Anyone remember how to change file associations in Windows? I need to make it so when I click on links, they come up in Firefox, not IE.
*** Update ***
Ok, fixed. Thanks.
One More Thing
by John Cole| 14 Comments
This post is in: Previous Site Maintenance, General Stupidity
Jason
Hold down the Shift key and Mouse Right Click on
a file you want to change associations with (i.e. a jpeg file,
html file, etc..) and select “Choose Program..”
from the context menu. A list of programs will come up, select
the appropriate application and check
“Always used the selected program to open this kind of file.”
This should change the file association.
Matt
Instructions here — go to the preferences area in Firefox, hit the “Check Now” button next to default browser, and tell it you want that to be the default. Also, the next time you launch IE, tell it to stop asking you to make it the default browser.
ThymeZone
In FF, Options, Main, “Always check FF is default browser”, Check Now, answer “Yes”
Jones
To change file associations, 1) Right-click a file with the extension whose association you want to change, and then click Open With. 2) In the Open With dialog box, click the program where you want the file to open, or click Browse to locate the program that you want. 3) Select the Always use the selected program to open this kind of file check box.
But it sounds like what you actually need to do is make Firefox your default browser. To do that, in Firefox, click the Tools menu and select options. At the bottom of the Options window, under System Defaults, check the box next to “Always check to see if Firefox is the default browser.” Click “Check now”. And then make Firefox the default.
waddayknow
In Windows Explorer>Tools>Folder Options/File Types tab: find the type of file(.HTML) and highlight it. Then click on “Change” button in lower half of window and select the application to associate. Repeat for (.HTM) files.
Piece of cake.
yet another jeff
File associations won’t do that…try this:
To use the Set Program Access and Defaults feature to change the default programs that you use for certain activities, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, point to All Programs, and then click Set Program Access and Defaults.
2. Use one of the following methods to perform the appropriate task:
• To restore your settings to the settings that were established by the manufacturer of your computer, click Computer Manufacturer. This option is available only if the computer manufacturer installed Windows XP SP1 on your computer and established settings for this feature.
• To use programs that are included in Microsoft Windows as the defaults for the activities that are listed earlier in this article, such as surfing the Internet, click Microsoft Windows. You can use this configuration to access Microsoft programs or non-Microsoft programs on your computer, on the Start menu, on the desktop, and from other locations.
• To use non-Microsoft programs that are installed on your computer as the defaults, click Non-Microsoft, and then select the options that you want. This configuration removes access to the specified Windows programs.
• To use a combination of non-Microsoft and Microsoft Windows programs for the activities that are listed earlier in this article, click Custom, and then select the options that you want. By setting up a custom configuration, you can select the programs that are set as the default for each activity, and the programs that are available on the Start menu, on the desktop, and in other locations. If you do not want the specified program to appear on the Start menu, on the desktop, or in other locations where programs typically appear, clear the Enable access to this program check box that is next to a particular program name.
ConservativelyLiberal
Some disassociated file types will not give the Open With… option with a right click. In that case, do the following:
Open Windows Explorer, then select Tools at the top, then Folder Options from the drop down menu. When the Folder Options opens, select the File Types tab.
The easiest way to reset this is to scroll down and find the file association(s) you want to change. Delete it/them, click on Apply. Now click on the View tab and scroll down the list to the ‘Hide extensions for known file types’ option. Uncheck that option (if not already unchecked!), click on Apply then Ok to close the Folder Options window. Using Windows Explorer, go find the file type(s) that you deleted the association of. Double click on one and when the Caution dialog window opens, select ‘Open With…’, then when the Windows dialog opens, select the option ‘Select the program from a list and click on Ok.
When the Opens With window opens, scroll down the list and select the program (Firefox) that you want that type to open with., then click on ok. Done. Rinse and repeat with the other types, if you deleted more than one.
Just another way to get it done…
Osama Von McIntyre
Is it all clear, now?
demimondian
Everyone who talks about either doing it through FF or through set programs and defaults gets the gold stars. If you need further details about why, check your local library for “US v Microsoft” and the transcripts therein.
yet another jeff
Heh, Windows XP SP1a…that “a” stands for “antitrust.”
bago
The app resolution order: MIME type assocuation in the HTTP header, then the default protocol handler for the request uri, and once you drop entirely out of a net session and are hitting the filesystem will file type associations kick in.
Zifnab
But can anyone set it from DOS mode?
Dreggas
if there’s a way to do it, I haven’t found it yet. what passes for DOS these days is pretty much just a command shell and only really useful for executing batch files or windows services.
The Other Steve
I’m sure it’s several registry entries that are changed. Unless this page is exposed with an API.
Have you seen Powershell?