Re: File Association

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Rick,

First, I do not think that there is a problem, other than the icons.

A bit of info: windows opens the file, ie *.xls or *.pdf in the
appropriate
ap. But the icon is missing and more importatly the "Always open...." box
is
grayed out.

Microsoft Works Spread*** (wksss.exe) or Excel.exe probably has .xls files
locked

Adobe probably has .pdf locked.

I dumped that POS a long time ago and use FoxitReader.

If you open Folder Options...
Start | Run | Type: control folders | Click OK |
Click the File Types tab | Hit P on your keyboard |
Scroll down a little more to PDF and click on it to select it |

Do you see a Restore button below the Change button? Or do you see an
Advanced button below the Change button?

The Restore button resets the selected extension to the previous file type
and will only be present if you modified the settings of the selected file
type. The Restore button appears in the place of the Advanced button.

Click on Advanced, if present, click the Change Icon button

Change Icon button:
[[Click to change the icon that is associated with this file type.]]

Select an icon from the list below:
[[Shows which icon you are currently using. If other icons are available,
they appear in the list. To change to another icon, click a different one in
the list or type a new file in File name.]]

Browse button:
[[Click to browse through folders to find the file you want.]]

Look for icons in this file box...
[[Specifies the name of the file that contains the icon for this shortcut.
Some files contain more than one icon, and you can select a different icon
from the Current icon list. To use an icon from a different file, type the
file name here, or click Browse to find and select the file.]]

Type the path to \excel.exe in the box and hit Enter.

Hit X on your keyboard and scroll down to XLS.

Do you see a Restore button below the Change button? Or do you see an
Advanced button below the Change button?

Click on Advanced, if present, click the Change Icon button

Change Icon button:
[[Click to change the icon that is associated with this file type.]]

Select an icon from the list below:
[[Shows which icon you are currently using. If other icons are available,
they appear in the list. To change to another icon, click a different one in
the list or type a new file in File name.]]

Browse button:
[[Click to browse through folders to find the file you want.]]

Look for icons in this file box...
[[Specifies the name of the file that contains the icon for this shortcut.
Some files contain more than one icon, and you can select a different icon
from the Current icon list. To use an icon from a different file, type the
file name here, or click Browse to find and select the file.]]

Type the path to \AcroRd32.exe in the box and hit Enter.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In news:27BC0212-5750-40FC-A7C6-DF4DA6208A62@xxxxxxxxxxxxx,
eureka125 <eureka125@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> hunted and pecked:
Wesley,
I now have the keys in HKLM and HKCU in the location specified and value
is "0"
however, box is still greyed out.
Problem not resolve.

Have searched for registry "NoFileAssociate" and found only those two
keys. Any ideas now?
Rick

"Wesley Vogel" wrote:

NoFileAssociate

Try this first.

Automated edit...
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

Read the instructions at the top
314. File Associations are Greyed Out

nofileassocundo.reg is the file that you want.

After you merge it into the registry reboot.
-----

Some explanation...

The NoFileAssociate value can exist in either of these keys or both of
them.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
and/or
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

HKEY_CURRENT_USER applies only to the current user.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE applies to all users of the computer.

NoFileAssociate
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

Data type Range Default value
REG_DWORD 0 | 1 1 (Terminal Services systems)
0 (All other Windows 2000
systems)

Description
Disables the buttons on the File Types tab. As a result, users can view
file type associations, but they cannot add, delete, or change them.

The File Types tab shows which programs open when a type of file is
double-clicked. The file types are represented by their file name
extension.

Value Meaning
0 Users can add, delete, and change file type associations.
1 Users cannot add, delete, or change file type
associations.

By disabling this tab, you can prevent malicious users from creating an
association that starts a risky or destructive program. Also, users
cannot create less productive associations, such as associating the .doc
file type with Wordpad instead of Microsoft Word. This is a particular
risk on multi-user systems, such as Terminal Services clients.

Note
Although this entry is located in the Policies\Explorer subkey, it is not
associated with a Group Policy included in Windows 2000. You can create a
policy by adding this entry to an Administrative Templates file.

This entry applies to all users of the computer. To set this entry for
particular users, use NoFileAssociate in the HKCU subtree. If the
settings of these entries conflict, the setting in HKCU takes precedence
over the setting in HKLM.

Windows 2000 does not add this entry to the registry. You can add it by
editing the registry or by using a program that edits the registry.

Tip
To see the File Types tab, in My Computer, from the Tools menu, click
Folder Options, and then click the File Types tab. ]]

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/windows2000serv/reskit/regentry/94215.mspx

NoFileAssociate
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/windows2000serv/reskit/regentry/94218.mspx?mfr=true

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In news:61E7201D-F4FA-4203-B8AC-2D5436290EC7@xxxxxxxxxxxxx,
eureka125 <eureka125@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> hunted and pecked:
"Wesley Vogel" wrote:

For what file type?

Uncheck "Always use the selected program to open this kind of file"
option by default, for certain file extensions
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/alwaysopen.htm

"Always use the selected program to open this kind of file" checkbox
are grayed out in Windows 2003
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555076

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In news:2F15EF8A-F25F-4ACB-AB4F-D06E6B0E9D72@xxxxxxxxxxxxx,
eureka125 <eureka125@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> hunted and pecked:
In file Prop.
"Always use the selected program to open this kind of file" checkbox
is grayed out.
How do I change this in RegEdit.
See MS Article ID 555076. This is for Windows Server but it describes
my problem.
I use XP PRO
Thanks
Rick


The problem does not center on creating the file association. The
problem is that Windows will not allow me to change any file
associations.

As I stated originally, the "always use this program.." box is grayed
out. That's the problem.

It's a problem with every file extension.

The knowledge base article that Gordon and I refer to is for Windows
server 2003. Looking in the XP registry, at the same location, there is
no key with that name. I search the registry for the name and could not
find anything. Therefore, it doesn't solve my problem.

This all began yesterday when I signed up for Boldchat, a client-based
online chat program. As a prereq to installing their software, I had to
install the.Net framework. Thats when the problem started. After
installing that, my Acrobat and office 2003 files no longer have icons
associated with them. Also, I had to reinstall my office applications
because I got a message saying they would not run for the current user.
I am the only user on this computer. I log in as administrator. After
reinstalling the office applications, they do open. But my problem
remains.

Rick

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