I have some files that I want to open?

Question

I have some files that I will open with Windows picture and fax viewer in the "select from list of application box" but the box that you check to choose to "always open with this application" is greyed out so I can't use it. Is there a way of getting round this. I can't be bothered opening the "select from list of application" box everytime.

Answer 1

Some very detailed answers on here but .....

In my experience the reason why the 'Always open etc ' checkbox is greyed out is that the file you are trying to open does not have a file extension name.

filenames in windows are of the form nnnn.xxx where .xxx determines the type of file - thus a filename of myfile.doc will be assumed to be a Word doc ... .txt a text file etc. If your file is simply called Myfile then windows is not smart enough to determine what sort of file it is.

To check out if this is the case - use windows explorer to have a look in the directory that these files are in - click on the 'View' menu item and choose 'detail' - you should now see a column for file type - if there is no entry in there for these files that will be your problem.

To cure it you will need to rename your file with the correct extension - .jpg for a jpeg file ... etc.

Answer 2

I am assuming you are using Vista, by the way you descibe your issue. However, please include the OS version when asking a question, because some stuff works differently in each OS version. The steps can be different and if we don't know which OS it is, it becomes difficult to help.

Right click on a file you wish to change the default for, and then select Choose Default Program from the menu. This will make the "Always Use The Selected Program To Open This Kink Of File" check box will now be available.

Note that it will be available *and* selected.

If some time you are just looking around, checking out what programs are available for a certain file extenstion or format, make sure you clear that box so you don't accidently change your default.

Hope this helps you out, good luck and please have a nice weekend.

*edit* If you ever need to remove a program from the Recommended Programs section of the Open with dialog box, do this:

The contents in this list is determined by the registry key:

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\EXplorer\FileExts\*file type*\OpenWithList, with *file type* the extension in question.

Delete the unwanted itme in the OpenWithList key removes it from the REcommended Progrmas list.

*caution* editing the registry can have unforseem consequences which can ultimatly cause a reinstallation of the OS. Be sure to back the registry up, and set a manual Restore Point in the System Restore utility.

To back up the Registry, simply click the top key of the branch you wish to edit, then click the Edit menu, select Export, name it, and place it in a folder in your Documents you created for your registry backups.

To restore a backup, right click on the back up file you wish to restore, and then click on Merge. It will automatically merge into the registry. This Merge action will overwrite any changes you have made to the branch/keys/values in question.

A good way to create a quick backup of any key or value you wish to remove, but are not sure of the results, is to simply rename that key or value. When you rename it, it basically is no longer viewable by the registry. A good way to rename keys or values is to simply add you initials in the front or rear of the key or value name.

If the key name is OpenWithList, for example, change it to, *yourinitials*OpenWithList.

This hides that list from the registry, and the list will no longer appear in the shortcut menu.

Good luck and much success with your Default Programs List. Please have a good day.

Answer 3

I´m not sure about this, but here goes:

Go to Control Panel -> Folder Options -> File Types Tab (the third one). Then select, one by one, all the image extensions (the ones that have on the right side " image " and then the extension.
Now, click on change, and select the Windows Fax and Image Viewer (it should be there!!!)

Well, hope it helps!

Answer 4

Go into to Folder Options in Control Panel and click on the View File Types tab and go through each file type e.g. BMP, JPG, TIF etc and change the program that opens them to Windows Picture and Fax Viewer.

Answer 5

Re install the program in question then select it as default program to open that type of file

Answer 6

in open with...
just keep selecting the file you need to open with till it solved

Answer 7

right click, go to properties and change the default opener

Answer 8

open them

Answer 9

I like your hat !!