How to add new extensions "correctly"

I have come across a problem. I cannot find the answer here, though
I'm surprised nobody else has asked.

The question is: How should one get SQL FTS to index files' content
which have a suffix/extension not among those supplied by default BUT
perfectly searchable by existing filters? I do *not* mean content
which requires a new IFilter.

I have an IMAGE column with content taken from files, and I have
populated the "extension mapping" column with the original file's
extension. All is working fine. However....

Users could add *any* type of file. Take an example: if they add
"fred.txt" it will be indexed (with text filter), but if the file
happens to be, say, "fred.cs", it will not be indexed.

So far as I can see, via the Citeknet IFilter Explorer, for SQL
2000/2005 purposes (but not other MSSearch apps) essentially only
extensions with subkeys in registry
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\ContentIndexCommon\Filters
\Extension
(about 30 entries) get indexed. This seems to be a list installed by
Microsoft.

Now, ".cs" files themselves are known as "text/plain", and have the
right "PersistentHandler", but because they do not appear there they
are not indexed by SQL FTS; and so on for many other file types which
are plain text.

That gives me 2 possibilities:

1. Tell my users to (ask their admins to) add extensions to this list
(somehow, e.g. directly in registry).

2. Invent a "pseudo-extension" column in my SQL table, which does not
hold the true file extension but rather the extension to tell SQL FTS
to use for indexing, e.g. ".txt" for a ".cs" file. Then allow a
"mappings" table (or whatever) to be set up, and use that to decide
for each file added into IMAGE column what to put in the "Extension"
column.

Which is the "correct"/"recommended" way to do this? Have others
chosen either path?

.

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