INSTRUCTIONS FOR MERGING REGISTRY (.REG) FILES INTO YOUR WINDOWS REGISTRY

The file you have downloaded, if executed, will modify your Windows Registry. Though I would not have posted this file if I did not believe it safe, it is always prudent to exercise some precautions. (Think of it as "safe sex and the single Registry.")

In brief: Never make changes to your Windows Registry without first backing it up. In Windows 95, I recommend backing up using the utility ERU (Emergency Recovery Utility) which is on your Win95 CD. Back up the Registry and other start files to a folder on your hard drive for easy recovery in the event of a problem. In Windows 98, I also recommend using ERU if you have a copy from a Windows 95 CD (ERU isn't on the Win98 CD). Otherwise, Win98 has its own backup utility called ScanReg, which can be run from a Run box (click Start, then Run).


EXPLANATION OF EDITREG.REG

Besides this ReadMe file, there are probably two files in the ZIP or CAB file you have just downloaded. One is the Registry file you requested. The other is a file called EditReg.reg, which I recommend you launch -- but only after you know what it does.

Normally, when you click on a Registry file in Windows, this causes the contents of that file to be merged into (made part of) your Windows Registry. This is how it makes changes to your system. Many of us consider this to be a little risky, for many reasons. For example, someone could give you a file maliciously designed to alter your Registry in a way you don't want; or there could be honest and unintentional problems, errors in the file, a mismatch to your version of Windows, etc. You might want to examine the file before merging it. You might want to download it and run a virus check on it. Things like that.

I have changed my own Windows system so that when I click on a REG file it does *not* merge automatically into the Registry. Instead, it opens the file in Notepad so I can read it (it's really just a text file in a particular format). To merge it into the Registry, I have to right-click on the file's icon and select Merge from the context menu that pops up. I recommend this change for everyone.

But whether to make the change is, of course, your own choice. You may not want the change. Or you may. I recommend it.

This is what EditReg.reg does. An elegant little reg file by DTS MVP Frank Saunders, it changes your Registry so that, in the future, clicking on a Registry file will cause it to open in your default text editor. To merge the Registry file into your Registry, you will need to right-click on it and select Merge.

If you want this feature, click the EditReg.reg icon now. Otherwise, don't.

The remainder of this zip or cab file is the Registry patch you requested.

James A. Eshelman
20 October 1999
(Last revised 1 August 2001)

