If you want to set a default program for a file type then you have to open Windows settings, select the “Apps” section followed by the “Default Apps” sub-section. There we have to scroll down a big list of file types and when we find a file type, we can change its default program using which it can be opened.
But if you want a quicker method, then you can use a third-party freeware called FileTypesMan. This application is designed by the world famous programmer Nir Sofer. It can be used to associate a file type or a group of file types with a certain program. Here is how :
- First of all you have to download FileTypesMan and launch it. You should launch FileTypesMan with administrator level access so that it can make changes to the system registry. This is done by right-clicking on FileTypesMan.exe and choosing Run as administrator.
- FileTypesMan will take some time to enumerate all the file types from the registry. Once it is ready, find and select the file type that you want to associate with a program. In the lower panel, it will display already available commands for that file type.
- Press Ctrl+N to add a new command for the selected file type. At a minimum, you have to specify the action name, menu caption, and the command line. It is better to run the target program and then click on the Select from Running Programs button to choose that program.
- Select the checkbox labeled Default Action to make the command the default action take when a user double-clicks on that file type. Leave everything as it is and click on the OK button to save the settings.
- This is it, now you have associated a file type with your program of choice.
When you have used this program once or twice, you will become very familiar with it and then you will be able to associate programs with file types using FileTypesMan in just a couple of seconds.
You can download FileTypesMan from https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/file_types_manager.html.