Default App Issue-Portable Apps

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[Deo]

I updated Win 10 22H2 Pro last week.

I updated the Microsoft Store apps the next day though I usually never do (auto update off), was testing store updates.

Ever since, I’ve had problems with the “default” app in windows. For yrs I’ve used the LibreOffice portable app in C:\My Portable Apps folder (at root). All word docs created were saved as .docx and showed as .docx file type in file explorer. Libreoffice & portables is up to date.

Since July update & M/store update, all docs show as Office Open XML Doc type in file explorer and all .docx files opened via the Libreoffice app, the only way I do it, changed to the dreaded WordPad (changed layouts etc) format. Saving them as .docx still shows as Open XML.

Windows Settings > Default Apps > choose default apps by file type > .docx is now defaulted to ‘WordPad’ with no option to change to anything. Prior tothe July CU & M/Store updates, the default was a ‘Choose a default’ grey box +sign. Now there’s no way to change it.

I use Sumatra PDF portable as well and the MS default is now Microsoft Edge with no way back.

I tried to make shortcuts in the Start Menu for both as seen on this site, but that doesn’t change a thing. The formats of all docs/pdfs changed and the extensions defaulting to the ‘new’ MS  preference persist.

Local account never had M/S Office or 365.

• This topic was modified 1 year, 8 months ago by Deo.

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If you are creating regular image backups, then restore to the date before the Microsoft store apps update.

You may also try running repair to fix default settings.

My Windows 10 22H2 July updates has portable LibreOffice and Portable Sumatra PDF as default.

I don’t use any Microsoft store apps (except the Microsoft Store app itself)

* create a backup every day.

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Deo

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Great reminder on b/ups Alex. Normally I do before any change. I have only one prior to July CU updates – alas was waiting for response to this post to sort thru/understand replies there, as was unclear if I could fully retore from my mess/options I had selected prompting my OP there.

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MS installs a Trial version of Office in Win10 by default.
Look in Control Panel and Settings and uninstall Office.
Then you can set Libre Office as default, as Office/Word/etc will not be available to be the default app.

Then, change the default for the Office file extensions (xlsx, docx, etc) and the default App to Libre Office.

See this Topic for information about permanently removing and deprovisioning Office so it won’t be reinstalled.

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Deo

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TY PKCano! Good call; no Office to uninstall. Think it was the M/Store updates that truly did it this month. For me, there was no longer an option to update anything, especially individually. In fact there were “no apps installed” listed below in screen? Only option was the formidable “Get Apps”, only option. Once you start that, no going back (previously was a ‘cancel update’ option, but they flew by in secs/no time to stop now.  Auto still off.

Will definitely be looking at your link to get rid of a dozen unnecessary forced MS apps, link is gold, thx. (Will have b/up firmly in place & restorable prior to). Merci beaucoup!

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The “simplest” way to change the default program that opens a particular file extension is:

Open explorer and locate a file using that extension; such as .docx.

Right-click the file and select Open with > Choose another app.

Check the “Always use this app to open .docx files” box.

If the app you want to set as default is shown above that box, select it and click OK.

If it’s not, click More apps ↓, scroll down the list of programs until you find it, select it and click OK.

If you still can’t find it, scroll all the way to the bottom of the list and click Look for another app on this PC, then Browse to the location of the executable you want to be the default, select it and click OK.

Repeat as needed for any other extensions you want to change the default program for.

Note: this “should” make an extension always open with the program you selected but, if it doesn’t, there’s a more extensive procedure (using a 3rd part program) to change an extension’s default program covered in my post #2384824.

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Deo

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Eureka! With one caveat*…

Just another Forum Poster wrote:

If you still can’t find it, scroll all the way to the bottom of the list and click Look for another app on this PC, then Browse to the location of the executable you want to be the default, select it and click OK.

After “open with”, and browse/searched for LibreOffice Writer.exe, it opened the doc I used right away. No option to ‘check this box’?

*Only AFTER closing initial .docx, and quickly repeating your process to open same doc, did LibreOffice Writer Portable show up at the top of “How do you want to open this file?”. Then I was able to check box “Always use this app to open .docx files” . I think dealing with same task (repeat steps with same docx) directly after helped. Libreoffice writer check box option was lost again if I went elsewhere. Had to start over.

Default Apps in windows stgs for .docx now show LibreWriter portable, and ‘file type’ via Explorer are now all showing as DOCX. Good stuff! Thank you all for your timely help Alex, PkCano 🙂 Thx Alejr, the visuals & the last quoted step truly helped.

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