Changing file association preferences (Windows XP v. 5.1, SP2)

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I’d like to change my file association dialog box so that the option “Always use the selected program to open this kind of file” is unchecked by default. When it comes up now, it’s checked. Is there some way to change it?

Russ

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Not as far as I know…

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Thanks, Hans.

Russ

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You can turn off “Always use the selected program to open this kind of file” for specific extensions. Let’s say you want to turn it off by default for files with extension .xyz
– Select Start | Run…
– Type regedit and press Enter.
– Expand HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.
– Create a new key named .xyz
– That’s it.
Unfortunately, you’d have to do this for each extension that doesn’t yet have a program associated with it.

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Thanks, folks. Pardon my late reply–I’ve been away from a computer all day.

Hans, thank you for the registry editing idea. Since my main use of the file association dialog box is for unknown extensions that I run across, it won’t really work well for my needs.

Leif, thanks for the software suggestion. If I get a chance, I’ll check on it.

Big Al, on my previous office computer, Windows 2000, right-clicking a file in a window would give me the “Open with” option like you said. However, for some reason, my new XP office PC doesn’t include that (only gives “Open”); when you click “Open,” you get the choice of choosing a program from a list or using the “Web service” to find something and the “Always use the selected program to open this kind of file” is checkmarked by default.

Thanks to all of you for taking the time to answer.

Russ

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I just came across this tip at Ramesh’s site which may do the trick, but it appears to be on a per extension basis.

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That’s the same as my reply in post 648,112 (guess where I got it from ), and Russ already indicated that it doesn’t meet his needs.

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Oh – yes! I must really learn to read what’s been posted….

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I don’t know why you don’t see the Open With context menu, but it must happen ’cause one of our favorite places has a couple of “fixes” for the problem. Take a look at Troubleshooting Windows XP, Tweaks and Fixes for Windows XP and look at number 220 on the left and number 241 on the right. They’re small registry adjustments, so be careful.

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Thanks, Big Al. I’ll give it a try when I get a chance. I’ve been swamped here at work all week.

I too was puzzled that I wasn’t getting the “Open with” choice since I’d been used to seeing it in Windows 2000.

Russ

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Windows XP hides “Open with” if the file type is known to it. See ActiveWindows — Adding “Open With” Menu Command.

Joe

--Joe

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Thanks, Joe.

The first sentence of your link puzzles me: “The Open With context menu is only available when you Shift+right-click a file.” I’ve never used Shift with the right-click to get the “Open with” before. I’ll try that on my office machine to see if it works.

Russ

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Here’s an interesting twist:

My office computer (XP Professional 2003) is the one that has the missing “Open with” choice. However, I just tried it on my home computer (XP Media Center 2005), and I do get the “Open with” choice.

So as an experiment, I connected to my office computer remotely from home. Through the remote connection, I get the “Open with” choice. I guess that means my home machine’s settings are governing that particular item.

Russ

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You might find more flexibility with something like OpenExpert.

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Given what’s already been said, Russ, I don’t want to beat a dead horse, but I think it depends on how you “get there.” On my machine, if I open Folder Options, File Types in Windows Explorer, you’re correct in seeing the tick box already selected, for that is the association already in place.

But, if I get there by right-clicking a file of some type in a regular pane of Windows Explorer, select Open With and then Choose Program, the tick box is NOT checked and I can either select a currently listed program or browse for one. This is the route I usually take and only check the box if I want to “permanently” change the association.

I should mention that I run two machines, one with XP MCE and the other with Pro and they both behave the same way. YMMV…

An OLD post of mine: post 208,862

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“Shift+right-click a file” to “open a file with”, has been around since Windows 95.
When ever the “Open with” does not appear in the “context menu” I have always used the “Shift right click”.

DaveA I am so far behind, I think I am First
Genealogy....confusing the dead and annoying the living

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Thank you, Dave. I never knew it! Since I usually got “Open with” with just a plain right-click, it was never an issue. I’ll be interested to see if it solves the problem on my office computer.

Russ

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I’m XP Pro (SP-2). Currently I get “Open with” as an option by just right-clicking on a file in Explorer (no Shift required), and that’s true even if the file is a “known” file type.

But I’m virtually certain that wasn’t the case in the past (also using XP Pro, on this same PC). I used to have to use the Shift key to get “Open with” (at least if it was a “known” file type), and I’m pretty sure that was the case not very long ago — so maybe it got changed by one of the more recent Windows Updates (within the past 6 months?).

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That could be. My office computer is the same as yours, XP Pro (SP2), and it’s up to date with all the Windows updates. Since I’ve only been at this company one year, there’s not much of a track record to compare with. I don’t think I’ve had the occasion to deal with the File Association issue before now on this machine.

Russ

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Okay, here’s what I discovered (office computer, XP Pro, version 5.1, SP2):

– If I right-click on a file with a known extension, I get “Open with” (which seems odd since you don’t need it in that case).
– If I right-click on a file with an unknown extension, I only get “Open” (not “Open with”), but clicking “Open” takes me to a dialog with the option of choosing a program from a list, which is all I really need. Shift-right-clicking on this same file gives the same result (no “Open with”).
– I checked another computer here in the office and got the same results.

As I mentioned earlier, my home computer with XP Media Center 2005 does give me “Open with” when I right-click any file, known or unknown extension.

I’ve done all updates on both machines.

Bottom line: Since I can get to a list of programs to choose from when it only gives me “Open,” that’s all I really need. I think I’ll skip any registry changes since it’s my office computer and not my own.

Russ

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On the older versions of Windows, Shift + right click shows “Open with” option in context menu.

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See post 648,523, post 648,638 and post 648,642 above.

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