T 'n' T: For More Friendly Files Maximize Explorer's File-Launching and -Previewing Powers Gregg Keizer
Mon 8/19/02 -- Finagling files got you frustrated? Me too. That's why I'm always trying to get more out of Windows' file-handling skills.
This week's five-spot covers two basic concepts of file management: opening documents -- i.e., launching the programs that created them and loading the data files -- and peeking at what's inside a file before it's actually opened. Want to change what happens when you double-click a particular type of file icon? Got that here. How about a way to see what's in a file when you don't have the necessary application? Yep, that's here, too.
Guilt by association. Some programs' setup routines are so rude they steal file types away from already installed applications -- for example, another editor naming itself the default for .TXT files instead of Notepad -- without so much as a by-your-leave. Blame the idiots who wrote these claim jumpers, and then put things back the way they were by changing the file association to its former state:
From the Start menu, select Settings/Control Panel/Folder Options (in Win 95 and 98, open Windows Explorer and select View/Folder Options). Click the File Types tab.
In the "Registered file types" list, find the type or filename extension you want to change and click Remove (Windows 95/98) or Delete (Windows Me/2000/XP).
Now, locate a file of that type in Windows Explorer and right-click it. (You'll need to hold the Shift key while right-clicking in Windows 95/98.) Choose Open With from the pop-up menu.
Pick the application you want from the "Choose Program" dialog box or click the Browse button to find it on your hard disk.
Check the "Always use the selected program to open this kind of file" box. Click OK.
On-the-fly file loads. In a hurry? You can open a file using an application you haven't formally associated with that file type. In Win 95 and 98, hold the Shift key while right-clicking the file in Windows Explorer; select Open With, and pick the application. For Win Me, 2000, or XP, just right-click the file and choose Open With, then select the program from the list.
Lookie, lookie. You know Windows Explorer can preview image files in Thumbnails mode, but the operating system also shows previews of several file types in Icons view -- most notably icon (.ICO and cursor (.CUR) files. You can add bitmap (.bmp) images -- those created with Windows Paint -- to this list so you can see what's what without opening the file.
From the Start menu, choose Run, type REGEDIT, and press Enter. Find the key:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\PAINT.PICTURE\DefaultIcon
Double-click (Default) in the right-hand pane, change the value to %1 and click OK. Close the Registry Editor.
Quick, gimme the view. Windows 95 and 98 include Quick View, a built-in file viewer that lets you preview -- but not edit -- 31 file types without having to open the parent application. (Among the types: .DOC, .WRI, and .INI.) Quick View's cool because it saves you time (you can look at files faster than you can open them) and money (you can read files that friends send without needing to buy the programs they were created with).
To use Quick View, just right-click on a file within Windows Explorer and pick Quick View from the menu. If Quick View isn't available in the menu, you may need to enable it: in Windows Explorer, choose View/Folder Options and click on the File Types tab. Select the file type from the list, pick Edit, and choose the "Enable Quick View" option. Click OK.
Super-duper viewer. Windows Me, 2000, and XP don't include Quick View -- drat. But you can add the feature -- and then some, enjoying fast, formatted previewing of over 200 new and old file types -- for a few bucks. Download and install Jasc Software's Quick View Plus 7 (shareware, $35).
