Explorer New Text Document on Right Click

Johnd · Apr 01, 2010#12010-04-01T17:07+00:00

Just added UltraEdit v16.00 and I lost the Add New Text Document when Right Click in Windows Explorer and Select New.

How do I get this back? Note: I am using Windows 7 if it matters.

Thanks

Mofi · Apr 14, 2010#22010-04-14T17:51+00:00

I suppose that you have associated the file extension TXT with UltraEdit. Open Advanced - Configuration - File Associations and look if you can see there .txt. That's okay because that is not really the problem. When associating a file with UltraEdit following happens (described here for file extension .txt).

In the registry under

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\.txt]

the existing default value txtfile is replaced by UltraEdit.txt.

Additionally following registry keys and values are added:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\UltraEdit.txt]
@="Text Document"
"Old Default"="txtfile"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\UltraEdit.txt\shell]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\UltraEdit.txt\shell\open]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\UltraEdit.txt\shell\open\command]
@="\"C:\\Program Files\\IDM Computer Solutions\\UltraEdit\\uedit32.exe\" \"%1\""

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\UltraEdit.txt\shell\print]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\UltraEdit.txt\shell\print\command]
@="\"C:\\Program Files\\IDM Computer Solutions\\UltraEdit\\uedit32.exe\" /p \"%1\""

"Old Default"="txtfile" is created by UltraEdit to be able to restore the previous association when you delete this association in the configuration dialog of UltraEdit.

Text Document is the description you can enter in the configuration dialog before clicking on the button Assign.

C:\\Program Files\\IDM Computer Solutions\\UltraEdit is the path to UltraEdit executable which depends on your environment.

You have to check now if the path to uedit32.exe is correct stored in the registry. That can be simply verified by double clicking on a file with extension TXT. If UltraEdit is started and the file is opened, the path is surely correct.

Now I must explain some Windows Explorer internals because what is shown in the context menu New of a folder is defined by Windows Explorer and not by UltraEdit.

The Windows Explorer looks on all file extensions in [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\] (linked to [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT]) for following key (again explained on .txt):

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\.txt\ShellNew]
"NullFile"=""

If that (empty) string value exists under key ShellNew, Windows Explorer looks on the default value and when the referenced key can be found and contains the command for opening files with that extension, it automatically adds following to the registry:

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Discardable\PostSetup\ShellNew]
"Text Document"=hex:00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,54,00,65,00,78,00,74,\
00,64,00,61,00,74,00,65,00,69,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,2e,00,74,00,\
78,00,74,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,55,00,6c,00,74,00,72,00,61,\
00,45,00,64,00,69,00,74,00,2e,00,74,00,78,00,74,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
ff,ff,ff,ff,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00

Don't try to manually edit the binary values under this key in the registry. It would be useless because Windows Explorer manages the binary values of this key completely automatically.

So if you can't see no menu item to create a new text file in the current folder, the problem is maybe the missing Nullfile string value under subkey ShellNew of key .txt. You could check this with Regedit. Or the menu item is there, just with a different name because of different description.

PS: I use English UltraEdit which surely does not contain German strings. But the default description for .txt on my German Windows XP was Textdatei as stored as default string value under [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\txtfile]. But the registered menu item name (= name of the binary value) is Textdokument. I have not found out yet from where my German Windows XP gets the name Textdokument for text files.

deanryan · Apr 24, 2010#32010-04-24T20:31+00:00

I just had to solve this same problem after installing UEdit v16 on Windows Vista. Perhaps it is just me, but even though the previous reply was very detailed, it never actually gave a solution. It took me a long time to figure this out, but the solution was very simple.

The problem:

There was no description for the .txt file type in UltraEdit, so the "Default" value for the "UltraEdit.txt" key in the registry was null.

The solution:

Start UltraEdit (NOTE: on Vista you need to "Run As Administrator")
Open the Advanced - Configuration dialog.
Open the File Associations item.
Select the .txt file type from the File types/extensions drop-down menu.
Type an appropriate description in the Description: text box, such as Text File.
Click Apply.

