Change file association for .do files in Windows 7 to open in do-file editor

[David Radwin]

Dear Statalisters,

When I double-click a .do file in Windows 7, it opens the Stata 13 executable, but it does not open the .do file in the do-file editor as I would prefer.

I tried resetting the file associations as described in this 2010 Statalist thread, but it did not work. (The result was that double-clicking opened in the .do file in a standalone text editor.)

I also tried resetting the Windows Registry key HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\StataMP-64.exe\shell\open\command to "C:\Program Files (x86)\Stata13\StataMP-64.exe" "doedit %1" but that did not help, either.

I would very much appreciate your suggestions.

[Joe Canner]

David,

You probably already know this, but opening a .do file in the do-file editor is the default behavior, so you need to figure out how the default behavior got broken. Because this is the default, the documentation is not very forthcoming regarding how to change it.

What happens when you right-click on a .do file? You should have the option to either "Open" (which should open the editor) or "Execute(do)" or "Execute Quietly (run)" . If that is not the case, perhaps that will give you some clues as to what got messed up.

The nuclear option is, of course, to re-install Stata.

Regards,
Joe

[ben earnhart]

It might be too late for this since you went into deep settings already, but if you right-click and choose "choose default program" Stata *should* show up.

[David Radwin]

Thank you Ben and Joe.

Ben, I tried changing Stata to the default program, but after that double-clicking a do-file merely opens Stata but not the do-file.

Joe, I don't have the Execute options when I right-click a do file. I just have Open. See attached screen shot.

Obviously something is messed up. I would have to get our IT department to reinstall Stata, which make the nuclear option even less appealing.

[Jørgen Meisfjord]

I have done it this by changing a setting: In Stata, open the do-file editor. In the do-file editor, choose Edit>Preferences>Editor. In the box "Advanced" one can select to "Edit do-files opened from Windows instead of executing them." I hope this helps.

[David Radwin]

Thank you, Jørgen, but unfortunately that did not work for me. I think I have to wait until I get Stata 14.

[Sergio Correia]

David,

Have you tried something like this? http://defaultprogramseditor.com/
I once messed up my "edit do file" option and this allowed me to fix it.

Simple usage:
- Open program
- File type settings
- Context Menu
- type ".do" in search, scroll and click
- Look for "Edit" option.
- If it does not exist, select Add
- Command name is "Edit". Program path is something like: "C:\Program Files\Stata13\StataMP-64.exe" doedit "%1" (be sure to point to the correct program files, either default or x32)

Best,
S

[David Radwin]

Thank you Sergio. I did try using some program (I can't remember if it is the one you mentioned), but it did not work.

[Friedrich Huebler]

Did you contact Stata tech support?

[David Radwin]

Thanks, Friedrich, but now I'm hoping it will go away with an upgrade to Stata 14, whenever I get that.

[David Radwin]

Update: Upgrading to Stata 14 did not solve the problem, but getting a new computer did.

[Laura Gibbons]

I am now having this problem with Stata 15 on my Windows 7 operating system. I have tried all of the suggestions above, including the free software.

Now that I did the "reset file associations" in Stata 15, even Stata 14 does not come up as an option.

I can do without this feature, of course, but it is annoying. Any advice? Many thanks.

[Laura Gibbons]

Update - I went back in to defaultprogramseditor and was able to reset using a different method than was outlined above. Instead of clicking on "context menu" I clicked on "Change 'open with' programs". Hope that helps someone.

[Francis Makamu]

This post helped me solve the same problem after my office computer was upgraded to Stata 15. Here are the steps I used (Windows 7): I typed 'regedit' at the start menu command. It opened the Registry Editor. I looked for Applications>StataSE-64.exe>shell>open>command. A left click on '(Default)' to modify value data to the new path of Stata15 and then added "%1" right after. My attempts entering "doedit%1" or doedit"%1" as suggested above didn't work.

[David Radwin]

Well, I finally fixed the problem on my machine after getting Stata 15 (thanks to a coworker's how-to instructions). The trick for me was to use DefaultProgramsEditor.exe (see post 7 above) and follow this sequence:

1. Select "File Type Settings"
2. Select "Context Menu"
3. Select ".dta" using the search feature
4. Select "Edit Selected Command…" button (for the Open command)
5. Paste this text in the Program path, including quotation marks: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Stata15\StataMP-64.exe" "%1"
6. Copy and paste this text in the Program path: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Stata15\StataMP-64.exe" "%1"
7. Repeat steps 4-6 for the Edit command (this step may be unnecessary)
8. Select "Save Context Menu"
9. Select "OK"
10. For the do-file editor, repeat steps 2-8, except use ".do" in step 3 and "C:\Program Files (x86)\Stata15\StataMP-64.exe" doedit "%1" in step 5

I hope it doesn't take anyone else three years to solve this!