How to fix File Errors

So you want to choose the right program to associate with a file extension? There are various reasons that you might decide to associate a file extension with one piece of software or another. It doesn’t just have to do with whether you like one program or another better, although that is part of it. The decision to associate a file type with one particular type of program should ultimately be based on how you want to be able to open the file.

File associations in Microsoft Windows make it so that when you see the icon for a file you can open it with a certain program by double clicking on it. This makes it easy for you to locate a file in the File Manager program (or in another part of the Windows OS), double click it and immediately see what is inside it and start working with it if you want to. There are two general ways that you can open a file in Windows - one of them is by opening the program first and then accessing the file through it, and the other is by double clicking on the file to open the associated program.

If you find yourself in a situation where you have to make frequent small changes to files, you might decide that one program is better than another for that kind of light editing. In a case such as that, while your main program for handling the files when you want to do in-depth work might be accessed through its own icon, you may associate the file type with the lighter program so that you can click through them rapidly and make changes.

Altering the association of a particular file type couldn’t be easier in Microsoft Windows. The “open with” dialog which you can access by right clicking on an example of a given file type will let you associate that file type with any program that you like. Usually the “open with” dialog will have a long list of candidates that it thinks are well suited, along with a longer list of general Windows programs. You will also have the option of clicking the “browse” button and finding any executable file on your hard drive to associate with the file type.

You can change the file type association whenever you want, which makes the “open file” dialog one of the easiest and most versatile features of Microsoft Windows. Normally you will want to change your file associations when you have a new program that you want to start using more frequently. You can give it a try as your go-to program and then change the association back if it does not work out as well - it’s all up to you.

These are just a few of the things to think about having to do with file associations. By being able to open your most commonly used programs with a double click, Microsoft Windows gives you a great and convenient tool for managing your files!

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!

Q. What are unknown file type errors?

A. This is a pretty common problem that can occur when you download a file or try to open a type of file that your computer is not used to. It will most commonly occur if you happen to download a file that you don’t have the right software installed to open it. Examples for this would include downloading a PDF file and not having the required free Adobe Acrobat Reader on your computer to open the file.

Q. Why does this commonly occur?

A. As we mentioned above, this is a problem that occurs when your computer doesn’t know which program to use to open the file. Each type of file has a different extension that clues your computer in on the application that it needs to use to read the file. For example, html files will typically be associated with web design programs, mp3 files with sound programs and doc files with Word. If you don’t have the right software installed on your computer, the association with the extension doesn’t make sense to your computer and it produces this error.

Q. How do I solve this problem?

A. First, determine whether or not you need to have special software installed on your computer for that file. For example, if you have a pdf file you’ll need Acrobat Reader. However, the waters get a little bit murkier if you are dealing with files with extensions such as php, mp4, or even png. The first type is a file that is commonly used for websites, the second is a sound or video file and the last is a graphic file.

In this case, you can train your computer to associate this extension with a particular application that is already installed. Let’s use MP4 as an example. If you have downloaded a file and you know that it is either an audio or video file, right click the icon and select Open With. Choose the software you have for audio or video, such as Real Players, Windows Media Player or Quicktime. This should open the file for you.

For php or other web files, you can usually open these with notepad if you need to edit them. Otherwise, you really don’t need to mess with them unless you are a developer. Use the same process mentioned above and then select notepad as the program you want to use.

Q. How do I keep this from happening again?

A. If you need to open a certain kind of file and you don’t have the right software, your best bet is to see what the extension is and then download the appropriate software. For graphics software, you may need an image viewer that is capable of viewing more than just gifs and jpegs. Using our png example below, some common graphics programs simply do not support this file type. However, you can download a free image viewing program that will to solve the issue.