“Edit with IDLE” option missing from context menu

Question

I have Python 2.7.5 that installed with ArcGIS 10.2.2. When I first right-clicked a .py script I\'d previously written it listed the \"Edit with IDLE\" option in the contex

Answer 1

I think the majority of cases are caused by the Py launcher that comes with Python 3. When you install Python 3 alongside Python 2.x, the *.py and *.pyw files are associated to run with the new Py launcher. Since *.py and *.pyw files are no longer associated with Python.exe, that breaks the "Edit with IDLE" and similar context menu options, despite all relevant registry entries being present and correct.

Right clicking a file and choosing Python.exe and selecting "always use the selected program to open this kind of file" option fixes the problem (even if Python.exe seems to be already set as the default program) but then you lose the Py launcher functionality. This may well be considered a bug with the Python 3.x installer and I think should be fixed at that level by the Python developers.

Meanwhile, I'm sure registry wizards can find a workaround for this but unfortunately, that's beyond me at the moment.