeal 4024 silver badges8 bronze badges · Answer 2 · 2014-02-07 17:14:22Z

Create a new file with the .reg extension, copy, paste, save and run.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
; clear the key
[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt]
; and recreate
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt]
"PerceivedType"="text"
@="txtfile"
"Content Type"="text/plain"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt\ShellNew]
; @C:\Windows\system32\notepad.exe,-470
"ItemName"=hex(2):40,00,43,00,3a,00,5c,00,57,00,69,00,6e,00,64,00,6f,00,77,00,\
 73,00,5c,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,6e,00,6f,\
 00,74,00,65,00,70,00,61,00,64,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,65,00,2c,00,2d,00,34,00,\
 37,00,30,00,00,00
"NullFile"=""

Can you also mention how can I change the Label like instead of "New Text Document" add "New Text File" ?
@VickyDev no easy way, as expected of Windows, which in this case forces you to use only localized strings using its "MUI" technology, which stores everything in a binary format. After you compile the binary (docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/intl/…), you have to replace the default value of "ItemName", which is "@%SYSTEM%\notepad.exe,-470", to a reference to the compiled string using an "indirect string" pointer (docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/intl/…).

DASH REZA 811 silver badge1 bronze badge · Answer 3 · 2015-02-15 09:29:31Z

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt]
"PerceivedType"="text"
@="txtfile"
"Content Type"="text/plain"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt\PersistentHandler]
@="{5e941d80-bf96-11cd-b579-08002b30bfeb}"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt\ShellNew]
"ItemName"=hex(2):40,00,25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,\
 6f,00,74,00,25,00,5c,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,\
 00,6e,00,6f,00,74,00,65,00,70,00,61,00,64,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,65,00,2c,00,\
 2d,00,34,00,37,00,30,00,00,00
"NullFile"=""
[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\txtfile]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\txtfile]
"EditFlags"=dword:00010000
@="Text Document"
"FriendlyTypeName"=hex(2):40,00,25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,\
 00,6f,00,6f,00,74,00,25,00,5c,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,\
 32,00,5c,00,6e,00,6f,00,74,00,65,00,70,00,61,00,64,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,65,\
 00,2c,00,2d,00,34,00,36,00,39,00,00,00
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\txtfile\DefaultIcon]
@=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,74,00,25,\
 00,5c,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,69,00,6d,00,\
 61,00,67,00,65,00,72,00,65,00,73,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,2c,00,2d,00,31,\
 00,30,00,32,00,00,00
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\txtfile\shell]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\txtfile\shell\open]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\txtfile\shell\open\command]
@=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,74,00,25,\
 00,5c,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,4e,00,4f,00,\
 54,00,45,00,50,00,41,00,44,00,2e,00,45,00,58,00,45,00,20,00,25,00,31,00,00,\
 00
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\txtfile\shell\print]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\txtfile\shell\print\command]
@=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,74,00,25,\
 00,5c,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,4e,00,4f,00,\
 54,00,45,00,50,00,41,00,44,00,2e,00,45,00,58,00,45,00,20,00,2f,00,70,00,20,\
 00,25,00,31,00,00,00
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\txtfile\shell\printto]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\txtfile\shell\printto\command]
@=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,74,00,25,\
 00,5c,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,6e,00,6f,00,\
 74,00,65,00,70,00,61,00,64,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,65,00,20,00,2f,00,70,00,74,\
 00,20,00,22,00,25,00,31,00,22,00,20,00,22,00,25,00,32,00,22,00,20,00,22,00,\
 25,00,33,00,22,00,20,00,22,00,25,00,34,00,22,00,00,00
[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SystemFileAssociations\.txt]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SystemFileAssociations\.txt]
"PerceivedType"="document"
[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.txt]
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.txt]
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.txt\OpenWithList]
"a"="NOTEPAD.EXE"
"MRUList"="a"
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.txt\OpenWithProgids]
"txtfile"=hex(0):

While this may answer the question, it would be a better answer if you could provide some explanation why it does so.
Can you also mention how can I change the Label like instead of "New Text Document" add "New Text File" ?

AshleyHaadt 411 bronze badge · Answer 4 · 2019-08-04 23:14:15Z

Microsoft updates sometimes change permissions thereby killing acls for context features. After all these years it still happens to some of us.

