Force files to open in Notepad

Operating Systems Windows
1

Is there a way I can force all specific file types to open in notepad if I set a user as non administrator?

This is for a shul’s oitzer hachochma to block video and music playback

2

Copilot made this script

will it work if anyone knows windows

Summary 
# ---------------------------------------------------------
# Force ALL file types (except .exe and .pdf) to open in Notepad
# Windows 11 Home compatible
# ---------------------------------------------------------

Write-Host "Enumerating all registered file extensions..." -ForegroundColor Cyan

# Get all extensions registered under HKLM\Software\Classes
$allExts = Get-ChildItem "HKLM:\Software\Classes" |
    Where-Object { $_.Name -match "\\\." } |
    Select-Object -ExpandProperty PSChildName

# Exclusions
$exclude = @(".exe", ".pdf")

# Filter extensions
$targetExts = $allExts | Where-Object { $exclude -notcontains $_.ToLower() }

Write-Host "Found $($targetExts.Count) extensions to force to Notepad."

# ---------------------------------------------------------
# 1. Set HKLM machine-wide associations
# ---------------------------------------------------------

foreach ($ext in $targetExts) {
    $progId = "txtfile"

    reg add "HKLM\Software\Classes\$ext" /ve /d $progId /f | Out-Null
    reg add "HKLM\Software\Classes\$progId\shell\open\command" /ve /d "`"%SystemRoot%\system32\notepad.exe`" `"%1`"" /f | Out-Null

    Write-Host "Associated $ext with Notepad"
}

# ---------------------------------------------------------
# 2. Remove UserChoice overrides
# ---------------------------------------------------------

Write-Host "`nRemoving UserChoice overrides..." -ForegroundColor Cyan

foreach ($ext in $targetExts) {
    $ucPath = "HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\$ext\UserChoice"
    if (Test-Path $ucPath) {
        Remove-Item $ucPath -Recurse -Force
        Write-Host "Removed UserChoice for $ext"
    }
}

# ---------------------------------------------------------
# 3. Lock registry keys to prevent override
# ---------------------------------------------------------

Write-Host "`nLocking registry keys..." -ForegroundColor Cyan

foreach ($ext in $targetExts) {
    $keyPath = "HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\$ext"

    if (-not (Test-Path $keyPath)) {
        New-Item $keyPath -Force | Out-Null
    }

    $acl = Get-Acl $keyPath
    $rule = New-Object System.Security.AccessControl.RegistryAccessRule("Users","SetValue,CreateSubKey,Delete","Deny")
    $acl.AddAccessRule($rule)
    Set-Acl $keyPath $acl

    Write-Host "Locked $ext"
}

Write-Host "`nAll done! All file types except .exe and .pdf now open in Notepad." -ForegroundColor Green

and block the open with menu via

# Block Windows 11 modern "Open with" menu
New-Item -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Shell Extensions\Blocked" -Force | Out-Null
New-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Shell Extensions\Blocked" `
    -Name "{09799AFB-AD67-11d1-ABCD-00C04FC30936}" -Value "" -PropertyType String -Force | Out-Null