Default programs in Windows 7. How to set the default program to open files of a certain type in Windows

Sometimes it happens like this: we install some cool program, and then, damn it, it turns out that some files are now opened by her, although previously they were opened by a completely different program. Let's say we installed a program like Cowon JetAudio, and now only it opens mp3 files, although previously I opened my favorite WinAmp. How to return everything to its place?

Of course, this can be done directly in the settings recently installed program. Or you can use the settings that are kindly offered to us.

The thing is that many impudent programs take control of files with a certain extension during installation. As a rule, during installation the program prompts you to select files that will be associated with it. But many, without looking, quickly clicked the mouse, agreed to everything, and then grabbed their heads. We need to be more careful.

Here, for example, are the KMPlayer installation menus. As you can see, the program is associated with all video files by default, so after installing it with using KMPlayer All video files will open. It’s good if that’s how it was intended, but what if it’s the other way around, and this opportunity never came your way?

Fortunately, all this mess with default programs is very easy to change in Windows 7. Click on the button Start and then on the link .

A list of programs installed on the system will open. Now you can click on any of them and select one of two options in the right panel: Set this program as default or .

In the first case, the program will by default open all files with which it is initially associated. If we need to specify these files separately, click on the link Select defaults for this program. In our case, let's choose Paint program and let's see what it's associated with.

Well, nothing surprising, solid graphic files. Check the boxes next to the files that you want to open using Paint.

Now let's go back to the menu , shown earlier (3rd picture from above). Let's click on the long link in it Mapping file types or protocols to specific programs. An equally long menu will open, which will list absolutely all extensions known to Windows on this moment. Let's say we need to change a program that will open a file with a TXT extension.

We find this line, click once to see who is now responsible for opening TXT. Yep, WordPad. Well, screw it, I want to use Notepad++ instead. Double-click on the selected line or once on the button Change program.

A new window will open in which you need to select a program from the list of recommended ones, or click on the button Review and indicate the desired option. Since stupid Windows didn’t see Notepad++, you’ll have to specify it manually.

Where is my Notepad installed++, huh??

Here, select the one you need and click on the button OK. Now Notepad++ will open TXT files.

Let's go back to the window again . Click on the link there Configuring autorun settings. Another long list will open where you can choose whether to use autorun for various media, be it discs with films, music, clean disks etc. By default, autorun is enabled for absolutely everything.

The choice of programs for entertainment and work in Windows 7 is so diverse that the user will want to change preinstalled programs according to your own preferences. However, some programs cannot be removed because they are tied to the kernel operating system. An alternative is to change the default program.

Set the default program

Most often, users are looking for an alternative to the package Microsoft Office, Internet browser Explorer or musical Windows Media Player and Media Center, which are intrusively offered by the developers of the “Seven”. Traditionally during installation alternative browser or another application, if a similar software is detected, the user will be prompted to install it by default. If there is no such offer or problems occur during playback, follow these steps.

In the first case, the application will be used for all processes and files, and in the second case, defaults are defined for opening certain types of files or protocols.

Alternative installation methods

In addition to installing through the control panel, the default program can also be installed in the following ways:

Consider the risk of violating previous defaults; to avoid failure of the usual settings, perform the settings.

Setting default programs

Windows 7 has a lot of customization options software. The most common method is to match files and programs. When you select this item in the menu, the system will offer a list of permissions known to it and applications for opening them. By clicking on the desired file type, you can select one of the proposed programs. If the desired program is not available, select it manually.

In the same panel there is an “Autorun Settings” tool. Initially, the settings are set to “Default” for programs preinstalled by the developers. Consistently click on the arrows next to each item (“Audio CD”, “Video files”) and set your applications.
Window for setting autorun sound settings in Windows 7

Windows 7 developers replaced the old one Outlook Express and replaced it with progressive Windows Live. Those who need the client solely for working with correspondence are recommended to use Windows program Live. Usually it is installed as the default program.

