How do apps make it to Set Program Defaults?

highstream · 05 May 2012

Win 7 x64. I uninstalled, then reinstalled Opera 12 beta x64 today and afterward it was not listed in Set Program Defaults, although it had been there since I started using it months ago. It is now only in Set Program Access & Computer Defaults (Other). I'm curious as to how apps make it to SPD, as I didn't see a way to directly edit what's in there. That's also where I prefer to make it the default for reasons related to how other apps work (this is not a question how to make Opera the default). Thanks,

Night Hawk · 05 May 2012

Typically when going to right click on a file you have the option for selecting the program that will be used to open it with.(see image below) With Opera 11 I made the mistake of setting Opera as the default on one image file and have to reset that to the Windows photo viewer over and over again at times when some other file still sees the Opera icon!

Open With - Change Default Program

At first every image file suddenly saw the same icon until I created new ones as I went along selecting the photo viewer until this became an isolated problem. I still run into a few files which still see Opera as the default viewer however due to the large volume of images file stored kept onhand.

highstream · 06 May 2012

Night Hawk, as I understand what you're discussing, it's really a different issue, although one I also raised on Opera's forums awhile back. See Opera overriding Win 7 Default program settings? - Opera browser - Opera Community.

Night Hawk · 06 May 2012

Opera effected a few other things as well. At times a browser window for that browser will open out of nowhere when going to click on something totally unrelated plus having WaterFox the 64bit alternate to FF set as the default browser. The window will open suddenly behind not in front of WF.

highstream · 06 May 2012

Windows 7 default settings module is not friendly to non-MS software, especially browsers and email clients. In XP there were occasionally problem, but usually just marking the current browser as default was sufficient. With Win 7, however, I've often had to explicitly set Opera and my email client (Sylpheed) as default to get most everything to work right. Guaranteed you'll never have this problem with IE. It's annoying but part of the price for using Windows.

That said, my question as to what it takes to get apps into the Set Defaults list remains unanswered.

Night Hawk · 06 May 2012

That depends on whether or not a particular program is the only one present that can handle a specific file type for the most part. If no other program is on which can handle that particular file there the program won't appear in the list of default apps.

The solution may be simply changing file associations where you change the default for a particular set of files to one program in particular. The MS page on this can be seen at Change which programs Windows uses by default

Set your default programs

Use this option to choose which programs you want Windows to use, by default.

You can choose the programs that Windows uses by default

If a program does not show up in the list, you can make the program a default by using Set Associations.

Open Default Programs by clicking the Start button , and then clicking Default Programs.
Click Associate a file type or protocol with a program.
Click the file type or protocol that you want the program to act as the default for.
Click Change program.
Click the program that you want to use as the default for the file type you selected, or click the arrow next to Other Programs to show additional programs. (If you don't see Other Programs, or your program is not listed, click Browse to find the program you want to use, and then click Open. If no other programs are installed that are able to open the file type or protocol, your choices will be limited.)
If you don't see the program you want to use as the default, click the arrow next to Other Programs to see a list of programs available on your computer

You can also refer to the guide found in the SF tutorial section as well. Default Programs - Set a Program's Default Associations

highstream · 07 May 2012

I don't understand. Prior to my uninstall/reinstall of Opera Next (12), it was in the Set Default Programs box list as a light colored 'O,' along with the red colored 'O' of 11.62. Now, after reinstall of Next only what appears to be 11.62 is there (in the Set File Associations there are now two red O's, one for the old symbol and one for the new revised one). The question is how do apps, such as a browser, end up in the Set Default Programs list. Might help me understand what happened.

Night Hawk · 07 May 2012

The indication of the previous install of Opera where that icon is still seen is controlled through the system registry itself. Apparently the Defaults list still kept a reference for it despite the uninstall. You still have a reg value present but now invalid hanging around for it.

Once you click the Change Program option to set a program as the default that will automatically add it onto the list of apps. The process also creates a new reg value pointing at the new program which would be Opera there. The one difference however is that you are looking at two different versions of the same browser one being the 12 beta you removed plus the second reinstall of the 11.62.

In other words this is a second time for the 11.62 where you saw a new registry value for the same twice ending up with the two references on the list. If you could locate and remove the first value for the original 11.62 install one of those red 0s would simply take a walk.

What that is is simply an extra entry doing no harm but not any good either just some clutter in the system registry itself.

highstream · 07 May 2012

You misunderstood what I did before. It was the following:
- Opera 11.62 and 12 installed, *both* versions with icons listed in Set Default Programs list
- uninstall Opera 12, reboots
- reinstall Opera 12
- only *one* version, Opera 11.62, now showing in Set Default Programs list
- both 11.62 ("Opera") and 12 ("Opera Next") showing in Set Program Access & Defaults > Custom

Right now, no matter how many times I set Opera Next to default and reboot, it's not being added to the Set Default Programs list. Perhaps another reinstall would do it, I don't know.

Night Hawk · 07 May 2012

Are both the 11.62 and 12 32bit or 64bit or are you trying the 32bit of one and 64bit of the other? The newer otherwise always replaces the previous when both are the same kernel.

As for setting any default programs I would never advise seeing any beta set as a default program since it will tend to be buggy being a beta to start with as well as being temporary. The 11.62 is already a finished version and the only one you should be considering for seeing it made the default on anything until the newer 12 version is final.

The uninstall and reinstall will only complicate the problems you are seeing there. When going to remove the 12 beta the first time followed by another install you still had the older version listed and should be staying with that for the present time.