To make Emacs the default editor for text files on Windows, save this as "emacsdefault.reg" and then run it with the registry editor:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 ; ; Anything defined as a "txtfile" is opened with Emacs. ; [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\txtfile\shell] [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\txtfile\shell\open] [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\txtfile\shell\open\command] @="\"C:\\Program Files\\emacs-23.1\\bin\\emacsclientw.exe\" -n -a \"C:\\Program Files\\emacs-23.1\\bin\\emacs.exe\" \"%1\""This works with Windows XP and Windows Vista. See Add Emacs to the Windows file menu for explanations of the commands on the final line (they are identical).