After this I was able to right-click in Explorer and select New - Text File. This procedure avoids using Regedit, which can be dangerous for those that are unfamiliar with the registry.

I hope this helps save someone else a lot of headaches. I also hope that IDM assigns a suitable default description to .txt file in future releases of UltraEdit to prevent the problem.

bulgrien · Apr 25, 2010#42010-04-25T04:57+00:00

I, too, was missing New -> Text Document from my Windows 7 Explorer context menu.

From the local administrator account I completely reset the
text file registry settings by importing the following reg file:

Code: Select all

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.TXT]
@="txtfile"
"Content Type"="text/plain"
"PerceivedType"="text"

[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]
"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\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\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\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\txtfile\ShellEx\{8895b1c6-b41f-4c1c-a562-0d564250836f}]
@="{1531d583-8375-4d3f-b5fb-d23bbd169f22}"

[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.TXT\UserChoice]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{5e941d80-bf96-11cd-b579-08002b30bfeb}]
@="Plain Text persistent handler"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{5e941d80-bf96-11cd-b579-08002b30bfeb}\PersistentAddinsRegistered]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{5e941d80-bf96-11cd-b579-08002b30bfeb}\PersistentAddinsRegistered\{89BCB740-6119-101A-BCB7-00DD010655AF}]
@="{c1243ca0-bf96-11cd-b579-08002b30bfeb}"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{c1243ca0-bf96-11cd-b579-08002b30bfeb}]
@="Plain Text filter"
"LocalizedString"="@query.dll,-511"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{c1243ca0-bf96-11cd-b579-08002b30bfeb}\InprocServer32]
@=hex(2):25,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,72,00,6f,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,00,71,00,75,00,\
  65,00,72,00,79,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,00,00
"ThreadingModel"="Both"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{1531d583-8375-4d3f-b5fb-d23bbd169f22}]
@="Windows TXT Previewer"
"DisplayName"="@shell32.dll,-38242"
"Icon"="notepad.exe,2"
"AppID"="{6d2b5079-2f0b-48dd-ab7f-97cec514d30b}"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{1531d583-8375-4d3f-b5fb-d23bbd169f22}\InProcServer32]
@=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,00,73,00,68,00,\
  65,00,6c,00,6c,00,33,00,32,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,00,00
"ThreadingModel"="Apartment"

Back in my regular user account I right-clicked on a text file and chose:

Open with -> Choose default program...

then selected UltraEdit. I now have the regular Windows icon for text files with UE as the default editor.

Mofi · Apr 25, 2010#52010-04-25T11:28+00:00

Thanks deanryan. I did not know that the problem was that on your computers .txt was not predefined anymore by Windows with a description. This is not the case by Windows default. It could be that you or somebody else or another application removed or modified the default file association of .txt resulting in having no description. I tested on my Windows XP if UltraEdit could be responsible for associating itself with .txt without a description when using the file associations dialog on startup. But UltraEdit associated itself correct using the existing description in the registry.

Some more words about associating files for being opened with UltraEdit which can be only done with administrator privileges.

After a new installation of UltraEdit or after upgrading UltraEdit (= main version in uedit32.ini changes) the dialog File Associations is displayed where the user can associate file types with UltraEdit. In general it is no good idea to associate UltraEdit as opening application for file types used for webpages. That results in opening *.html, *.htm, ... files on double click in UltraEdit instead of opening them with the default WWW browser. I suppose that everybody checks the option Don't show this again after configuring the file associations. This setting can be undone at any time in Advanced - Configuration - Application Layout - Miscellaneous by unchecking setting Check and show file associations on startup.

The file associations dialog on startup of UltraEdit offers just a quick method for associating file types with UltraEdit as default opening application. But it does the same as every user can do at Advanced - Configuration - File Associations with 1 difference: in the configuration dialog the button Add is disabled as long as no file type description is entered. With using the file associations dialog on startup it is possible to associate UltraEdit to a file type which has no description. And it looks like this was the problem here.

