After changed program location, can't add to "Open With"
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10 กรกฎาคม 2552 1:15I was running Adobe Reader 8 from my "Windows.old" file. I decided to move it into program files. Now I cant open PDF files. It wont show up on the "Open With" list and it will not let me add it to the list. When I try the it just goes back to the "Open With" window. I started up Adobe and opened the program from it and it worked fine. I tried it with another program (Paint.net) to test to see if it was the same for different programs and it is. I was able to open pictures with Paint.net in the "windows.old" file but when i moved it to "Program Files" It once again dissapeared from the open with list and cannot be added again. Is this a Windows 7 bug or am I just doing something wrong?
ตอบทั้งหมด
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10 กรกฎาคม 2552 1:29Hi Lluk3,
windows.old is a folder, which represents the previous installation of Windows (for example, you upgrade to Windows 7 afrom Windows Vista and all of Vista files is stored in this folders). All of programs which you can find in windows.old are related with PREVIOUS system. Solution? Install this programs again in system. Forget about "copying/pasting" to present Windows, thats unnecessary and uncorrect.
Best regards, Łukasz Foks | WSS.pl -
10 กรกฎาคม 2552 1:46I reinstalled Adobe Reader and it still wont work. The program runs but it cant be added to the "Open With" list.
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10 กรกฎาคม 2552 22:09ผู้ดูแล
When you right click on a PDF and choose Open With what options do you see? You can click the browse button there and select the specific copy of Adobe you want to use (like the one you just installed).
-Matt -
11 กรกฎาคม 2552 8:03What I am saying is that it wont let me add Adobe Reader to the "Open With" list anymore. Even when I reinstalled it. When I browse for Adobe Reader and select it it just goes back to the "Open With" list but does not show Adobe Reader.
I know how to change the default program settings. Its not working. -
28 กรกฎาคม 2552 6:44Hi Lluk3,
I have a similar problem. I set the "Open With" prefered program in Administrator but it has no effect in my normal user. In my normal user I can't set the "Open With" to the program I want. It goes though the motions but nothing happens. I suspect some sort of permissions problem. I will delete all instances of the program - see if I can get rid of the "Open With" selection in Administrator, and start from scratch again. I also wrote a new program using VB in Visual Studio 2008 but can't get Win-7 to add it to my list of prefered programs in "Open With". -
5 มกราคม 2553 5:44I have the same problem with my UltraEdit program. I had a pre-installed version already running in my system, and I had put it in the Open With list in certain file types. Now I deleted it and installed the latest version, it can't be added the Open With list anymore. It acts just like the Adobe Reader acts with Llulk3.
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18 มกราคม 2553 0:28Exactly the same problem for me. I have used the "open with" procedure a hundred times in Win XP. And I have used it in Win 7 to associate my text editor with a customized file extension. But I can't use it to add Adobe Reader to the Open With list for a pdf. I can open Reader, and browse for the pdf, and that works, but I can't just click on the pdf and have it open in Reader.
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18 มกราคม 2553 7:43When you go to Open With, is there not a "Browse" button that lets you find and choose Adobe Reader manually?
If this was helpful, please vote by clicking the green triangle. If it solves the issue, click Propose as Answer. Thanks! -
19 กุมภาพันธ์ 2553 13:01
When you go to Open With, is there not a "Browse" button that lets you find and choose Adobe Reader manually?
Same problem here with Womble MPEG Movie wizard DVD 5 - Its not in the OpenWith-list, its not in the "other programs" list, and when I manually browse there and check "always open with..." then click ok, it returns to the first selector box with NERO ShowTime selected, which is also used when I then click ok. Its Win7 ultimate 64bit, the software is in the (x86) program folder. -
3 มีนาคม 2553 14:12Shawn,
I've got the same problem here. Steps to reproduce:
1) add a pogram to the Open-With dialog and set it as default program for a file extension
2) move the program to another location
3) try to add it again
Of course there is a "browse" button, but after selecting the same (but moved) program executable just wont let it appear in the list of programs to select from.
--> Can't add it again for the very same file extension.
