Creating, Editing, or Deleting Registry Keys (Reg Keys) and/or String Values

Issue

You need to create a new Registry Key (Reg Key) and/or string value, or you need to edit or delete one or more of the Reg Keys.

Important note: DO NOT edit or delete Reg Keys from your computer unless you are specifically instructed to do so by one of our Knowledge Base articles or technical support personnel.

Reg Keys are essentially folders that allow Windows applications to process data. On rare occasions, programs such as AutoCAD can become corrupted and require you to delete one or more of these folders. Some functions of our software may also require you to edit a Reg Key.

Solution

Open the Registry Editor

1. Open the Windows Run dialog box by pressing the Windows + R keys (Windows keyboard) or Command + R keys (Mac keyboard).

2. In the Run dialog box, type Regedit and click OK.

3. The Registry Editor dialog box will open.

 

 

The Reg Keys are located within the folders with names that begin with HKEY_ (as pictured to the right).

 

 

A Reg Key's name consists of its folder path within this folder structure.

 

 

Some of our troubleshooting articles will instruct you to edit or delete one or more Reg Keys. To locate a Reg Key, expand the first folder in that Reg Key's name (example: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE) by clicking the right-facing arrow to the left of that folder.

4. Continue expanding folders to locate the Reg Key you need to create, edit, or delete.

• Create a Reg Key
• Create a String Value
• Edit a Reg Key or String Value
• Delete a Reg Key or String Value
• Change Permissions for Reg Keys

Create a Reg Key

To create a new Reg Key, right-click the key location where you want to create the new key. Hover the mouse on the New option in the menu that opens, then select Key from the submenu that opens after that.

In this example, we'll create a key named Ecografx in the key location HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE

 

 

You'll see a new key within the key path you right-clicked.

 

Type a name for the key (example: Ecografx).

 

 

To continue adding keys to the path you've created – for example, if you need to create the key path HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Ecografx\Land F/X in following our Manual Installation of the Land F/X Workstation steps, repeat these steps, right-clicking the new key you just created and selecting the option for the new key in the menu.

If our Knowledge Base or one of our support technicians has instructed you to create a key path that ends with a string value, move on to the Create a String Value steps below once you've created the necessary key path. So, for example, if you're following our Manual Installation of the Land F/X Workstation Installer steps, you'd create the key path HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Ecografx\Land F/X and then create the string value InstallPath within the Land F/X key as shown below.

Create a String Value

Creating a string value is similar to creating a key – right-click on the key where you want to create the string value, hover on New in the menu, and then select String Value from the submenu. In this example, we'll create the string value InstallPath within the key Land F/X.

The new string value will appear to the right of the key you right-clicked. Type a name for the new string value (example: InstallPath)

Edit a Reg Key or String Value

To edit a Reg Key or string value, click the Reg Key folder to open it. In our example, we'll edit the Reg Key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ODBC\ODBC.INI\LANDFX by clicking the folder LANDFX in the path of the same name.

In the right pane, you'll see a list of files, or "strings," contained within the Reg Key you selected. Right-click the string you want to edit. Select Modify from the menu that opens. In our example, we'll edit the string SERVER.

In the Edit String dialog box, make your desired change in the Value data field. Click OK to save your change.

Delete a Reg Key or String Value

Before deleting a Reg Key or string value, it's a good idea to back it up by exporting it. In this example, we'll show you how to export and delete the Reg Key named HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Installer\Products\AutoCAD 2015.

Navigate to the location where you want to back up the Reg Key, and click Save.

 

 

 

You'll now have a backed-up copy of the Reg Key, should you need it.

You can now delete the Reg Key safely.

To delete the Reg Key, right-click it and select Delete from the menu that opens.

Do not delete this particular Reg Key – or any Reg Key, for that matter – unless specifically instructed to do so. The Reg Key(s) you need to delete will depend on the issue you're experiencing with AutoCAD.

Change Permissions for Reg Keys

You may also need to change the permissions settings for reg keys. Here's how to do that:

Right-click the key whose permissions you need to change.

 

Select the Permissions option from the menu that opens.

Select the user whose permissions you need to change (example:HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Autodesk.

 

Check the box for the permission type you need to grant or deny to the selected user. For example, if you need to grant the user full control (read/write access) for the key, select the Full control option in the Allow column.

 

Click Apply to apply the change, or OK to apply the change and close the permissions dialog box.

 

You'll likely need to grant permission to the System and Administrator roles as well.

You may need to restart your computer for the permission changes to take effect.