Windows 7: .lnk extension and shortcut type file

I have a document that has acquired a .lnk extension and shows a Shortcut type file and I cannot open.

I was suggested to go to Sart > Control Panel > Programs > Default Programs > Associate a file type or protrocol with a program > Set Assocations

I did that and chose Word to open the document. The result was that almost all programs including IE and Systems Tool tried to open with Word.
I had to run a System Restore from the Control Panel and all is fine now.

However, can someone give me an idea how the document got the .lnk extension and Shortcut type? Also, is there a solution to this being that the above didn't work?

I still cannot open the document and the program associated with .lnk reverted to unknown application. I am a a loss here. Thxs

Hello Iris,

Are you referring to your other thread below?

Adobe Reader is trying to Open all my programs

If so, did you already do this below to restore the default associations?

Adobe Reader is trying to Open all my programs

No. That was an instance when I tried to open a document and chose the "Open With" Adobe Reader for that particular document... and afterwards Adobe Reader tried to open everything else. In that case I uninstalled and reinstalled Adobe Reader and everything went back to normal but I never figured out what caused the problem.


In this instance as I cannot open the .lnk document, I changed the program association with .lnk files to Word in Control Panel and I ended up in the same situation. I am trying to understand what causes this and if there is a logical way to handle .lnk files besides ignoring and deleting them.

What's happening is that you are changing the association of .lnk files (all shortcuts) to use whatever program you are setting in Default Programs.

.lnk files are not documents, but instead shortcuts to open the targeted .exe file of a program to run the program. If you change the default associations like this, it messes up all shortcuts.

To fix this, download and merge the lnk (LNK) option in the tutorial below again to restore it's default association.

Default File Type Associations - Restore

Hope this helps.