Open UltraEdit project from Windows Explorer

TXWizard · May 23, 2017#12017-05-23T19:21+00:00

When I discovered and began using project files in 2009 or 2010, I attempted to open a project file from Windows Explorer, assuming that it had an association with UltraEdit, and that it would open the project as if I had selected it from the menu of recent projects in an active UE instance. Silly me, there was no association, quite possibly because Visual Studio 6 had already appropriated that extension for itself.

While it remains true that there is no association per se, I just discovered that one can now be safely created, because my current installation of Visual Studio is 2013, which now sports a collection of long extensions for the multitude of language specific project files that it supports (e. g., vcxproj for Visual C++ and .csproj for C#).

This I accomplished by double-clicking a .prj file in the Windows Explorer, exercising the option to select a program from a list, and pick the only program offered, which happened to be UltraEdit.

Mofi · May 25, 2017#22017-05-25T18:11+00:00

UltraEdit does not associate itself with file extensions. Such file associations must be done by the user using either Windows methods or Advanced - Settings/Configuration - File Associations is opened in UltraEdit and there the file associations are made by the user. The later has the advantage that UltraEdit remembers a perhaps already existing file association for a specific file extension and restores that file association when the UltraEdit user uses again this configuration dialog and deletes the file association.

UltraEdit opens always the project instead of the *.prj file when UltraEdit detects that a *.prj file has the UltraEdit project header.

What does this mean in practice?

UltraEdit is added to context menu of Windows Explorer according to Integrate with Explorer as at Advanced - Settings/Configuration - File Associations.

Clicking with secondary (right) mouse button on a *.prj file being really an UltraEdit project file and not a project file of a different IDE and clicking in context menu on item UltraEdit results in opening the project instead of opening the project file as text file.
Starting UltraEdit with name of a *.prj file being an UltraEdit project file as parameter results in opening the project instead of opening the project file as text file.

This could be used by creating a shortcut file (*.lnk) which has on command line the executable of UltraEdit with full path and as parameter also on command line the project file with full path.

Double clicking on this shortcut file results in starting UltraEdit with opening the project. Using /fni (force new instance) and /foi (force old instance) as first parameter on command line of the shortcut file makes it even possible to control if the project is opened in a new instance of UltraEdit or in already running UltraEdit instance independent on the settings at Advanced - Settings/Configuration - Application Layout - Miscellaneous.

On having such shortcut files in Window start menu in a folder like Projects perhaps even with a hotkey assigned for execution by key, it is really easy to start UltraEdit and load a project from Windows start menu or even by hitting a key combination.
A list can be created in UltraEdit containing all UltraEdit project files for quickly opening any UltraEdit project from this list. See forum topic Is there a pane to view all projects in UltraEdit v24?
And last opening an UltraEdit *.prj file via File Open dialog of UltraEdit results also in opening the project instead of opening the project file as text file depending on version of Windows operating system. (The file is opened as text file on Windows 2000/XP by UltraEdit, but results in opening the project on Windows Vista and later Windows versions.)

Conclusion: There are lots of possibilities to quickly open an UltraEdit project from outside and inside of UltraEdit even when the file extension .prj is associated already with a different application.