If you need advanced options such as calendar, note taking, and contact book, then use Microsoft Outlook included in Office package. The process of installing a program to work with Email:

In the Protocols section, select MAILTO.
Select the Mailto protocol to install your email program

Install the desired program from those offered.
Program selection window for the MAILTO protocol

Resetting file associations

File associations in Windows 7 are stored in the file associations section of Control Panel (Default Programs section). File associations change the program rather than reset it. There are four solutions for resetting:

Usage File programs Association Fixer or its analogues. File Association Fixer window with file type selection

The last method is the most time-consuming, since each file type requires its own registry file. Any error in the structure will lead to problems with the registry and the operating system as a whole.

Applying recovery

According to the developers, the process does not affect files and processes, but to avoid problems, it is better to close the application.

Freeze files

They can be found on the Internet by searching for “association reset reg type”, where type is the problematic extension on the computer. After downloading the file, do the following:

After the reset is complete, you may need to restart your computer. Administrator rights are required to complete this procedure.

Why do programs crash?

There are several reasons for unauthorized resetting of software defaults - automatic update Windows, the actions of malware and the need to eliminate it Windows recovery. There are two ways to solve the problem:

Video: Setting default programs

It's easy to customize Windows 7 to suit your interests and needs. And installing or changing the default program takes just a couple of clicks.

After installing the system, all users begin to customize it for themselves. For some, this ends at the stage of changing the wallpaper on their desktop, while others are trying not just to configure Windows 7, but to optimize their system and increase its performance.

However, if there is not enough experience, then in the pursuit of increasing productivity you can accidentally remove from the system important components. Let's see how to restore Windows 7 services if you accidentally or intentionally disabled them without having to reinstall the system.

Recovery

Attention! If you decide to delete Windows service 7, and not just disable it, then be prepared for the fact that it will not be possible to restore it. However, there’s nothing wrong with that: as a last resort, you can install the system again, and that’s it. system applications will work correctly again.

There are two ways to restore disabled applications, which we will now discuss in detail. When using both methods, you will need the ServiceDefaultRegistryEntries.zip archive, so it is better to download it in advance.

Command line

1. Download the PsTools utility package and unzip it.
2. Find the PsExec.exe file inside the resulting directory and move it to the C:\Windows\System32 directory.
3. Run command line(command “cmd” in the “Run” menu) and enter the code “psexec -i -d -s c:\windows\regedit.exe”.

When you launch the PsExec.exe utility, click the “Agree” button. During subsequent launches you will no longer have to press anything.

Open the Registry Editor using the "regedit" command entered through the Start menu. Expand the File menu and select the Import option.

Find the downloaded and previously unpacked ServiceDefaultRegistryEntries archive and select the desired file in it. Check the size and correctness of the directory (the backup copy should be taken from the “Default” folder).

After a reboot, all services will be restored to default.

Using the installation disc

You can perform the above steps without logging in by using the Windows Recovery Environment.

Attention! When choosing a file with the *.reg extension, you need to pay attention not only to the specified system bit depth, but also to the name of the folder in which the backup copy is stored. IN in this case the required file is stored in the “SafeMode” directory.

After downloading backup copy You can close all windows and restart your computer. You have just managed to restore Windows registry 7 and the system should now work without errors.

What does the default expression mean? Default settings are those parameters that were set by the developer when creating of this product. These settings can be easily changed for each program type.

To set default programs in Windows 7 follow these instructions.

Step 1 . Click Start and select Control Panel. In the window that opens, click on.

When working on a computer in Windows, a situation may arise when a file needs to be opened by one program, but it is always automatically opened by the wrong one. But if you can immediately select a program for opening files, then in the case of opening links, everything is more complicated. For example, you click on a link that came to you in Skype, and the link opens not in the browser where you would like to open it, but in some other one. This happens because a different browser is initially configured to open links in Windows; it is set as the default program for this action. The same applies to any programs, because for each program you can assign the type of files that it will always open. In this article, using Winodows 7 and 10 as an example, I will show how to set default programs to open files of a certain type, as well as links.

Examples for Windows 8 will not be considered in this article, because everything is done there exactly the same as in Windows 7 or Windows 10.

Quickly select a program to open the desired file in any Windows

The easiest way to choose a program to open a file is Windows Explorer. Works the same in all versions of Windows.

With this method, you will have to choose a program to open each type of file. For example, you will have to separately select a program for opening pictures in the .JPG format, then separately the same program for pictures in the .PNG format and all other formats that you use.