The drop-down list just offers a quick selection of most commonly used text, programming and webpage file types. The common text file types should be already predefined by Windows and are normally associated with Notepad. When choosing from the list a file extension, UltraEdit looks into the registry for the data for that file extension and shows the description already defined in the registry. If there is no description in the registry, the user must enter it, except when using the file associations dialog on startup. UltraEdit itself has no file type description in its resources. The description of a file type must exist in the registry or the user must enter one.

Instead of using the drop-down list a file extension with the preceding point can be also directly entered to associate any file extension with UltraEdit. So it is for example also possible to associate .xml with UltraEdit although not listed in the drop-down list.

bulgrien, you first restored the Windows default registration for .txt file extension. Then you used Windows Explorer to associate UltraEdit as opening application for files with extension .txt using the simplified method. The full featured method using Windows Explorer is to open in Windows Explorer Tools - Folder Options - File Types, scroll down to an already existing file type association (or press button New for a new one) and click on button Advanced (button Change is the same as the simplified method).

This Windows standard method can be used for associating any file type with any application. The disadvantage of using the Windows standard method instead of using the file associations configuration dialog of UltraEdit is that no restore information is created when changing the opening application by this way and such a file association is not listed in the UltraEdit file associations configuration dialog. In other words the file association was done with Windows Explorer and therefore UltraEdit does not know with which file types it is associated and therefore it is not possible to delete such a file association from within UltraEdit with restoring previous file association. File associations done with Windows Explorer can be only changed by using again Windows Explorer and you, the user, must know how to restore a previous file association.

bulgrien · Apr 25, 2010#62010-04-25T18:06+00:00

Thanks, Mofi

As an IT professional, I am well able to manage my file associations manually...so I am not concerned about UE not knowing how to undo the change. What I am concerned about is losing the ability to create new text documents after installing UltraEdit. This has never been an issue for me on XP or earlier Windows environments... but it did happen on my Windows 7 64-bit system. That is why I chose to restore the default Windows registry settings and set the association manually, because I don't know what it is about the UE installation that broke things in the first place...and frankly, I didn't consider it worth my time to try to figure it out right now. Nevertheless, thanks for you feedback. Your description of the "right" way to set the association is certainly appropriate for this thread so other users experiencing this issue will be well informed before making their own choice on how to resolve this issue.

cicorias · May 20, 2010#72010-05-20T12:54+00:00

This issue is repeatable and occurs as a result of the installation of UE.

Mofi · May 24, 2010#82010-05-24T14:11+00:00

I'm 100% that the installation of UltraEdit does not result in a remove of new text document item from Explorer context menu. When I install an application on my computer I make a snapshot of some important directories and whole registry and a second one after installation, compare the 2 snapshots and make a report about all the changes. I can guarantee that the installation of UltraEdit does not modify any file association.

But on first start of UltraEdit after installation or upgrade following dialog is shown

ue_file_associations_dialog.png (3.83KiB)

File associations dialog of UltraEdit displayed after upgrade.

As you can see by default only one file extension is preselected - UENC, all others must be enabled by YOU. Enabling a file extension results in associating the file to be opened with UltraEdit (for example on double click) in the registry as I have written above. Those file associations can be changed at any time from within UltraEdit as I have also already written above.

So the installer of UltraEdit does not change any file association, and UltraEdit also does not change the file associations. UltraEdit just offers YOU to associate files for being opened with UltraEdit and additionally creates a backup in registry for an existing association before modifying it according to your decisions. And YOU can undo that from within UltraEdit and restore a previous file association. All that is more than other applications offer.

