16 replies to this topic

[yogiholzer]

Working file associations for VP/VPM table files (*.vpt)


You want to play a VP/VPM table by double mouse click either onto the table file (*.vpt) itself in the Windows Explorer or onto a link to the table file which you placed on your desktop, but it doesn't work. Either there's no reaction at all or only the blank VP Editor loads without to load the table to play.


This is either new to you at all or it will show you a possibility to circumvent the restrictions of Windows Vista + 7. Not sure if this was already solved before. If not here's a solution.


Windows XP


It's easy to fix that under Windows XP. In Windows Explorer you open 'Tools'->'Folder Options'->'File Types', then chose 'vpt', then 'Advanced'. Check/edit/add the/a 'Play' entry and make the settings to this:

"C:\Visual Pinball\VPinball.exe" /Play -"%1" (!You have to set/change it to your individual Visual Pinball installation path!)

Set the 'Play' entry as your default action when you double mouse click a *.vpt file.

Done.

If you don't want to play a table as your default action when you double mouse click a *.vpt file, you can change it to load the table in the VP Editor in editing mode.

Just check/edit/make the/a 'Edit' entry and make the settings to this:

"C:\Visual Pinball\VPinball.exe" /Edit -"%1" (!You have to set/change it to your individual Visual Pinball installation path!)

Set the 'Edit' entry as your default action when you double mouse click a *.vpt file.

Done.


Windows Vista + 7


There doesn't seem to be a possibility anymore to set and/or change your default action when you double mouse click a *.vpt file.

I found a freeware program that let's you make the settings under Windows 7 and Vista as known from before. It's called 'ExtMan' and is available from here: http://www.pix-house.com/extman.html

Get the ExtMan.zip, unzip to wherever you want and run the ExtMan.exe. The program surface can changed from German to English and back. Scroll down to the file extension 'vpt' and chose 'Edit extension'. Either there are already play and/or edit actions (Then chose 'Edit' and change the entries to the lines above. !You have to change them to your individual Visual Pinball installation path!) or you have to create them by using 'New action'. Then 'Set default' to make one as your default action when you double mouse click a *.vpt file.

There's also the possibility to change the file symbol to another, maybe to the known blue square with the ball inside.


I hope this from some help.

[destruk]

Thanks Yogiholzer! I'd been looking for a program like that before.

[yogiholzer]

I have had a clean Windows 7 installation here and VP/VPM still wasn't installed. This time I tried the VPInstaller 1.0.3. It's working ok, but I also tested the file associations and I missed them working. So I searched for a solution and found this small nice software. I tested it here today and it did what I want. So I thought it might be helpfull for others. As far as I remember the problem was always there if you didn't use the VP 6.1 full installation, but any later version. This fixes the problem.

[ta2686]

Thanks for that info, Yogi!

Now I can double click a table and have it play rather than going through the editor again! (Had to reinstall VP after I had to redo the hard drive)

[kevinleedrum]

I just wanted to add another way to associate VPT files in Windows 7. You basically create a batch script to run the table, and associate the tables with that script instead of the Visual Pinball executable. Sorry if this has been mentioned before.

Copy and paste this line into Notepad (change the VPinball.exe filename if necessary to match yours):
start %~dp0\VPinball912.exe /play -%1

Click File, Save As. Save the file in your Visual Pinball folder, but in the Save as type dropdown menu, select All Files. Save it as PlayTable.cmd or whatever you want--as long as the .cmd extension is there.

Now, you will associate VPT files with this script you created: Right-click on a VPT file, and in the Open With menu, click Choose default program. Click Browse, and then browse to your VP folder, and select your new script.

FYI, the "%~dp0\" simply tells the script to look in the same folder where the script itself is saved. You can change it to the full Visual Pinball path if you want to save the script elsewhere.

[Itchigo]

I tried this in xp and I get all sorts of graphical glitches that I don't get going through the editor. Don't know why. Tables open though. Also it seems that only recreations will open this way, my originals will not.

Edited by Itchigo, 28 September 2011 - 08:46 AM.

[blur]

i don't know if windows use compatibility mode if you open vpt with double click

try to run vp in nt comp. mode and without it and see if you get same thing

[faralos]

tks for this! Mine was set to vp8 and I forgot (really, me?) how to switch it.
will let ya' know if my originals open with it too as Itch seems to be having probs atm
odd why the originals, unless maybe table size ; too much for desktop or something maybe it must go thru the vp editor

Edited by faralos, 28 September 2011 - 01:50 PM.