Go to Desktop-> mouse 2 -> New
The populated Context Menu should be present.

If not, see earlier posts and check/fix the registry (great stuff!).
If yes, but not inside folders, then

Go to documents-> Mouse 2 -> New
If a folder is the only choice you get, then you've been excluded. To fix this make a "New Folder" in Documents, open it and then on a blank space inside that folder Mouse 2 -> Properties-> Security (Tab) -> <user name> -> Permissions for <user name> -> Allow (I recommend "Full Control" for yourself) -> Apply.

I didn't need to reboot. I got this from a brainiac maniac in IT at work, hope this helps you too.

snowdude 2,94819 silver badges20 bronze badges · Answer 5 · 2013-08-09 10:25:31Z

Just add the .txt key yourself and then make sure that the following string value is there:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt\ShellNew\NullFile

The shell will use it to decide which items to put on the 'New' menu.

enter image description here

Microsoft has a KB article about it here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/140333

If you're adding a brand new type (or fixing a broken one) you may need to add another entry to specify the text used. The default entry for the HKCR.txt should be 'txtfile'. Then make sure you have a HKCR\txtfile entry with default entry something like 'Text Document':

enter image description here

Close all instances of Explorer (ideally reboot) and that should work.

I tried all these suggestions and still no create new text document option. I even tried downloading a program mentioned in the other thread linked by Ganesh, the program called ShellNewHandeler. No .txt option in my context.
Thanks for your help. However, for some reason still no context menu entry for text documents. My registry editor screenshot looks identical to yours. Is it possible some sort of software is conflicting causing this?
Try creating a dummy key (e.g. for '.tst'). That's how I tested out these instructions. It didn't work for me until I created a tstfile entry and pointed the .tst default key to it.

cHao 6424 silver badges14 bronze badges · Answer 6 · 2014-03-12 01:26:49Z

I had this same problem, and even though all the registry keys appeared to be correct, the option for a new Text Document stubbornly refused to appear.

Only after also adding an empty text file named empty.txt to my machine's \Windows\ShellNew folder, did the option show up for me. (The "empty" part of the name appears irrelevant -- Windows will look up the file type's friendly name in the registry. But the extension matters.)

Don't ask me why/how/when the file disappeared...or became required, if it wasn't already there at some point. But that last step is what made things work in my case.

Theva 1111 bronze badge · Answer 7 · 2015-11-26 11:56:33Z

1. Click on HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT and look for a .txt in regedit.exe

2. Do export and (keep a copy as a backup) and copy paste the following code.

3. Finally import it as .txt . That's it. It works for me on Windows 10.

//credit goes to blackout1000 http://www.cnet.com/forums/discussions/no-new-text-document-thru-right-mouse-click-menu-52234/

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt]
"Content Type"="text/plain"
@="txtfile"
"PerceivedType"="text"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt\OpenWithList]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt\PersistentHandler]
@="{5e941d80-bf96-11cd-b579-08002b30bfeb}"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt\shell]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt\shell\open]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt\shell\open\command]
@="notepad.exe %1"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt\ShellNew]
"NullFile"=""

Can you also mention how can I change the Label like instead of "New Text Document" add "New Text File" ?

Eduardo Conde-Sousa 111 bronze badge · Answer 8 · 2021-11-05 11:22:13Z

(answer copied from https://www.tenforums.com/customization/184763-adding-notepad-right-click-new-menu.html) Working for me with Notepad++

if you just want to see an entry called "New" > "Notepad++ Document" in the context menu, then

start Notepad++ as Admin, and then go to Settings > Preferences > File Association and then select Notepad under 'Supported extensions', pick .txt and press the Right hand arrow to transfer it under 'Registered extensions'.

This will give you the context menu for New - Notepad++ Document. If you want to reverse the change, simply go through Notepad++ as Admin and move the .txt extension back to Notepad.

Nice one, this one fixed my issue!

Yann
– Yann

2022年04月06日 04:38:31 +00:00
Commented Apr 6, 2022 at 4:38

Thomas Materna 1011 bronze badge · Answer 9 · 2016-09-16 19:45:43Z

Same problem, but all the keys had their correct values. I just changed the value of ItemName to

C:\apps\Notepad++\notepad++.exe,-470

(That is, using the path where I have Notepad++ installed), and it worked. All my other entries are back in the "New" sub menu.

