Remove default app by file type
I somehow have set the default file type association for a file type in Windows 7. It doesn't appear to be possible to delete it from the "Change the file type associated with a file extension" options screen. Is it possible to remove it? Show
pulsarjune 1,2911 gold badge12 silver badges21 bronze badges asked Oct 1, 2009 at 15:37
ChristothesChristothes 4,0675 gold badges23 silver badges14 bronze badges 4
answered Oct 1, 2009 at 15:38
ChristothesChristothes 4,0675 gold badges23 silver badges14 bronze badges 12 Even easier method that I found, it just requires the command line.
Special thanks go to My Digital Life for the instructions that I used to figure this one out. They also included a step that disassociates the extension from the file type, but based on what you are looking for, that isn't strictly necessary.
answered Jan 9, 2014 at 18:17
2 In Explorer, go to Tools | Folder Options | File Types, find the extension you're looking for, and click Delete. Or, if Delete is grayed out, click Restore (to set it back to the defaults), then Delete. answered Oct 1, 2009 at 15:51
AlexAlex 2,0341 gold badge14 silver badges9 bronze badges 2 Similar to the top answer, but I find it best to only delete the UserChoice sub-key because you don't need to kill all of the info about the file extension (like the open with list), just the "choice the user selected" (aka-UserChoice). I use a REG file to make it fast to repeat for testing. You can copy paste this, including the version line, and save as a REG file. Just change .ics and .vcs to whatever extensions you want (or just remove one line if you only want to reset one):
If you aren't familiar with REG files, the above lines that start with "-" simply delete those keys from the registry. Also, and the main reason I posted this answer, with this solution I don't have to restart explorer.exe. Maybe something specific to my setup, but I've used on Win7 and Win8 and never had to restart explorer.exe for the change to take effect. answered Jun 26, 2014 at 0:07
eselkeselk 1931 gold badge2 silver badges8 bronze badges Why not use this method here: http://pcsupport.about.com/od/fixtheproblem/ht/default-program-windows-7.htm Follow these very easy steps for changing the program that starts when you open a particular kind of file in Windows 7. Here's How:
answered Sep 21, 2013 at 8:09
MalMal 591 silver badge2 bronze badges 3 I could not find the correct Windows Registry line, so I used a work around. On my desktop, I created a text file named "deleteable.txt". I changed the extension to .exe. Next, I used the control panel to change the default program assigned to the desired file extension to the new "deleteable.exe". I then closed the control panel, and finally deleted the desktop file.
answered Jan 30, 2013 at 13:40
4 Safe brute-force methodNone of the other answers' methods worked on their own for me when trying to delete the file association for something like
answered Sep 6, 2017 at 17:12
binaryfuntbinaryfunt 8484 gold badges13 silver badges29 bronze badges Creative Element Power Tools is a collection of productivity tools for Microsoft Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows 2000, and Windows Me. One of the file utility is File Type Doctor which allows user right-click any file and select Edit File Type to modify the applications used to open files of that type. Use File Type Doctor to choose default programs, add or remove file types from Explorer’s New menu, and customize files’ context menus. More utilities here: Windows Vista File Associations Advanced Editing Management Tools
Gaff 18.2k14 gold badges56 silver badges68 bronze badges answered Oct 1, 2009 at 16:19 3 My Solutions:
answered Nov 8, 2015 at 4:51
I did the brute-force ignorant method. Delete all registry keys that have the extension mentioned in them, as well as delete all the registry keys that have the previous application (bar.exe) mentioned in them. Assuming the extension is
as well as some other stuff that did not seem helpful to delete (a lot of MRU lists) And I may have had to logout/login as well, although I'm not sure if that was 100% necessary. answered Apr 19, 2013 at 22:02
Mark LakataMark Lakata 7,1502 gold badges17 silver badges16 bronze badges 3 Open a New Text File
answered Jul 9, 2015 at 12:24
What does choose default apps by file type mean?A default program is the program that Windows uses when you open a particular type of file, such as a music file, an image, or a webpage. For example, if you have more than one web browser installed on your computer, you can choose one of them to be the default browser.
How do I change the default app for file types in Android?Open your phone's Settings app.. Tap Apps. Default apps.. Tap the default that you want to change.. Tap the app that you want to use by default.. How do I disassociate a file type?bat Now right click any file you want to disassociate and choose 'Open with' - 'Choose another app' -' More Apps' Check the box marked 'Always use this app' Scroll to the bottom and click 'Look for another app on this PC' Navigate to the XXX. bat on your Desktop and select that Finally delete XXX.
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