How do I change the default app for a file type?
How do I change the default app for a file type?
To change the default app for a file type on a Windows computer, follow these steps:
- Locate a File: Find a file of the type for which you want to change the default application. For example, if you want to change the default app for .txt files, locate any .txt file on your system.
- Right-Click the File: Right-click on the file. A context menu will appear.
- Select 'Open with': Hover over or click on the 'Open with' option in the context menu. A submenu will appear.
- Choose Another App: Click on 'Choose another app' in the submenu. This will open a dialog box titled 'How do you want to open this file?'
- Select New Default App: In the dialog box, you will see a list of recommended apps. If the app you want is listed, select it. If not, click on 'More apps' to see more options. If the desired app is still not listed, you can click on 'Look for another app on this PC' to manually navigate to the app's executable file.
- Set as Default: After selecting the app, check the box that says 'Always use this app to open .[file extension] files'. This ensures that the selected app becomes the default for that file type.
- Confirm: Click 'OK' to confirm your selection. The file will now open with the new default app, and future files of the same type will also use this app.
What are the steps to set a different application as the default for opening specific file types?
The steps to set a different application as the default for opening specific file types are the same as those outlined in the previous section. To recap, here are the steps:
- Locate a File: Find a file of the specific type you want to change.
- Right-Click the File: Right-click to open the context menu.
- Select 'Open with': Click on 'Open with'.
- Choose Another App: Select 'Choose another app'.
- Select New Default App: Choose the new default app from the list or browse to it.
- Set as Default: Check 'Always use this app to open .[file extension] files'.
- Confirm: Click 'OK' to finalize the change.
Can I revert the default app settings for a file type back to the original program?
Yes, you can revert the default app settings for a file type back to the original program. To do so, follow these steps:
- Locate a File: Find a file of the type for which you want to revert the default app.
- Right-Click the File: Right-click on the file to open the context menu.
- Select 'Open with': Hover over or click on 'Open with'.
- Choose Another App: Click on 'Choose another app'.
- Select Original App: In the 'How do you want to open this file?' dialog, find and select the original app from the list. If it's not listed, you may need to click 'More apps' or 'Look for another app on this PC' to find it.
- Set as Default: Check the box that says 'Always use this app to open .[file extension] files'.
- Confirm: Click 'OK' to confirm the change. The file type will now revert to using the original default application.
Is there a way to change default apps for multiple file types at once?
On Windows, there isn't a built-in way to change default apps for multiple file types simultaneously through the GUI. However, you can manually change the default apps for each file type one at a time using the method described above.
For more advanced users, it's possible to use the Windows Registry Editor to change multiple file types at once, but this method requires caution and technical knowledge:
-
Open Registry Editor: Press
Win R
, typeregedit
, and press Enter. -
Navigate to File Associations: Go to
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
. -
Find File Types: Under
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
, you'll find entries for various file extensions (e.g.,.txt
,.jpg
). -
Edit Default App: For each file type you want to change, navigate to the
(Default)
value under theOpenWithProgids
key and change it to the ProgID of the desired application. - Repeat for Multiple Types: Repeat this process for each file type you want to change.
Warning: Incorrectly modifying the registry can cause system instability, so proceed with caution and consider backing up the registry before making changes.
If you need to change default apps for multiple file types frequently, you might want to look into third-party applications designed to manage file associations in bulk, although these are not officially supported by Microsoft.
The above is the detailed content of How do I change the default app for a file type?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

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