Sometimes you’d like specific programs to open a certain file automatically and not always the default programs the came with Windows Vista. For instance, clicking a web link by default will open Internet Explorer, or clicking on a text file by default will open Notepad in Windows. You can change that, and that’s what we’re going to show you.

 

 

To change the default programs for files in Windows Vista, click Start –> and type ‘Default Program’ in the search box.

 

 

Click ‘Associate a file type or protocol with a program’

 

 

 

Here’s a list all file types and associated programs. This is how Windows gets to know which program to open once you click a file type. To change an association, select the file type from the list and click the Change program button above.

 

 

 

Select the program to associate with the file type. For HTTP & HTTPS,  I want Firefox to be the default program.

 

 

 

For all text file, I want Notepad++ to be my default file editor. This can be done for another program you want to associate with a specific file.

 

 

 

If the program you want to associate with a particular file is not found, click the Browse button to locate it.

 

 

 

Once complete, close out and you’re done. The next time you try to open an HTML link, Firefox will automatically open. The same with text file, Notepad++ will automatically.

 

Thanks