Fig 1.0 Double click on the DEFAULT PROGRAMS icon to continue
Fig 1.1 The Default Programs window - Click on the SET YOUR DEFAULT PROGRAMS link.
| SET A PROGRAM'S PROTOCOLS / FILE TYPES |
Default Programs is a control panel that is split into four programs. Set Your Default Programs, Associate A File
Type Or Protocol With A Program, Change AutoPlay Settings and Set Program Access And Computer Defaults.
In this section I will explain SET YOUR DEFAULT PROGRAMS which allows you to set a program as the default (normally used)
program and also allows you to set the Protocols and File Types for a program regardless if that program is the default
program or not.
To use the Default Programs control panel go to the Control Panel
and double click on the DEFAULT PROGRAMS icon. This will bring up the Default Programs window (Fig 1.1). You can also bring
up the Default Programs window by clicking on the DEFAULT PROGRAMS Start Menu icon - Click on the START Menu button, ALL
PROGRAMS and then on the DEFAULT PROGRAMS icon (not shown/exampled here).
When the Default Programs window appears click on the SET YOUR DEFAULT PROGRAMS link. The Set Default Programs window will then appear but first has to compile (load) a list of eligable programs (Fig 1.2). When the list has been compiled/loaded (Fig 1.3) you can then select a program from that list (Fig 1.4).
When the list of eligable programs are ready for use click on one to view its options. In this example I already have FireFox
set as my default web browser (program) but now want Internet Explorer to be my default web browser. So after clicking on
Internet Explorer from the list of eligable programs I then clicked on the SET THIS PROGRAM AS DEFAULT button (Fig 1.4 above).
Before clicking on SET THIS PROGRAM AS DEFAULT internet explorer only had 3 out of 9 of its protocols/file types set and after
clicking on SET THIS PROGRAM AS DEFAULT it has all of its protocols/file types set. This is because FireFox was originally
using the other 6 protocols but now Internet Explorer is using them.
A Protocol is a set of File Formmats and Procedures that enable computers to exchange information. For example. FTP (File
Transfer Protocol) tells a program, such as Internet Explorer, how it should transfer files between two computers whereas
the HTTPS (HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure) tells a program, such as Internet Explorer, how to manage Security amongst
other things when shopping online for example. As a beginner you should not concern yourself too much with setting the
Protocols for a default program.
Now that Internet Explorer is set as the default web browser (program) the next thing to do is check what protocols and file
types it is using by clicking on the CHOOSE DEFAULTS FOR THIS PROGRAM button.
After clicking on the CHOOSE DEFAULTS FOR THIS PROGRAM button (above) you are presented with the Set Program Associations
window (below). The settings on this window allow you to set (switch on/tick) the default (normally used) File Types (file
extensions), Protocols and Start Menu link(s). You can also unset (switch off/clear/un-tick) these settings.
In the case of Internet Explorer, because it is currently set as the default web browser (program) you cannot change any of
the settings. Ticking SELECT ALL will not work simply because all the setings are selected already and because you cannot
un-tick any settings in order to select them all again. However....
....If FireFox was set as the default web browser for example you could select Internet Explorer, from the list of eligable programs, and then click on the CHOOSE DEFAULTS FOR THIS PROGRAM button to change internet explorer's settings. In that case the .htm and .html file types (file extensions) would be un-ticked (Fig 1.7 below) to mean FireFox is the program that currently opens .htm and .html files and is therefore still the default web browser, but that you can also set (tick) these two settings so that internet explorer will be the program to open .htm and .html files and therefore become the default web browser.
So to clarify. FireFox is currently the default web browser (program) because it currently opens .htm and .html files (as
shown in Fig 1.7 above) but as soon as you set internet explorer to open .htm and .html files, by ticking .htm and .html,
it becomes the default web browser.
When you return to the Set Default Programs window, after clicking on the SAVE button, FireFox will have two of its defaults
missing (8 out of 10 defaults) because the .htm and .html defaults (file types) are now being used by internet explorer.
Internet explorer will of gained 2 defaults. Instead of 3 out of 9 defaults it will now have 5 out of 9 defaults. To prove
the .htm and .html defaults now belong to internet explorer double click on a webpage file and it should open with internet
explorer. If you open a webpage file with firefox, either by using its File menu > OPEN FILE menu-item or by right clicking
on a webpage file and using the OPEN WITH menu-item, the webpage file will be displayed but firefox will complain it is not
the default web browser (Fig 1.10).
If you click on YES firefox will open .htm and .html files by default again and therefore become the default web browser
again.
At this point Set Default Programs probably seems useless but that is where you would be mistaken. Set Default Programs
really shines when used with Media Players as it means you could have each installed media player set up to play its native
media. For example. If you install three different media players, as each media player is installed it will more than likely
want to be the default media player and also want to be the default .mp3 file player for example. With a program like ITunes
you might only want it used for your IPod protocols and file types and have Windows Media Player set up for your .mp3 files.
With Set Default Programs this is possible. Simply use SET YOUR DEFAULT PROGRAMS as explained above to set the default media
program to ITunes, therefore no messing around guessing which protocols and file types belong to ITunes, select Windows Media
Player from the list of eligable programs and then use CHOOSE DEFAULTS FOR THIS PROGRAM to make Windows Media Player the
media player for playing .mp3 files.
In the example below QuickTime is the default media player. I have selected Windows Media Player from the list of eligable
programs and then clicked on CHOOSE DEFAULTS FOR THIS PROGRAM. From there I selected (ticked) the .mpeg and .mpg file types
and then clicked on SAVE to make .mpeg and .mpg files play in Windows Media Player by default, even though QuickTime is the
default media player for all other protocols and file types.
The above states that QuickTime is currently the default program that plays .mpeg and .mpg files, but as soon as I click on SAVE Windows Media Player will be the current default program to play .mpeg and .mpg files. The same could not be said for the .wmv (Windows Media Audio/Video) file type. Because QuickTime does not play .wmv files the .wmv file type is not listed in its list of file types (Associations). Windows Media Player is set as the default media player for the .wmv file type instead, even though QuickTime has been set as the overall default media player. The .wmv file type is native to Windows Media Player. If you set QuickTime as the default media player and then double click on a .wmv file QuickTime will complain.
The key to using Set Default Programs successfully is knowing which protocols and file types are native to a particular program or piece of software. And one of the best ways of knowing is to search the Internet.
Microsoft product screen shot(s) reprinted with permission from Microsoft Corporation. As stated here by the Microsoft Corporation.
All HTM files in the yoingco.com folder and its sub-folders are (c) John White, August 3rd 2005 - 2008. All Rights Reserved. FREE Vista Helpline: Contact John