File associations hijacked

For example a painting program grabs all the graphics file associations displayed in Explorer. After uninstalling the program the associations don’t revert to the original settings.

Open Explorer, press [Shift] and right-click one of the affected files.

Choose Open With from the context menu.

Pick a different application from the list that’s presented next.

Tick the ‘Always use this program...’ checkbox, and then click OK.

Repeat for the other file types.

Some programs prevent re-association by grouping several file extensions under one type.

Break the link by going to View / Folder Options in Explorer. On the File Types tab select the grouped entry and hit the Remove button. You can now follow the procedure above.

Knowledge Base article Q133217 may also be of interest – it explains how create multiple associations for one file type.

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