What actually helps is renaming the executable: e.g. foo.exe to bar.exe and then selecting it in the browse-dialog.
Very annoying bug. :(
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate, 64bit- เสนอเป็นคำตอบโดย Simply Tech 12 มีนาคม 2553 12:31
- ยกเลิกการนำเสนอเป็นคำตอบโดย mattburrMicrosoft, Moderator 15 มีนาคม 2553 14:38
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3 มีนาคม 2553 23:01Oh I see. You know what, I've actually had this annoying problem and didn't recognize it until you explained it like that. Mine was when trying to switch between using two separate versions of Excel (2003 and 2007), it ignored you if you tried to select the other excel.exe file (both versions were installed at the same time, of course).
If this was helpful, please vote by clicking the green triangle. If it solves the issue, click Propose as Answer. Thanks! -
8 มีนาคม 2553 14:55Hum, so that bug is not resolved, yet, huh? Sux :(
Are there any microsoft officials reading this forum?
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8 มีนาคม 2553 17:19
Hum, so that bug is not resolved, yet, huh? Sux :(
Are there any microsoft officials reading this forum?
I wonder that myself.
The problem in this thread seems related to a thread I started http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7itproappcompat/thread/ee47b699-aadd-4683-bbcc-dfd16e8facf8 and remains unresolved. I tried registry changes, renaming .exe's, etc. without any luck. -
12 มีนาคม 2553 12:31
Renaming .exe actually worked for me. Very annoying though. Thanks for saving hours.
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14 มีนาคม 2553 8:42
Shawn,
I've got the same problem here. Steps to reproduce:
1) add a pogram to the Open-With dialog and set it as default program for a file extension
2) move the program to another location
3) try to add it again
Of course there is a "browse" button, but after selecting the same (but moved) program executable just wont let it appear in the list of programs to select from.
--> Can't add it again for the very same file extension.
What actually helps is renaming the executable: e.g. foo.exe to bar.exe and then selecting it in the browse-dialog.
Very annoying bug. :(
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate, 64bit
How is this the proposed answer? It might be a workaround but not the answer in my view. -
15 มีนาคม 2553 14:38ผู้ดูแล
(Please read the warning at the bottom of this post before proceeding.)
All of the "Open With" settings are kept in the registry, so you should be able to open the registry, then go to
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.ext
Look at what it says under UserChoice - if it says something like "ext_auto_file", go to
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\ext_auto_file\shell\open\command
If under UserChoice it says something like "Applications\Foo.exe", the program path is stored at:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Applications\Foo.exe\shell\open\command
Under the (Default) value, note the path to the EXE here that will be used to open the file. You can edit this entry to change it to the path to the version of the program you want.
Warning This post contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:322756 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756/ ) How to back up and restore the registry in Windows
-Matt- เสนอเป็นคำตอบโดย mattburrMicrosoft, Moderator 15 มีนาคม 2553 14:38
- ทำเครื่องหมายเป็นคำตอบโดย mattburrMicrosoft, Moderator 27 กันยายน 2554 19:30
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20 มีนาคม 2553 0:13
(Please read the warning at the bottom of this post before proceeding.)
All of the "Open With" settings are kept in the registry, so you should be able to open the registry, then go to
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.ext
Look at what it says under UserChoice - if it says something like "ext_auto_file", go to
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\ext_auto_file\shell\open\command
If under UserChoice it says something like "Applications\Foo.exe", the program path is stored at:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Applications\Foo.exe\shell\open\command
Under the (Default) value, note the path to the EXE here that will be used to open the file. You can edit this entry to change it to the path to the version of the program you want.
Warning This post contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:322756 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756/ ) How to back up and restore the registry in Windows
-Matt
Your registry entries don't match mine and therefore your suggestions are useless. I would be nice if someone from MS that really knew something would comment. -
22 มีนาคม 2553 13:00ผู้ดูแล
Can you export and paste the contents of HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.xls from your system? The UserChoice key is created when you right click a file, choose Open With, then select Choose default program.
-Matt -
22 มีนาคม 2553 20:14
Can you export and paste the contents of HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.xls from your system? The UserChoice key is created when you right click a file, choose Open With, then select Choose default program.
