How do I stop gedit from opening anything?

On 11.10 defaults.list is under /etc/gnome/defaults.list

• Open defaults.list using any text editor.
• Replace text/plain=gedit.desktop with text/plain=gvim.desktop
• Save and close.

Right click on any text file and you will see like this:-

It works for me :)

Not to mention most of what you find on the internet says right click->Open width->Always >use this application to set the default app for each of your file types. I'm fine with >that, but in the new ubuntu (11.10) that option is simply not there anymore.

I had this same problem with getting LibreOffice to recognize .xlsx files. Right-click on the file you want to open, click properties, and go to the 'Open With' tab. There, you can select an application and there should be an option in the bottom right to 'Set as default'

Hope it helps!