AutoIt/SciTE installers not registering correctly under Windows 10

[Radiance]

Hi all,

I recently reformatted my hard drives due to an unrelated malware issue and after setting up Windows I tried to install AutoIt again.
Did this the same way I've been doing it for years. Download latest AutoIt Installer, let it run, download latest SciTE installer, let it run.

After installing SciTE I noticed I can't create new .au3-files from the windows context menu anymore.



Existing .au3-files also had no assiciation with them, meaning trying to open them would bring up the windows prompt for selecting an application.

Reboot, uninstalling and installing again didn't fix the issue.
A partial solution would be to just tell windows to open the files with SciTE.exe but then they'd all look like compiled scripts.



Still wouldn't allow me to create new scripts from the context menu tho.

I've been using AutoIt for years, installed it on way too many machines and have never seen this happen.
How can I fix this?

Windows 10 Enterprise 22H2 with latest updates.

[Jos]

Sounds like that issue is really on your computer. I check all the registry setting you simply could run SciTEConfig and select "Other Tools" and then run the third option "Run AutoIt3/SciTE check".   This will process a window with a lot of info which you can share here so I can have a look. It will also give you pointers in case the registry contains issues.  

[Radiance]

3 minutes ago, Jos said:

Sounds like that issue is really on your computer.

I think so too but I have no idea what I did different this time while setting up my pc. Even used the same Win10 DVD as times before.
Here's the output from the check:
 

******************************************************************************************************************************************
!*  Found always open with Win7    :Applications\SciTE.exe
!*  Fixed by removing Registry key : "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.au3\Userchoice"
!*  Registry key: "HKCR\.au3" - "Default" is currently set to au3_auto_file   ==> This should be changed to "AutoIt3Script" (or "AutoIt3ScriptBeta")
* HKLM\SOFTWARE\Classes\.au3\ShellNew: C:\WINDOWS\SHELLNEW\Template.au3 (File Exists)
* HKCR\.au3 ShellNew                 : C:\WINDOWS\SHELLNEW\Template.au3 (File Exists)
******************************************************************************************************************************************
* Explorer shell options:
* HKCR\au3_auto_file\shell: 
*  => Default Action:
******************************************************************************************************************************************
* User SciTE info:
*    SCITE_USERHOME:C:\Users\MyUsername\AppData\Local\AutoIt v3\SciTE: 
*    Directory missing: C:\Users\MyUsername\AppData\Local\AutoIt v3\SciTE\SciTE Jump
*    SciTEUSer.Properties: 
*-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
import au3.UserUdfs
import au3.keywords.user.abbreviations
******************************************************************************************************************************************

 

[Jos]

Well... as you can see there are several issues in your registry. The first one is because you've done an "always open with" operation. The other one is a strange one as that feels like you haven't used the latest installer version of AutoIt3! That old registry key (au3_auto_file) should be removed by the latest version of the installer!

Did you do any restore of an old registry and do you have proper access to the Registry Hive? 

You could simply do as you are requested in that report as that likely will fix it for you:

!*  Found always open with Win7    :Applications\SciTE.exe
!*  Fixed by removing Registry key : "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.au3\Userchoice"
!*  Registry key: "HKCR\.au3" - "Default" is currently set to au3_auto_file   ==> This should be changed to "AutoIt3Script" (or "AutoIt3ScriptBeta")

 

Edited January 11, 2023 by Jos

[Radiance]

!*  Registry key: "HKCR\.au3" - "Default" is currently set to au3_auto_file   ==> This should be changed to "AutoIt3Script" (or "AutoIt3ScriptBeta")

Wow, this one actually really fixed it. Script-files look like they should, there's now Edit/Run/Compile options when you right click one and also I can create new .au3 files via the context menu.

Quote

Did you do any restore of an old registry and do you have proper access to the Registry Hive? 

I did not and yes I have.
A newly set up Windows on an empty hard drive.

This is very wild to me.
Both installers were freshly downloaded from the official website. AutoIt v3.3.16.1 and SciTE 21.316.1639.0.2 - there are no other installers on my system.
I tried to reproduce this by uninstalling, checking that the reg key is gone and then reinstalling (using the same installers where the problem initially occured), it correctly gets set to "AutoIt3Script" now.

My theory is that something else did set that registry key beforehand, it might have been Microsoft Visual Studio 2022, which I installed before I installed AutoIt.
There's currently no other software on my pc that would have any business with .au3-files.

If I manually set the key back to "au3_auto_file" and run the AutoIt-Installer again it simply stays this way, so this:

Quote

That old registry key (au3_auto_file) should be removed by the latest version of the installer

...doesn't seem to be the case. The invalid reg key:

• doesn't get removed by uninstalling AutoIt (it does if it's the correct value)
• doesn't get set to the correct one after installing AutoIt again.

 

Edit: big THANK YOU for the help, Jos

Edited January 11, 2023 by Radiance

[Jos]

4 minutes ago, Radiance said:

Wow, this one actually really fixed it. Script-files look like they should, there's now Edit/Run/Compile options when you right click one and also I can create new .au3 files via the context menu.

Clear and glad my script is still proving right   .......I double checked and you are right it doesn't make that change I though it did....this is what the installer does:

• DeleteRegKey HKCR "au3_auto_file"  (So removes those old settings when they are there)
• Check for the default for HKCR ".au3", and when provided already don't do anything.... else set it to the the appropriate default setting.

This means to me that this "wrong value" in "HKCR\.au3" - "Default" was already there before you started the installer and so it didn't update it. Reason for that is:

; Only associate if .au3 has not been customised

Jos  

[Radiance]

Quote

• DeleteRegKey HKCR "au3_auto_file"  (So removes those old settings when they are there)

Just so I understand this correctly and to make sure it's not a bug.... this right here should be removed by the installer? Because this isn't the case.

Edited January 11, 2023 by Radiance

[Skysnake]

As which user did you run the install? Administrator user or ordinary user?

[Radiance]

1 minute ago, Skysnake said:

As which user did you run the install? Administrator user or ordinary user?

Standard personal and only user which is a member of the local Administrator-group.

[Jos]

No the installer will only remove  HKCR\au3_auto_file when it exists as I think that was used in the past. Any reference to it in HKCR\.au3. will remain.
 

[Radiance]

46 minutes ago, Radiance said:

it might have been Microsoft Visual Studio 2022

I double-checked this on a clean VM and it's not the case, VS doesn't set anything here.
Also tried to reproduce the issue a few times but no luck.

I have no idea where this registry value initially came from, I certainly didn't set it myself and there's been no AutoIt-related stuff going on at my freshly set up windows before this.

What a mystery, lol.

But anyway, it works now. Thank you!

[vicmc]

New member here and also first post am also having this problem on a fairly fresh install of windows 10

i had as well installed  Visual Studio and autohot key which did install something into my right click and had thought it was that, that blocked me but now i know its a registry key, i think i know how my problem arose i first used the portable version of autoit which probably installed the registry keys which was causing my problem or lack of registry keys in my case