# Windows Q - File does not have action associated with it

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-q-file-does-not-have-action-associated-with-it/198219>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 28, 2003, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-q-file-does-not-have-action-associated-with-it/198219 "2003-08-28T16:17:33Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\
**Post date:** [August 28, 2003, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-q-file-does-not-have-action-associated-with-it/198219/1 "2003-08-28T16:17:33Z")

</div>

Running W2K, all up to date patches.

There seems to be a missing connection between certain actions and IE. For example, when Yahoo!Messenger pops up a window saying I have new mail, and I click on the mail icon expecting to get a new IE window open to read my mail. This used to work.

Now, instead I get a popup with the following text:

> [@](#):
>
> This file does not have a program associated with it for perfoming this action. Create an association in the Folders Option control panel.

The message box has the following title:

> [@](#):
>
> [http://msg.edit.yahoo.com/config/reset\_cookies?&](http://msg.edit.yahoo.com/config/reset_cookies?&)…

Looking in Folder Options under URL I have the following for the _open_ control:

> [@](#):
>
> rundll32.exe shdocvw.dll,OpenURL %l

Is this the problem? Should that read differently or am I parking up the wrong tree?

This problem occurs under several different applications when I try certain options that try to spawn new windows. Another potentially related example is that I can’t click to open URLs from Outlook, nothing happens. I believe this died at the same time I started having the problem with Yahoo!Messenger and other progams.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\
**Post date:** [August 28, 2003, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-q-file-does-not-have-action-associated-with-it/198219/2 "2003-08-28T18:23:09Z")

</div>

According to [this site](http://www.winguides.com/registry/display.php/1005/), you need to have the same **rundll32.exe shdocvw.dll,OpenURL %l** string in your registry in HKEY\_CLASSES\_ROOT. You may or may not want to mess with the registry, not everyone is comfortable with messing around in there.