You need to right-click (hereinafter referred to as “RMB”) on the file for which you want to select standard program, which will always open it. In the pop-up menu, select “Open with” and a list of main programs (1) through which you can open will appear on the right this file. If the program you need to open your file is in the list, then clicking on it will open the file in it.

This action will open the file in the program of your choice only once. Next time you will have to select the program again.

To save the desired program to open the selected file type on permanent basis or, if the desired program is not in list No. 1, and you know that it is definitely installed on the computer, then click “Select another application” (2).

In the window that opens, the list (1) will indicate all programs that can open this file. Select the one you need from the list. If you want to save the selected program for all files of the same type (so that all similar files are always opened immediately in this program), then check the box “Always use this application ...” (2).

This way you can assign a default program for any file type.

This method is not convenient only because for each file type you have to manually assign a program like this, even if different types files can be opened by the same program.

Assigning default programs for all file types and protocols at once through Windows settings

Windows Settings allows you to set default programs for all types of files that the program can open. Also only through Windows settings you can configure programs that will be used to work with certain protocols, for example, so that all links are opened only in a specific browser.

Below will be shown detailed instructions on Windows example 10. The settings for Windows 7 are very similar and will be discussed briefly; there are only minor differences, mainly in the interface). The settings for Windows 8 are completely identical Windows settings 7.

Open Windows search and type the query “Default Programs” and then select the found “Default Programs” option from the search results and open it.

Information on how to use Windows Search is here

The list will display which program opens what, for example, which program is used as a video player, which is a web browser, etc.

Here you can reassign programs to run certain actions and for opening certain files. To do this, you need to click on a program that has already been assigned to an action and select another one from the list (if no program is assigned, then click the “+” button). For example, you want to select a different default browser so that all links from other programs can only be opened through it. To do this, under the “Web browser” heading, click on the already assigned browser (if not assigned, click “+”) and from the list (2) select the browser that we need, through which you want to open all links.

Configuring programs to open certain types of files

You can also set default programs to open certain types of files.

A similar procedure was described above, with the only difference being that in the parameters you can immediately assign programs for all types of files in one place, and not one by one through Explorer.

To go to options for selecting programs that open specific file types, click on the “Select” link standard applications for file types".

On the page that opens, in the column on the left (1) all possible types files in Windows, and on the right (2) next to each file type the program that opens these files will be displayed. If a program is not assigned to a certain file type, you can assign it by clicking on the “+” button (3).

Configuring programs to open all types of files and protocols that it can open at once

Can be customized necessary programs so that they open everything that can be opened with their help. However, you need to be careful with this setting option, because it may happen that some types of files will not open in the program you would like.

For example, if for Google browser Chrome sets all the files and protocols that it can open at once, it may turn out that, for example, PDF files will begin to open not in the usual way Acrobat program Reader, and in Google Chrome. This is possible because Google Chrome can also open PDF files, and you have configured this browser so that it opens everything it can.

To configure the necessary programs to open all files and protocols that they are only capable of opening at once, go to the “Set default values ​​by application” subsection.

Then, in the list on the left (1), select the program for which you want to set the default to open everything that it can open at once. In the column on the right, click "Set this program as default" (2).

Using Windows 7 as an example

In Windows 7, “Default Programs” for program settings for each type of file opened can also be found through Windows search by typing the query “Default Programs”.

In Windows 7, the Default Programs window looks like this:

To select programs to perform certain actions in the system, you need to open “Setting program access and defaults.”

In the window that opens, you need to open the “Other” category; below in the list, you can assign the necessary programs for each action.

To set programs to open certain file types, in the “Default Programs” section, open the “Match file types or protocols to specific programs” item.

In the window it remains to assign the necessary programs to open required types files. To do this, select the file type from the list (1) and click “Change program” (2).

In order to set the desired default programs for opening all files that it is capable of opening and for all protocols, open the “Set default programs” subsection.

In the list on the left, select the desired program (1), and then on the right click “Set this program as default” (2).

Conclusion

The ability to set default programs for opening certain files will allow you to easily decide possible problems in Windows, when, for example, links from Skype or some other programs open in the wrong browser. Or some video files are opened through the wrong player. The instructions above will help you match the programs you need with the necessary files so that everything is as convenient for you.

That's all! Have a nice day and good mood! ;)