Backstory: Company I work for has designed a web utility that downloads files to users local hard drive. The file extension is proprietary.
The question: How do I introduce IE to this file extension so that it will recognize it. What is happening now is that the file will be called something like filename.ext (example only) and IE (or Windows?) will save it as filename.ext.txt.
My guess it that the OS or IE is looking at the ext extension, not knowing what it is and simply slapping a .txt after it to be helpful. I know that I can change to “all files” when I get the save as dialog, but am hoping for a more elegant and seamless solution.
Do you know the header being sent with the file? That would be my first guess, that it has a Content-type of “text/plain”, so the browser assumes to save it as .txt. Do you have visibility/control over the Content-type header? Give me a link and I can tell you.
The header is Application\Octet String. As far as the reason for the proprietary extension, basically the deal is that my company makes software that runs surveys online. The resulting data is stored in a proprietary flat file which is stored on the web server and then periodically downloaded to the local system where it is imported to the desktop program (to run reports and the like). I am curious why that would matter, though.
You have to add a new file type, and optionally associate it with your desktop application. This can be done manually by the following process:
Double-click on the “My Computer” icon on the desktop
In the “Tools” menu, select “Folder Options”
Select the “File Types” tag
Click the “New” button
Enter the file extension and click ok
To associate it with your desktop program, click on the “Change” button next to “opens with”
Click “select program from a list” radio button and hit continue
If your desktop application appears in the list, select it and hit “OK”, if not hit “browse” and find the executable using the file browser that will pop up.
That’s it.
File association is usually done automatically by the installation routine of the desktop program, so your users don’t have to go through the above steps.