# Always open this type of file with this program **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 22, 2009, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/always-open-this-type-of-file-with-this-program/507283 "2009-08-22T04:28:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/always-open-this-type-of-file-with-this-program/507283/1 "2009-08-22T04:28:00Z")
I tried to ‘Open with’ a file today, and accidentally left on the default ‘Always open this type of file with this program’. Since the message no longer appears, how do I unclick it? (Not that it matters in this case; the sender compressed it wrong.) ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/always-open-this-type-of-file-with-this-program/507283/2 "2009-08-22T04:55:34Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I tried to ‘Open with’ a file today, and accidentally left on the default ‘Always open this type of file with this program’. Since the message no longer appears, how do I unclick it? > > (Not that it matters in this case; the sender compressed it wrong.) Assuming you are using Windows XP (although it has been pretty much like this since Windows 95, I think, so it may well be the same in Vista too): You can change the default opener program by right-clicking the file, selecting “Open with,” and then “Choose program”. After a bit of a wait (unless your machine is a lot faster than mine) you should get a long scrollable list of programs that you can select from, and an option (checkbox) to “Always open this type of file with this program”. If you do not want any program at all to try to open it when you click it (but why would you want that? It is easy enough to open with a different program, usually just by dragging it into its window) I think teh easiest way is to go into any any folder, select **Tools** , then **Folder options** , then **File Types**. Wait a bit a gain for the list to come up, then scroll down to find the type of file you are concerned with(that can be an issue, the list is sort of alphabetized, but according to Microsoft’s own proprietary logic, and it is long and only appears in a tiny window) and then delete it from teh list. (This won’t delete the file, just the rule about what program to open it with.) Otherwise, you would have to edit the registry, which is not something to be trifled with. ---
**Author:** ![BorgHunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@BorgHunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BorgHunter)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/always-open-this-type-of-file-with-this-program/507283/3 "2009-08-22T04:56:35Z")
In the Control Panel, under Folder Options, there should be a tab called File Types. Here, select the file extension that’s screwed up, and delete it. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/always-open-this-type-of-file-with-this-program/507283/4 "2009-08-22T05:00:16Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > You can change the default opener program by right-clicking the file, selecting “Open with,” and then “Choose program”. After a bit of a wait (unless your machine is a lot faster than mine) you should get a long scrollable list of programs that you can select from, and an option (checkbox) to “Always open this type of file with this program”. Therein lies the problem. Since the box had been checked, there is no option to ‘Open with’ upon right-click; only ‘Open’. > [@BorgHunter](#): > > In the Control Panel, under Folder Options, there should be a tab called File Types. Here, select the file extension that’s screwed up, and delete it. I’ll try to remember to try that on Monday. (I actually shut down my computer today, and can’t access it.) ---
**Author:** ![BorgHunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@BorgHunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BorgHunter)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/always-open-this-type-of-file-with-this-program/507283/5 "2009-08-22T05:02:15Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Therein lies the problem. Since the box had been checked, there is no option to ‘Open with’ upon right-click; only ‘Open’. For the record, you can force an “Open With” option by either Ctrl-rightclicking or Shift-rightclicking (I forget which) the file. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/always-open-this-type-of-file-with-this-program/507283/6 "2009-08-22T05:03:08Z")
Must be Shift-RC, since Crtl-RC is what I tried. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/always-open-this-type-of-file-with-this-program/507283/7 "2009-08-22T06:07:31Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Therein lies the problem. Since the box had been checked, there is no option to ‘Open with’ upon right-click; only ‘Open’. That’s weird. On my machine that option is still there even for programs already associated with an opener. > [@](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Originally Posted by BorgHunter View Post > > In the Control Panel, under Folder Options, there should be a tab called File Types. Here, select the file extension that’s screwed up, and delete it. > > I’ll try to remember to try that on Monday. (I actually shut down my computer today, and can’t access it.) Those are exactly the same “folder options” that you can get to from the **Tools menu** of any folder. ---
