add a blank file to the windows 'new' context menu

Question

Whilst i have found posts that tell me how to add a new context item for a specific file type, i seem to be unable to see a way of adding one for a blank file (a la ubuntu). Is there a way of adding just a blank file (with no extension), which i can then rename myself with the appropriate extension?

Answer 1

Create a genericFile.reg with the following content and add it to the registry. This will add a new context menu entry called "Generic file". A reboot may be required in order to let the entry appear. Or simply use Shell New Handler and tick/untick the entry for the .dummy once.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.generic]
@="genericfile"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.generic\ShellNew]
"NullFile"=""
"IconPath"="%SystemRoot%\\System32\\imageres.dll,2"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.generic\ShellNew\Config]
"NoExtension"=""

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\genericfile]
@="Generic file"

Answer 2

The NullFile types create empty/0-byte "blank" files. You can rename them to whatever you like, with whatever extension you like, and go from there.

Details about resolving the "new text document" being missing here.

Answer 3

You can create a template for .dummy (or whatever unused extension you like) files, then add a flag to indicate they should be created with no extension.

Here are the steps I followed:

1. Create a file called 'asdf.dummy'
2. Double-click on it, tell windows to always open it with notepad
3. In regedit, go to "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.dummy"
4. Create the "ShellNew" key
5. Under "ShellNew", create an empty string value named "NullFile"
6. Under "ShellNew", create a key named "Config"
7. Under "Config", create an empty string value named "NoExtension"

Here's what I ended up with:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.dummy]
@="dummy_auto_file"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.dummy\ShellNew]
"NullFile"=""

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.dummy\ShellNew\Config]
"NoExtension"=""