7
1
Back in the day, one merely need look at HKCR\.ext
which would point to HKCR\type-handler
.
HKCR
is now a dynamic link to both HKCU\software\classes
and HKLM\software\classes
, in a cascade pattern (local user first, then local machine).
However, now we also have this ..\explorer\FileExts
registry tree, presumably at both user and machine levels as well. What does this additional complexity provide?
I don't know about you, but I am forever fighting Windows to correctly open my files, with Explorer hanging quite often, or failing to open a given file from explorer. And it seems quite arbitrary, where an install of say TextPad on one machine will appear to be 100% functional, whereas on another will result in only limited functionality with either Explorer or TextPad crashing when a file is attempted to be opened (say via the right click menu, or send-to, or drag & drop, or double click).
I've asked a few times and done myriad searches, and I have yet to find a comprehensive "this is what all keys related to file types are and do, and how Microsoft intends that they be used for coherent cooperation and proper function of a users system."
This doesn't answer the question. Deleting UserChoice from file exts worked in my case, but it would be good to have a comprehensive answer. (partial answer here:http://stackoverflow.com/a/3623259/1254222)
– 79E09796 – 2016-11-24T14:45:29.487Hmmm... maybe I need to ask this (again) over on SO. It's one of those cross-over questions which have valid aspects in programming domain and in sys-admin domain. I am a programmer, but this affects me both as a programmer and as a sys-admin - with helping clients figure out what went wrong, or even just in my personal use of my PCs. Seems to me that - at an anecdotal level - this has gone to hell in a handbag since Vista, and I yearn for a white paper describing everything there is to know (both as admin and developer) – Mordachai – 2013-03-07T20:11:39.787
@Mordachai if you want to look at it from a sys-admin perspective, look into some of the tools I mentioned above. It may be a lot easier to run a batch clean-up to fix some file associations on client computers, and I know
FileTypesMan
does indeed have a command-line interface. – Breakthrough – 2013-03-07T20:14:43.743The release notes on FileTypesMan looks promising, as does the tool itself. I'd upvote your comment and answers - but apparently I have too little rep in SU. :P – Mordachai – 2013-03-07T21:30:16.493