One of the most irritating problems that you can run into when you are dealing with files in Windows Explorer is when you mistakenly associate a file with the wrong program. File types are associated with programs in Windows, so that when you view the files in File Manager you can see an icon that tells you what the file is and what kind of program opens it. The thing with Windows Explorer, however, is that it gives you the ability to change names and file associations. If someone has set the association for a file incorrectly then you may need to fix it.

The first step in repairing a problem with a file extension association is to know for sure what kind of file you are dealing with. You should probably already have some idea of what the file is. If you can open the file with some kind of program and look up the internal info, the format (which may have been auto-detected) may be given. This can be a more accurate way of finding out the actual file format than relying on the user-editable data that Windows Explorer relies on.

After you figure out for sure what the correct file format is, you need to choose the program that you are going to use to open it. You may already have a program in mind, or you may want to go online and search for software that reads the format and which has a good interface and list of features. Either way, get the software that you need installed on your computer and then you are ready to go on to the next step, which is making the association between the file format and the program manually.

The way that you create an association between a file extension and a program for reading it is by using the “open with” command on the right click menu. Access this menu and you will be able to choose from a list of programs that are registered with Windows. If you installed the program that you are going to use to read the file with a typical Windows installation routine it should either be on this list or easy to find in the Program Files directory of your hard drive.

You can test out the program at first to see if it will work and then make the association permanent the next time - this is a good way to avoid mistakenly associating files with the wrong program. The first time that you use “open with” to open a file, leave the “always use” box unchecked so that it will only be a one-time thing. If the reader program works, you can use “open with” again, but this time check the box and make it so that the file extension will be associated with the reader. Take care while you are making your file associations and fix problems right away so that you do not forget about them to get the best results!