Add Or Remove File Type Associations In Windows Vista

Print View Mobile View

It was quite simple to change file type associations in Windows XP from the Control Panel or by selecting: Tools \ Folder Options on the menu of a folder, but in Windows Vista, you can only associate file types, but you can not unassociate a file type. The only option allowed is to associate the file to another program or application. But now you can do in another way…

There are two ways to find File Type Associations in Vista:

  • From the Start Menu, by clicking on Start \ Default Programs. Then click on Associate a file type or protocol with a program.
  • From the Control Panel by clicking on Start \ Control Panel \ Programs then clicking on Make a file type always open in a specific program (under Default Programs).

Once you have accessed the window for file type association, you can easily associate or change an existing file type, by highlighting a file type, then clicking on the Change Program… button.

NOTE: You will need to click the small down arrow to see the list of Other Programs.

To remove a file type association, you can use a great utility found on winhelponline.com to unassociate file types. Just download, unzip and click on Unassoc.exe. No install is required.

To use, just find the file type you want to delete and click on the Remove file association button. The file type association will be deleted from the registry. Vista will then treat it as an unknown file type.