Assigning File Types to an Application

If you want a given application to open a variety of file types (for example, if you want an image editing program to open all image file types), follow these steps:

1. Open the Windows Start menu and select Default Programs. (Alternately, you can also open the Control Panel and select Default Programs from there.)
2. When the Default Programs window appears, click Set Your Default Programs.
3. When the Set Your Default Programs window appears, select a program in the Programs list.
4. To have this program open all the file types that it can, click Set This Program as Default.
5. If you'd rather pick and choose which file types this program opens, click Choose Defaults for This Program. When the next screen appears, check the file types you want to associate with this program, then click Save.
6. Click OK to save your changes.

Assigning an Application to a File Type

Conversely, you can work in the opposite direction-assign a specific application to each available file type. Here's how that works:

1. Open the Windows Start menu and select Default Programs. (Alternately, you can also open the Control Panel and select Default Programs from there.)
2. When the Default Programs window appears, click Associate a File Type or Protocol with a Program.
3. When the next screen appears, select a file type from the list.
4. Click the Change Program button.
5. When the Open With dialog box appears, select one of the recommended programs, or click the Browse button to browse for the program you want. Click OK when done.
6. Repeat steps 3 to 5 to change additional file type associations.
7. Click Close when done.

It's probably easier to use the first method to make wholesale association changes than to use the second method to fine-tune the association list.