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Summary: Several things are slightly different in Windows Vista, and the location of the File Associations dialog is just one.
I read this question and went "huh?". But you're absolutely right; the file association dialog that we've come to love and hate that's been part of Windows Explorer is no longer there. The question, of course, is where did it go? To a more logical place perhaps, but with nary a clue as to how to find it. • File associations are used to tell Windows what program opens what kind of file. For example after you install Microsoft Office, file associations tell Windows that a ".doc" file should be opened by Microsoft Word. In the past when we've needed to view or modify these settings, we'd fire up Windows Explorer, click on Tools, Folder Options... and then the File Types tab. Only one problem on Vista: it's not there:
On Vista we instead open up Control Panel:
Click on Programs:
Finally we see something that sounds appropriate. Click on Make a file type always open in a specific program:
It'll take a few seconds to load up as it scans the registry for all the settings to be displayed. Once loaded, you can then change which programs open which file types. Why the move? It's hard to say, though I do frequently fault Microsoft for changing things that simply don't need to be changed. There's an argument that this should always have been in Control Panel and I actually agree with that. But to move it, without even a hint or a clue as to where to go instead, seems fairly unhelpful. Related:
Article 11791 | Posted August 28, 2007 |
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found the association area and the option to 'change'. How to you change it to nothing or unknown program. I associated a .let extention to notepad and I don't have anything that will open the file and I don't want anything to associate to it.
Posted by: Kris Moghimi at December 14, 2007 8:42 AMTo answer Grant, Michael and Andras:
The command "assoc .ext=" should remove the association for all .ext files. However, I wasn't able to get it to work.
I found the following GUI:
http://www.winhelponline.com/articles/231/1/An-utility-to-unassociate-file-types-in-Windows-Vista.html
The "Remove file association (User)" button didn't work either, I guess it just issues the command "assoc .ext=". I went the extra mile and selected "Delete file type," which solved my problem - removes the extension from the registry completely.
For you poor sods who've managed to associate critical file types to the wrong program (one unfortunate lady associated .exe with Adobe Acrobat, WOOPS!), there's a utility that will 'repair' those critical file types back to the way they should be:
Posted by: Malina Kirn at January 28, 2008 9:08 AMhttp://www.winhelponline.com/articles/105/1/File-association-fixes-for-Windows-Vista.html
This solution is NOT THE SAME as the file type associations I knew and loved in Windows XP. How do you set multiple file associations that pop up as menu options when you right click on the file? How do you specify command line options for the programs in the file associations? (for example, to not display the "splash screen" for MultiEdit I have to specify "Mew32.exe /nosplash %1". How do you change the icons associated with the associations? None of these issues are addressed in the new "Windows Vista" way of associating files. Is there any way to gain this kind of control over file type associations in Vista?
Posted by: Bob Thompson at March 16, 2008 9:33 PMHow do I change file associations in vista through the command line?
Posted by: Mike at April 17, 2008 6:17 AMTerrific technical discussion and comments! I will look into your newsletter!
Bob Smith
Posted by: Robert Smith at May 26, 2008 11:21 AMMy customers often send me .ai files that need to be engraved and I use CorelDraw for my machines- there is no .ai extension in the Vista list and no CorelDraw extensions are to be found. Although Corel does recognize .ai files, I usually have to download to my XP laptop, put it on a disc (Vista won't recognize my PNY zip drive, either) and run it out to the computer in my shop to see if it will accept that. All things considered (Vista also won't let me use my HP scanner!), I sincerely and deeply hate Vista.
Posted by: Lynne at June 26, 2008 6:58 PMLeo, thank goodness I found your site. A friend sent me a WMV file. And of course I couldn't open it.(I have Vista) It told me I needed to associate a file to open it. I typed in the 'search' box Associated file panel.' wouldn't you know it. It came back 'No results' How lame can a 'search' get? I followed YOUR very clear instructions and was successful in viewing the video, although there was a kind of fight between 'Real Player' and 'Windows Media'.
