Part 7: Windows XP vs. Vista: Default Programs

011: Default Programs
In Windows XP after installing a certain service pack, software developers needed to change file associations to certain file types to be viewed through their programs – what did Microsoft do? Created a ‘reset’ to change all those settings back – go figure! The Default Programs Control Panel allows you to modify the default program that Windows uses whenever you open a particular type of file, such as a music file, an image or a web page. An example of this would include more than one browser installed on your computer, and want one of those browsers to be set to automatically launch during an event when you open a web file or click on a web address.

Vista incorporates a centralization, more features and customization than XP, such as instead of right-clicking on a document to be “Open With” through another program simply go to the control panel in Vista and change its association. Another method in XP was changing these settings through the Folder Options control panel. One glitch I found using this feature is Microsoft’s Office products where I have Word 2003 and Word 2007 – no matter which default I have set in the control panel it always opens the Word document in Word 2007 than say Word 2003 (makes me question Microsoft’s QA).

Windows XP Default Programs
Windows XP - Add or Remove Programs - Set Program Access and Defaults