[How-To] Change File Association Types in Windows XP
With Windows, when you double-click ( by default, you can definitely always modify the click properties to enable file opening on single click) a file to open it, Windows XP examines the file name extension. If Windows XP recognizes the file name extension, it opens the file in the program that is associated with that file name extension. This is called as Files Associations. It is in short, an association between File extension and the application which opens those types of files. For example, when you double click on .doc extension files, if you have windows word installed, windows by default opens .doc files with Microsoft Word. This happens because of a file association set in the background. However, there always can be multiple programs which can handle a specific file extension and if you wish to change to a specific file extension from the current association, this post is what you need to read till the end.
In order to change the File extension and Application association, follow the steps mentioned below
1.) Double click on “My Computer” or open up Windows Explorer view. Open Windows Explorer by right-clicking the Start button, and then click Explore.
Image: Windows Folders Options
2.) From the menu, select Tools –> Folder Options.
3.) From the Folder Options menu, select the submenu titled File Types. This then opens up a list with all the current file association mappings.
Image: Change Windows File Associations
4.) Lets assume we wish to change the file association type for file extension .zip which opens up in WinZip by default. From the list, select the file extension zip. This tell you that the current association of zip file extension is WinRAR. Now if you wish to change this to Winzip, Click the button named Change and select appropriate program from the list that comes. In this case, select WinZip.
5.) Press Close.
Next time you open a file extension .zip file ( or for that matter the file extension for which you just changed ) it will open with WinZip.
You can follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/vaibhav1981
Do stay tuned to Technofriends for more, one of the best ways of doing so is by subscribing to our feeds. You can subscribe to Technofriends feed by clicking here.
Related posts:
- Windows: File Color Coding
- Refine Google to Search File Types (Level: Pretty Easy)
- [How-To] Disable Simple File Sharing on Windows XP
- [How-To] Change Windows XP Product Key
- [How-To] Stop QuickTime From Playing Audio Files in Browser
If I have files that have no extensions (e.g. files in cache of Opera browser) there will no program associated with them. But what if I want to forcibly assign a program to all such files? Any trick?
Also this may be too much to ask from the folks at Redmond, but is there is a trick whereby files in a GIVEN FOLDER can all be assigned to be opened by one program.
Example: I may have jpg files in one folder that I want to be opened by say, Paint, because I want to usually edit them, but I may have jpg files in another folder that I want to be opened by say, a browser or album software.
Thanks!
[...] [How-To] Change File Association Types in Windows XP Posted on Saturday, April 11th, 2009 in How-To – Comments: (1) With Windows, when you double-click ( by default, you can definitely always modify the click properties to enable file opening on single click) a file to open it, Windows XP examines the file name extension. If Windows XP recognizes the file name extension, it opens the file in the program that is associated with that file name extension. This is called as Files Associations. [...]
Batch files(.bat) are now associated with UltraEdit. How can I dis-associate and return it to normal, i.e. run?