-MattHere it is:
Key Name: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.xls\UserChoice
Class Name: <NO CLASS>
Last Write Time: 3/10/2010 - 3:12 PM
Value 0
Name: Progid
Type: REG_SZ
Data: Excel.Sheet.8 -
22 มีนาคม 2553 22:43ผู้ดูแล
OK, so Excel.Sheet.8 should be defined here:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Excel.Sheet.8\shell\Open\command
In regedit, go there, then do File, Export... and save a copy of that branch.
Edit the (Default) entry to point to the correct path for the version of Excel you want to run. Test the XLS file. If it still opens with the wrong version, you may also need to modify the command value and ddeexec subkeys (if present).
-Matt -
23 มีนาคม 2553 18:09
OK, so Excel.Sheet.8 should be defined here:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Excel.Sheet.8\shell\Open\command
In regedit, go there, then do File, Export... and save a copy of that branch.
Edit the (Default) entry to point to the correct path for the version of Excel you want to run. Test the XLS file. If it still opens with the wrong version, you may also need to modify the command value and ddeexec subkeys (if present).
-Matt
No joy with setting the path to point to Excel '03. It still opens '07. What do you suggest for the other possible modifications? The other subkeys are present. -
23 มีนาคม 2553 20:34ผู้ดูแลI'm not an Office engineer, so I hesitate to make suggestions for what those should be - but on my test box, I found that even after I changed (Default) to point to a different EXE than Excel, it still opened in Excel until I deleted the 'command' value. (I think I may have also deleted the ddeexec subkey, but I don't know that that was needed.) Of course, you should back the key up first so you can restore it in the event it doesn't work. If you have another box just running Excel 2003, you may be able to see what values it uses and may be able to use those (again, I'm not on the Office team, nor do I have a copy of Office 2003 installed, so I can't really say what they ought to be).
-Matt -
23 มีนาคม 2553 23:20
Matt
I appreciate the suggestions. It's more of a mystery to me than it is a true problem. Even if your suggestions had worked it would have been a workaround and not a true solution which will only come in the form of a patch from MS in my view. To that end I'm hoping this thread and the one I started will draw someone's attention.
Curiously this problem didn't exist for at least a couple of months after I installed Win 7 Pro and both the '03 and '07 Office suites. Something changed obviously. If I had loads of free time I'd reinstall the os and the Office suites sans any MS or Office updates that have rolled since October and slowly weed out what effected the change. But I don't have that much time or curiousity unless soemone wants to pay me for the trouble. Not likely.
Also curious is the fact that I have a laptop running Win 7 Home Premium (vs. Pro) with both Office suites installed and do not have the problem. However, since the problem surfaced on the desktop Pro machine I have not tried setting the '07 version of Excel as default as the '03 version is now working as default and I want to keep it that way until such time as a true solution is found.
Yet another curiousity is that I can flip back and forth between '03 and '07 versions of Word as default for .doc on the problem box just as I always did. Strange.
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17 มิถุนายน 2553 14:35Thanks, this worked for me!
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6 ตุลาคม 2553 0:36
I had the same problem. I was trying to add gvim.exe as a default program for a certain file type. However, in the choose-which-program-to-open-this-file-with dialog, when I clicked browse and selected gvim.exe, it was not added to the list of options. As an experiment I tried adding vlc.exe, and it was added. Thus I looked for a difference.
A quick search in the registry for the name of an application that I could choose (vlc.exe) revealed that VLC had a key at:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\vlc.exe\shell\Open\command
with a default value of"C\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC\vlc.exe" --started-from-file "%1"
Adding a key at
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\gvim.exe\shell\Open\command
with a default value of
C:\Program Files\vim\vim73\gvim.exe "%1"
Allowed me to select gvim as a default program.
Don't know if this is related to anyone else's problems (or, if people have solved their own problems already in the 6 months since this thread was really active), but that "fix" worked for me.