For example on installation of Microsoft Office or Adobe Reader many file extensions are added to the registry and associated with executables of these suites without asking the user and without giving the user the possibility to modify or undo those associations. They are also not removed on uninstall. Most of them are never needed by you and therefore make just the registry bigger and must be manually removed using Windows Explorer or Regedit by the user. And on start of any Office 2003 application those file associations are always checked and when modified, the Office 2003 installer is automatically started to fix it. I know that because at work I have still Office 97 installed parallel to Office 2003. The problem is that MS Word 97 automatically always associates itself with *.doc. And on next start of any Office 2003 application first the installer of Office 2003 always started to do change back the *.doc file association to Word 2003, of course without showing that in the prompt message. I needed some time to find out why after every start of Word 97 the installer of Office 2003 was started when starting any Office 2003 installation. I created a small registry file for quickly changing the file assocation for *.doc from Word 97 to Word 2003 to avoid running the Office 2003 installer which always adds on every run also unwanted shortcuts in the start menu.

UltraEdit is much better here because it gives you the total control over the file extensions you want to assign with UltraEdit from within the editor. I use Total Commander (short TC) as file manager and have configured in TC that my text editor is UltraEdit. Therefore I can open any file with UltraEdit by simply pressing key F4 when the file has the focus. When I press Shift+F4 in TC, TC opens a small dialog where I can enter the name of a new text file created by TC in the current directory and then UltraEdit is started by TC to open this named new file with 0 bytes. So I never needed to assign any file extension to UltraEdit and therefore whenever I see above dialog after an upgrade of UltraEdit I uncheck .uenc, check the option to don't show this again and press button OK to close the dialog and never see it again until next upgrade. (Upgrade is not equal update!) It is very good that UltraEdit is installed not like MS Office or Adobe Reader with automatic file associations I don't need and want. UltraEdit gives me the choice and I take it to assign no file extension with UltraEdit.

However, most Windows users don't use file managers like Total Commander, Speed Commander, Directory Opus, etc. and therefore need to register lots of things to make their work with Windows Explorer a little bit more comfortable although best solution would be to use a real file manager. So I suppose that most users check some file extensions on this dialog and UltraEdit makes the necessary changes in the registry. But you must always take into account that YOU have initiated these changes in the registry and therefore YOU must initiate undoing them when not needed anymore, for example before uninstalling UltraEdit. UltraEdit has not automatically assigned itself as opening application for any file extension and therefore also does not automatically remove any file association. And the Microsoft Installer used to install UltraEdit also does not change any file association and therefore also does not remove any of them. Installers always just uninstalls what they have added or changed on hard disk or registry and never what the installed application itself or the user with the installed application has changed on hard disk or registry. This is the reason why user configurations and file associations are never uninstalled by any installer of any application and which is also the reason why I make my on snapshots to see what was really modified by installing an application or device AND configuring and using it.

I hope this large article makes clear now the big differences on what is modified during installing an application, what is modified by the application and what is modified by the user with the application and who is responsible for undoing these changes.

BengalTigger · Jun 02, 2010#92010-06-02T17:51+00:00

I have a brand new install of Windows 7 32-bit and just loaded UltraEdit version 16.00.0.1040. When I try to right-click on my desktop, the "New Text Document" is not one of the available options.
Per the above instructions I added a file association to .txt for UltraEdit, but 'new text document' is still missing from the context menu.

conandrum · Aug 04, 2011#102011-08-04T01:34+00:00

I do not know why this happens but here is the solution...

Regedit - Make sure the default entry for the following key in the registry is "Text Document".
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\UltraEdit.txt]
@="Text Document"

I bet yours is blank.

If you cannot do it manually, just type the following in a text file, name it "temp.reg" and run the file by double clicking it.
---------------------------copy from the line below--------------------------
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\UltraEdit.txt]
@="Text Document"

---------------------------copy until the line above--------------------------

In a few seconds you will be able to see that "New Text Document" is available as an option on the desktop contect menu.

To double check, you can open UEdit and go to options file associations and double check that next to .txt says "Text Document".

Enjoy!!