Kerry K. 1 · Answer 10 · 2016-12-02 16:45:05Z

Here's the correct version:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt]
@="txtfile"
"Content Type"="text/plain"
"PerceivedType"="text"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt\OpenWithList]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt\OpenWithList\notepad.exe]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt\PersistentHandler]
@="{5e941d80-bf96-11cd-b579-08002b30bfeb}"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt\ShellNew]
"NullFile"=""

This is virtually a duplicate of Theva's answer. The intention is that each answer provide a solution that is substantially different from what has already been contributed.

David L. 1 · Answer 11 · 2015-01-15 19:53:57Z

Jan's answer is the most complete and accurate, however, as user Hightower mentioned, Windows limits the number of items that can appear in the "New" right click menu.

If you already have more than a few options...remove some that are already there. As soon as I removed the options for Word, Excel and Visio documents, sure enough, the Text Document option appeared.

How did you remove them?

Jacktose
– Jacktose

2018年03月08日 01:10:50 +00:00
Commented Mar 8, 2018 at 1:10

Jason Shin 1 · Answer 12 · 2017-02-07 04:42:15Z

0

i use windows10. i solved this way

Click on HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT and look for a .txt in regedit.exe
Find .txt
New -> key. key name is ShellEx

enter image description here

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edited Feb 7, 2017 at 4:46

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answered Feb 7, 2017 at 4:42

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Jonathon Walmsley 1 · Answer 13 · 2017-11-09 19:04:40Z

I had the same problem and it happened after installing Notepad++. None of the mentioned solutions resolved this issue for me, however I was able to get it to work when I added the following to the Registry:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Notepad++_file]
@="Notepad++ Document"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Notepad++_file\DefaultIcon]
@="\"%1\""
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Notepad++_file\shell]
@="open"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Notepad++_file\shell\Edit]
@="&Edit"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Notepad++_file\shell\Edit\command]
@="\"C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Microsoft Office\\Office16\\msohtmed.exe\" %1"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Notepad++_file\shell\open]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Notepad++_file\shell\open\command]
@="\"C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Common Files\\Microsoft Shared\\OFFICE16\\MSOXMLED.EXE\" /verb open \"%1\""
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Notepad++_file\shell\Print]
@="&Print"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Notepad++_file\shell\Print\command]
@="\"C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Microsoft Office\\Office16\\msohtmed.exe\" /p %1"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Notepad++_file\ShellEx]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Notepad++_file\ShellEx\IconHandler]
@="{42042206-2D85-11D3-8CFF-005004838597}"

CoderBlue 5034 silver badges5 bronze badges · Answer 14 · 2022-02-11 02:09:58Z

Removing Unwanted Context Items That Block New Text Document Entry

As explained in some of the other answers, Windows only allows a certain number of items in the right click New menu. So even if you have the .txt registry correct (as explained in the other answers), you may not see the Text Document entry in the New menu. Here's how to delete the extra entries.

Open Regedit.
Click the File -> Export -> All. Click Save to make a backup of your registry in case anything goes wrong. enter image description here
Navigate to Computer\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
enter image description here
Press CTRL-F to Search and type in ShellNew. enter image description here
Press F3 or Click Find Next.
When it stops on a "ShellNew" key, check the contents of the value ItemName (or it may be named command or FileName)

enter image description here

If the path shown is not for a file type you want in the context menu, delete the corresponding "ShellNew". Don't Delete any Keys which are not named simply "ShellNew".

enter image description here

Repeat 5-7 until you have deleted all the other unwanted ShellNew entries.
Check Your Context Menu To Verify .Txt Shows UP.
On Windows 10, you should be able to see the changes immediately, if not, try restarting the Windows shell using Task Manager: enter image description here
Test by right clicking in a folder you have permissions too (like the Documents folder). If you don't have permissions (e.g., in the root c:\ directory) you will see little if anything in the New menu. enter image description here

Ruben Gonçalves 1 · Answer 15 · 2016-12-02 21:13:51Z

My problem was that my "New → text file" didn't show up, but I had all the registers correct.

So I had to remove some programs from the list. Apparently Windows has a limit for how many programs to show there... I removed some Microsoft Office files I didn't use on a regular basis, and that worked for me.

Removed them how?

Jacktose
– Jacktose

2018年03月08日 01:15:44 +00:00
Commented Mar 8, 2018 at 1:15

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