**Author:** ![Scruff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Scruff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruff)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/always-open-this-type-of-file-with-this-program/507283/8 "2009-08-22T06:24:38Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > _extracted from a longer comment_ > > If you do not want any program at all to try to open it when you click it **but why would you want that?** You might want to break a file association for reasons of security. Windows’ behaviour (that you can simply click on a file and the system will “do the right thing”) is both a major strength on a secure network and a major weakness on an open network. So you may want to manually decide how to open a file each time, lest you accidentally click on some malicious file that you have been tricked into downloading. Or you may have multiple programs that can handle a particular file . Example:_mumble.java_ can be opened by Notepad, WordPad, Word, Emacs, Eclipse… Depending on what you are trying to do, you may need to make a choice. I vaguely remember some kind of add-on which would give you a funky context menu called “Open with…” which would produce a context menu of programs which could handle this file type. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/always-open-this-type-of-file-with-this-program/507283/9 "2009-08-22T07:44:00Z")
> [@Scruff](#): > > I vaguely remember some kind of add-on which would give you a funky context menu called “Open with…” which would produce a context menu of programs which could handle this file type. Isn’t that just standard Win XP behaviour? Or maybe it’s a Power Toy that I’ve added. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/always-open-this-type-of-file-with-this-program/507283/10 "2009-08-22T07:47:19Z")
[http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx](http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx) Here are the PowerToys for XP, it’s not listed there so presumably it’s a standard feature. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/always-open-this-type-of-file-with-this-program/507283/11 "2009-08-22T09:28:15Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Therein lies the problem. Since the box had been checked, there is no option to ‘Open with’ upon right-click; only ‘Open’. Are you sure? It should always be there, no matter what. The right-click list should go like this: ## Open Edit Print Preview ## (might be program specific stuff here, like scan with antivirus program etc.) Open with -\> ## Send to -\> ## Cut Copy ## Create Shortcut Delete Rename Properties ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/always-open-this-type-of-file-with-this-program/507283/12 "2009-08-22T15:55:41Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Are you sure? It should always be there, no matter what. Yes. Had I not shut down the computer I’d log on and list what it shows; but no, there’s no ‘Open with’. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/always-open-this-type-of-file-with-this-program/507283/13 "2009-08-22T19:52:22Z")
Open Explorer. Choose the _Tools|Folder Options_ menu. Click the tab that says File Types. Scroll through to find the file extension you are looking for. You can now either delete it or choose the change button. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/always-open-this-type-of-file-with-this-program/507283/14 "2009-08-23T09:03:07Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Yes. Had I not shut down the computer I’d log on and list what it shows; but no, there’s no ‘Open with’. I wonder what’s different between those who get this menu selection and those who don’t. [This link](http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307859) implies that “open with” is a standard menu item but you won’t get it with .exe, .com, and .bat extensions. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Zagna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@El\_Zagna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Zagna)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/always-open-this-type-of-file-with-this-program/507283/15 "2009-08-24T03:24:31Z")
Every couple of years I decide that I’m going to finally figure out all these file association options and behaviors in Windows, and every couple of years I spend a day or two in total frustration. It would be really nice if we had more control over what we can do with the various file types but Windows makes it impossible to make sense out of it all. What is even odder is that no one has come up with a decent file association manager (and yes, I know, there are some out there but they suck). ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/always-open-this-type-of-file-with-this-program/507283/16 "2009-08-24T18:08:48Z")
OK… The options I have when I right-click, Shift+RC, or Crtl+RC are: **Open Print Save as Remove --------------** Cut **Copy** Paste **-------------- Select all** I went into Control panel | Tools | File Type and found the wacky extension (called 7z, just FYI) and I deleted it. Going back to the original email with the file, I tried another right-click. No change to the options, as listed above. ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/always-open-this-type-of-file-with-this-program/507283/17 "2009-08-24T19:35:37Z")
7z is a Zip file format used by [7-Zip](http://www.7-zip.org/). I created a blank file with a test.7z filename and there was no “Open with” option shown in the context menu on my system (XP) either. Upon further experimentation, this appears to be the case with any extension that Windows doesn’t recognize at all (got the same result for test.bob, test.sam, etc.). ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/always-open-this-type-of-file-with-this-program/507283/18 "2009-08-24T20:42:36Z")
The weird thing is that I picked a program and clicked OK before I realised the ‘Always open with’ box was checked. So I had the option at first.