How does Windows know which application to use to open a file when you double

When you double-click (or middle-click) a file in the file manager, it will be opened with the default application for that file type. You can open it in a different application, search online for applications, or set the default application for all files of the same type.

To open a file with an application other than the default, right-click the file and select the application you want from the top of the menu. If you do not see the application you want, select Open With Other Application. By default, the file manager only shows applications that are known to handle the file. To look through all the applications on your computer, click View All Applications.

If you still cannot find the application you want, you can search for more applications by clicking Find New Applications. The file manager will search online for packages containing applications that are known to handle files of that type.

Change the default application

You can change the default application that is used to open files of a given type. This will allow you to open your preferred application when you double-click to open a file. For example, you might want your favorite music player to open when you double-click an MP3 file.

1. Select a file of the type whose default application you want to change. For example, to change which application is used to open MP3 files, select a .mp3 file.

2. Right-click the file and select Properties.

3. Select the Open With tab.

4. Select the application you want and click Set as default.

   If Other Applications contains an application you sometimes want to use, but do not want to make the default, select that application and click Add. This will add it to Recommended Applications. You will then be able to use this application by right-clicking the file and selecting it from the list.

This changes the default application not just for the selected file, but for all files with the same type.

When you double-click on a file in Windows XP, the operating system will automatically open the file using a program that has been is associated with the file's extension. It is possible, though, to change the default program that is opened when you click on a file. This tutorial will explain how to change the default program that is associated with an extension as well as assigning a program ...

When you double-click on a file in Windows 8, Windows will automatically open that file using a program that has been associated with that file's extension. There may come a time, though, that you wish you to use a different program to open a file rather than use the one that is set as the default in Windows. This tutorial will discuss how to assign a different program to a file extension so that it will become the default program for that file type. This tutorial will also explain how to assign a default program to a file extension that Windows does not already know about.

How to change file association by right-clicking on a file in Windows 8

To change the default program a file type is opened with, from the Windows 8 desktop search for the file you wish to change and right-click on it to bring up the file menu as shown below.

At the above menu, please select the Open with menu option. You will then be presented with a screen similar to the one below that shows the available programs that you can open the file with.

To change the default program that this file is opened with, please click on the Choose default program... option. You will then be shown a dialog asking how you want to open this type of file as shown below.

In this screen you will see a list of programs that Microsoft recommends you use when dealing with the particular type of file. To see other possible choices, you should click on the See all... option. This will bring up a screen that shows a larger list of choices that you can choose from as shown below.

If you see the program you wish to use by default, then put a check mark in the check box labeled Use this app for all .extension files and then select the program. The file will then be opened by this program and all other files that contain this extension will use this program as well going forward.

If you do not see the desired program, though, you should then put a check mark in the check box labeled Use this app for all .extension files and then click on the Look for an app on this PC option to open a window where you can browse to the program you wish to use. You will now be presented with the Open with window where you can browse to the executable that you want to set as your default. Once you have found the executable, select it by left-clicking on it once so it becomes highlighted and then click on the Open button. The file should now have been opened using the program you selected. Windows has also been configured to use this program to open files that contain this new extension in the future. If you have any questions regarding these steps, please feel free to ask in the Windows 8 forum.

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