How to set File associations in Windows 7 (not 'open', but others)

Anonymous
2011-04-01T08:15:23+00:00

In WinXP, I could go to a the file assocations menu and view or edit the entries for items like: Edit, Print, etc, in addition to 'Open', and I could set the default action to something other than open (examples 'play', merge, or edit).

Where do I do this in Win7?

I know about the "Control Panel->Default Programs->Set Associations(Associate a file with a program)" page, but that seems to only have the ability to select a program to be called when the user 'clicks' on the file, i.e. the default action.

I just recently installed a picture viewer, but it took all the assocs from my picture editing program.

That makes some 'sense' (how else to I view pics in the viewer?), so I right clicked to see if there was another option to edit my picture (like edit)...   There is -- except that it doesn't start my photo editing program, it starts 'Paint'.

So how do I fix it the 'Edit' menu option to call my editor? 

More generically, how do I change one of the right-click options to point to my program, or if, say, 'edit'

wasn't there, and I wanted 'Edit' on ".reg" programs to open the file in a text editor?

These things used to be relatively simple in WinXP, but now I've no clue about where to find these basic

OS setting features.

I can't imagine that MS would expect people to learn and use 'regedit' to do these types of changes -- but that seems to be the only program included with Win7 to do this, or am I just WAY missing something obvious?

Thanks!

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Files, folders, and storage

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Anonymous
2013-04-26T09:09:14+00:00

Are you missing the old style "File Types" dialog that used to let you set this stuff?  In Windows 7 (and Vista), you'd have to set it manually in the registry.  But there's a small program that brings back your familiar functionality.   I haven't used it myself, but it looks to be pretty awesome.  Here's the link:  http://types.sourceforge.net/

Thank you very much for this link!

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Anonymous
2011-09-16T00:22:45+00:00

I don't know if somebody already resolved this problem but I just happened to figure this out.

Except you didn't read the title.

We don't want to know how to choose what program 'opens' ... (that's the only thing you  CAN do in Win7..)... we want to know how to assign other actions...

Like edit, view, preview,

or add custom ones like

'edit in photothing'

'edit in mspaint'

edit in my finger painting app'...

etc...

Anything but open is difficult or impossible with Windows 0-- where once it was trivial.

MS is really dumming down and removing features as they put out new version -- AND raising prices...

If you look at everything you got in WinXP-Pro -- that's the equivalent of what they call Win7-Ultimate today.  You go a level down and you are missing domain security (which I use at home), OR  you lose media play ability -- both things XP had ....

But wait, for all these fewer features and greater cost -- you also get a 15-30% slowdown on all OS related functions!

Remember the good old dialup days when there was a 'lag' between when you pressed your keys and they were echoed (because they had to go to the remove site which did the echo?)----In Win7 you get that same feeling -- keys are lagged as they are shipped off to someplace for inspection...

Remember type-ahead?   Win7 drops keys regularlly -- so can't rely on it...

And lets not forget several people's fav -- lack of home-network searching!....  Sure if you buy MS SErver and run it at home, you're set, but any other network drive....  they gave us the pooch.

And now they are blythely moving on to Win8??   Gawd ... I see how Vista users really felt like suckers.  MS, what's wrong with you?   Are you determined to kill the **personal computer**??

Leaving the above orignal content.

But I get updates on this and don't understand the whiner's upsets -- the question was answered BEFORE this follow up pose by Shawn Keene on July 13, 2011, The fact that my follow up got moved up under his was because others agreed with my "grumblings".

But Shawn points to the below (http://izt.name/apps/types/).  So if you want to solve your problems, learn to read, as his answer was posted before my followup, AND is above mine in the reading order.

Types

Types is a simple Windows utility that allows you

to add and remove file types, set program associations,

change icons, edit context menus and other properties.

Download

![](http://izt.name/apps/types/download.gif) Types 2.1.1 (196 KB installer)

Nov 29 2012 .Net 2 or 3 required (NOT 4+)

Localize

Place language files either next to the downloaded Setup.exe

or into the installation folder (default: C:\Program files\Types).

Press F1 to select your language, then restart the program.

Language file template

 

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@CmdrKeene 90,631 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
2011-07-14T00:32:03+00:00

Are you missing the old style "File Types" dialog that used to let you set this stuff?  In Windows 7 (and Vista), you'd have to set it manually in the registry.  But there's a small program that brings back your familiar functionality.   I haven't used it myself, but it looks to be pretty awesome.  Here's the link:  http://types.sourceforge.net/

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  1. Anonymous
    2011-05-10T01:07:45+00:00

    >> I think what used to be SysInternals is now Nirsoft.

    It depends what you mean by that!  Sysinternals got bought by Microsoft, and Mark Russinovich became a vice president of something or other;  Microsoft killed off a couple of the Sysinternals utilities (GetUID, for example), but most of them are not only still available but being developed even more actively.  www.sysinternals.com now redirects to a Microsoft internal site.

    Nir Sofer, on the other hand, has always been a small, independent (one-man?) shop.  I first became aware of him because of his password recovery utilities - he made his bones pointing out what a joke Windows security is, and thank goodness for that!  He's saved my butt on so many occasions - but some of his other utils, like this one, are excellent additions to the toolbox...

    Be aware when you visit his site, though, that most antivirus programs will freak out because of his password -recovery (some would say "-cracking") reputation.  I've never been infected, nor has anyone I know; I trust Nirsoft as much as I trust anyone on the Web... but be aware.

    (Also, if you do download one of the password utilities, it can be a real pain getting your AV program to leave it alone long enough to run it!)

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  2. Anonymous
    2011-05-10T03:15:41+00:00

    Off topic, but just in case:  The "dangerous" Nirsoft password tool helped me to understand that a Firefox password file is in essence unprotected without a master password.  And yes, the Avira A/V suite didn't like this tool (found in a full scan), but maybe that's my fault, because I enabled non-default checks.  

    WRT Sysinternals, for Windows 7 I don't really need ProcExp or BgInfo anymore, the on-board utilities are more than good enough for my purposes -- but I still love and need TcpView.  I think Mark would not have dropped W2K compatibility in ProcExp without compelling reasons, and even in that case he would have kept a link to a working version on the Sysinternals pages.  I had to restore a version for W2K from FileHippo after my "normal" (= obviously stupid) manual update procedure resulted in no ProcExp at all.

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