New Text Document missing for context menu (12.7 Pro)

[evaluating version 12.7 Pro Edition, set as Explorer replacement]

I see this issue was reported back in 2010. I could not find any resolution though. Here are a few things I have tried:

  • From Opus file panel, right click, New, Text Document is MISSING
  • Shift right click- missing there also
  • Select Tools / Open in Explorer, right click, New, Text Document is THERE
  • check registry for text document entries, google and replace them anyways, no change
  • check my laptop, Opus is working there and the new text document is working
  • backup laptop complete laptop settings from within Opus, restore to desktop, no change, New text document still missing
  • Uninstall Opus from desktop and reboot, reinstall check, missing still, reboot, check, missing still

... Help...?
(running Windows 10, build 16299.248, current patches all applied)

Directory Opus - context menu, New - Text Document ... not there

Selected Tools - Open in Explorer - Then check context menu, New - Text Document

Please go to Settings > File Types, then use the menu at the top to open File > Diagnostic, and save a diagnostic for the .txt extension, and attach it here.

Opus_FTD_File_txt.zip (32.3 KB)

Thanks for the diagnostic.

The registry settings look OK to me.

  1. Could you try using this method to create a new text file to see if that works? It's in the New Folder menu-button:

    200dpi_wc10859_dopus

    That menu item should always appear, but the question is whether it creates a new text file or not when it is used.

  2. While there, check the New menu directly below that, to see if it includes the Text Document item or is also missing it.

Okay, tried it. The New Folder / New Text Document is there, and it functions as expected. The New Folder / New > brings up the context menu, same as the context menu of the right click, missing the New Document.

So, I have a workaround. In the meantime I created a hotkey using the 'FileType NEW=.txt' command, which is also a workaround.

I'm still very interested in solving the context issue though. Worst case, other issues may surface that require workarounds. The context menu works within Explorer, so this appears to be an Opus issue. What else can I do to diagnose and fix it?

I did a little more testing. After doing an uninstall and rebooting, I've searched both the file system and registry for anything left behind. I searched for 'opus' and 'gpsoftware'. I then rebooted and reinstalled Opus. I've got 5 days left on the eval, so I was able to switch between Pro and Light. I also compared the results of the context menu with Explorer. Whatever is causing the context issue of New - Text Document not to show persists thru an uninstall. Explorer has one (1) entry that Opus does not. I even went and uninstalled Libre Office, just to see if the four context items for that would effect anything. The only thing I saw is that once uninstalled, Explorer dropped the context for Libre, but Opus did not. I then rebooted, and Opus then dropped the Libre items. Still, the New-Text Document missing on Opus.

It seems that this has possibly been an issue since reported in 2010, since I saw no resolution to it. If there is a test-version of Opus I could run to create a log, I'd be happy to do it.

Which 2010 thread are you referring to so i can have a look at what was in that as well?

Looking at the code again, I think I see what's probably causing the problem on one of your machines.

If there are two file types which both specify Content Type = text/plain, Opus will only add a New menu item for one of them.

So the .txt filetype is fine on your system, but one of the other filetypes will be conflicting with it.

It looks like Explorer doesn't have this check, so we'll probably remove it in the next update, unless we discover a reason to keep it before then.

Interestingly, removing this check results in two almost identical entries for Microsoft Access, in both Opus and Explorer. They actually do different things, as well, although you can only tell which is which by the slightly different icons.

Opus (with the Content Type check removed):

File Explorer:

Perhaps that kind of thing is why we have been filtering the list in Opus. But it probably does not make sense to filter it in that way if Explorer isn't doing the same thing, and if it's causing problems like the one you are seeing.

(It's also interesting that Explorer can't sort the menu properly -- one of the Access items is at the very top, and the Excel item is at the very bottom -- but that seems unrelated to the Microsoft Access oddity, and doesn't affect Opus.)

2010 post:

I think we've worked out the cause, so please try with 12.7.3 beta once we release it. If you still have problems with that version, let us know here.

Looking forward to trying 12.7.3 beta.