- เสนอเป็นคำตอบโดย gcm1nh 15 ธันวาคม 2553 3:49
- ทำเครื่องหมายเป็นคำตอบโดย mattburrMicrosoft, Moderator 27 กันยายน 2554 19:29
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15 ธันวาคม 2553 3:54 I had the same problem. The registry entry for
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\AcrRd32.exe\shell\open\command had a default value pointing to the Windows.old location.
Despite having re-installed Adobe three times, this registry entry was never updated.
I copied the command from HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\AcrRd32.exe\shell\read\command, pastsed it into the "open" registry entry and it worked.
Adobe is now available in my OpenWith list again.
- เสนอเป็นคำตอบโดย blacklord 1 สิงหาคม 2554 9:31
- ทำเครื่องหมายเป็นคำตอบโดย mattburrMicrosoft, Moderator 27 กันยายน 2554 19:30
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21 มกราคม 2554 14:36
Matt,
Thanks - this solved my problem, which occurred when I upgraded from Office 2007 to Office 2010. The path for EXCEL.EXE was still pointing to the Office12 folder, instead of Office14.
Word and the other apps were correct, just Excel was stuck. Changing the path in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Applications fixed the problem, and Excel again appeared in the 'Open With' dialog.
Matt Boxberger
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15 กุมภาพันธ์ 2554 0:04I would just like to add to this discussion. I had problems with an application not adding to the "Open With" list, as well. I fixed it by running CCleaner's registry cleaner, since I figured it was some problem with the registry, and it worked! I think that's easier than manually going into the registry to fix the problem.
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15 กุมภาพันธ์ 2554 2:04
It's good that it worked -- registry cleaners can remove invalid entries from the registry. Unfortunately their proneness to error or removal critical components means they often break computers, or cause strange issues that would otherwise be averted. While not a scientific sample, I'd say that the average professional opinion of most techs in these forums would be to avoid them and solve issues directly where you have control over what happens to your registry. As always, make backups or at least a quick System Restore point (takes just a few seconds) before editing the registry by any means.
If this was helpful, please vote by clicking the green triangle. If it solves the issue, click Propose as Answer. Thanks! -
1 สิงหาคม 2554 9:35
Thanks a lot gcm1nh,
this is the cause of the problem - the "open" registry entry was corrupt, and overwriting it with the read location as you proposed solved the issue (it was immediately available as a context menu option).
Cheers!
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27 กันยายน 2554 19:07Drostin, you've solved this issue for me. I was having a problem setting both excel and notepad++ and your fix worked for both. Thanks
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22 มกราคม 2555 11:49Thanks Matt! I had removed program and windows was unable associate this program in new location. Editing registry helped! :)
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29 เมษายน 2555 19:00
Hi!
Was in the process of following your instruction when i realized that the folder ".ext" does not exist in my registry. I don't know if this has anything to do with my computer also having a re-installed version of windows 7 on it (I tried windows 8 on it but accidentally wiped everything from drive, went back to windows 7 and was left with windows.old folder which i have now gotten rid of). Any ideas?
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30 เมษายน 2555 11:25ผู้ดูแลBy .ext I mean whatever file extension you were looking to fix. So .txt for text files, .pdf for PDfs, etc.
-Matt
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7 กรกฎาคม 2555 17:41
I have this problem with many different program file types. None of the suggestions on this thread (to date) work. The point this problem started for me is after a power failure. Windows forced a scan disk (ignoring USB devices on during the countdown) reset all permissions on my hard drive to a generic pattern that resulted in windows not allowing itself to load my user settings. I reset the permissions back based on my backup but windows hasn't been the same since. One boot, I can open a flv file with vlc. The next startup It doesn't "know" the file type nor can I add it to the known programs, even though the registry is correct! I've gone as far as removing the effected file extensions from the registry and all occurrences of VLC.exe from the registry-- absolutely no help.
Mattburr: Unfortunately your suggestion doesn't solve my problem. I have a request, your instructions mix static strings with variables. Can you please take the time to define your variables when you post instructions, not only does it make it readable, it's a good practice.
Clearly, either Microsoft is unable to answer, or unwilling to answer. Editing the registry to resolve a programming/security bug is a (potentially dangerous) workaround, which is only acceptable for freeware.
Does anyone have a real answer that fixes this issue?
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