Posted by: Michael Kirk at August 14, 2008 6:45 AMThanks so much for your help. I will recommend you to all of my similarly frustrated friends.
Mike.
Can't Associate in Vista:
My legacy (DOS) 3.4 version of MaxThink ("MT") (circa 1987):
Over the years (21+) and operating systems I have continually and reliably been using MT. It remains and likely will remain a program as essential to my use of the computer for any reason as the microprocessor itself.
Although its author, Neil Larson, had kept current with MS evolving OS's, I had been able, because of MS's willingness to support legacy programs, to use my MT 3.4. It was only this past January 2008 as my Win98se machine began to show its 10 years of fading further into antiquity, naturalized by MS's burgeoning OS's and faster hardware, did I make the switch.
The sweet little Dell Inspiron 530 running Windows Vista Home Basic SP1 which I just picked up at the end of 8/2008 is the kind of quantum jump I like to experience. Alone, it's ten-fold increase in processor clock speed and thirty-fold increase in RAM is that quiet thrill of speed I liken to a commercial jet airliner versus my Acura.
Setting up the association for MT in Win98se wasn't exactly straightforward. What worked required that I run a .BAT file to make the connection between the data file and the MT.EXE when they did not share the same folder.
This became the procedure I was to follow in Vista.
Being an old legacy app, there was no standard Windows installation which would include writes to the REGISTRY. I simply copied the MT folder into the C:\Program Files folder.
However, when I went to modify the .BAT association file, to account for a different folder name I had given to MT, the changes would not save even though the file closed after editing. A little strange I thought but surely at the very least I couldn't expect a change if it didn't take hold. So, I moved the .BAT file out of the C:\Programs Files folder, modified it there and then copied it back. The changes then appeared.
As a newbie to Vista and not at all read up on it, I drew the field conclusion that maybe the Vista C:\Program Files folder doesn't permit changes made to its contents. But I got my work-around change so I proceeded.
To make the association, I right clicked the file and followed the directions to OPEN WITH the .BAT file which I "browsed" to as permitted.
The first trial proved that the MT .EXE would open BUT to an empty editor and surely therefore without the contents of the MT data file to which I had activated.
Then I found your sight after many hours of having those exciting witches-in-the-Windows hunts that we've all so thrilling experienced in the past. Still, the sensible clock to resolution was fast running out and I could throw money at the problem with a purchase of MT for Vista itself. The dollars had already been a fraction of the Las Vegas play I had allowed myself.
Your great clarity to this problem "Where did file associations go in Windows Vista?",
as Google confirmed, was my last hope.
A thousand thanks for all your efforts and those of your concerned and thoughtful respondents to this issue.
No, this didn't fix the problem either.
Nevertheless, the discussion on your webpage has convinced me more than ever that a software technique exists for the "association" issue I'm experiencing and that sadly after years of avoiding the usual controversies of an MS OS release, I too have become a convert.
Thanks.
Posted by: Reid Carter at September 28, 2008 5:20 PMOne common action I've added to every machine over the years is the ability to open a command shell in a folder or drive. This was simple... go to file types, select the Folder or Drive file type, click Advanced, then click Add new Action, give it a title (like "Command prompt...") and associate cmd.exe.
Unfortunately, the Vista list of file types only includes extensions and protocols, not "system" types like "Folder".
I assume I can go into the registry to accomplish this, but that's error prone and not something I'd demo for students as I have the technique above. Is there an easier way? If so, please update the article.
Thanks!
Posted by: Jeff in Tampa at November 23, 2008 11:44 AMHi,
Posted by: bokasen at November 27, 2008 4:08 AMI'm having problem with my vista. I accidentally associated iTunes. All my program icons changed and replaced with iTunes icon. Whenever i opened a program it will open instead iTunes. Whenever i UNINSTALLED iTunes all my other programs' icon would return to its proper icon and you can then launch the program as per normal. However, when i REINSTALLED iTunes it would again associate iTunes to all my other programs. I have downloaded several fixes but seems not working. What options do i have here? Thank you.