[ced]

I just wanted to add another way to associate VPT files in Windows 7. You basically create a batch script to run the table, and associate the tables with that script instead of the Visual Pinball executable. Sorry if this has been mentioned before.

Copy and paste this line into Notepad (change the VPinball.exe filename if necessary to match yours):
start %~dp0\VPinball912.exe /play -%1

Click File, Save As. Save the file in your Visual Pinball folder, but in the Save as type dropdown menu, select All Files. Save it as PlayTable.cmd or whatever you want--as long as the .cmd extension is there.

Now, you will associate VPT files with this script you created: Right-click on a VPT file, and in the Open With menu, click Choose default program. Click Browse, and then browse to your VP folder, and select your new script.

FYI, the "%~dp0\" simply tells the script to look in the same folder where the script itself is saved. You can change it to the full Visual Pinball path if you want to save the script elsewhere.

WOWWWwwww !! Thank you very much !!!

[nokto]

Thank you

[hgpinball]

The disadvantage is that, no matter what method you use, you can only associate .vpt files with VP8 or VP9, depending on which VP executable you associate.
You may consider to use a front end like VP-Man; it lets you set a default version, e. g. VP8 and then choose the correct VP version for each VP9 table. If you use 'latest' as the version choice in VP-Man's table launching options, you can even add a new VP9 version at any time and it will be used instantly with each VP9 table.

[loganfive]

This is an old thread but if anyone's out there can they help me do this with Future Pinball?  Thanks, This worked perfectly with VP:

 

start %~dp0\VPinball912.exe /play -%1

[blur]

I'm not sure what's the problem with win7.

All of this can be done with regedit - no need for any other software - works even on win7.

But you don't even have to do anything cause fp installation does this for fp tables and visual install pack does this for vp tables.

It creates Future Pinball table and VP-Table objects in hkey_classes_root and edit open and play actions which all work out of the box.

Both install older versions of fp and vp but then you just replace exe with newer one.

 

For example Play key for vp is something like this:

 

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\VP-Table\shell\Play\command]

 

and command is like this:

Default  REG_SZ    C:\Games\Visual Pinball\VPinball.exe /Play -"%1"

 

Edited by blur, 14 March 2013 - 11:32 PM.

[fox24]

Thanks for the tip.

[Doccus]

What is the "Close" command, so that it just quits instead of goes to the editor.? I used to know, but can't find it ANYWHERE here... THX

 

 I found what *used* to work, apparently, on my old vista install, but now I get an error.. "error loading tables/exit"

/open "%1" /play /exit

 

 what could be wrong?

Edited by Doccus, 18 June 2013 - 03:48 AM.

[mkl66]

I play Visual Pinball with all the new DX9 versions (test1 - test15 and now RC1). So everytime I downloaded a new executable the same problem occures: The file associations doesn't work properly and doubleclicking on a table in explorer just starts VisualPinball without any table.

Now I've done some research and found a solution that I want to share with the community:

 

After installing a new VisualPinball binary (the newest is "VPinball990-RC1.exe" located at  "E:\Visual Pinball\" ) I execute the following steps:

1. Register the new binary with the *.vpt files
   This will add a new key "VPinball990-RC1.exe" in the registry under: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Applications
2. In regedit I found that there are some subkeys defined automatically. Its the tree shell->open->command seen in the following screenshot:
   
   There I changed the standard key to "E:\Visual Pinball\VPinball990-RC1.exe" /Edit -"%1"
   This will be the standard action when doubleclicking on the table (Load the table in VisualPinball)
3. To be able to directly play a table, you can add another set of registry keys. Just add under the shell key a Play->command key combination and change the standard key to "E:\Visual Pinball\VPinball990-RC1.exe" /Play -"%1"
   Then you can rightclick a table and chose play to directly play the table in VisualPinball.

I hope this helps some of you having trouble with the file associations.

[what2be]

Not sure if you need to go to all that trouble, I actually installed in one directory but then changed my folder structure and when I did that I got a error when trying to click on a .VPT file. To fix it all I did was re-run the setup.exe from the vp990 full install file and picked the "repair" option and was good to go. I can click on any .VPT file and it loads.

 

Also, I have both the VPinball990.exe file as well as a "VPinball.exe" file in my \Virtual Pinball folder. I made the Vpinball.exe by copying vpinball990.exe to another folder (eg, temp) and then renaming it to VPinball.exe and then moving it back to the \Virtual Pinball folder.