Wrong File Type Association?

Douglas L. asks:

" I recently re-loaded Windows ME. When I received an e-mail with an attachment I mistakenly used Media Player to open it. Now Windows assumes that every attachment of that type requires Media Player!

How do I change it to the correct program for these files? "

My Response:First, you need to identify the correct file type. This is done by viewing the file extension in the email attachment.

Example: a .GIF email attachment would signify that it is a graphic file. You can use Internet Explorer to open a graphic file, or any third-party picture viewing utility for that matter.

If you still don't know what type of file you're dealing with, go to Google and type in the file extension followed by the words "file type association" and see what comes up.

Using this rule of thumb, a sample Google search might be:

.GIF file type association

Next, fix the file association within Windows.

• Double left-click My Computer from the Desktop
• Double left-click on C Drive
• At the top of the "C Drive" Window, Click View -> Folder Options
• Click the FILE TYPES tab
• Look for the extension with the bad shortcut and delete it

The next time you run the program requiring the shortcut, it should ask you which program you want to use to open it.

Here's my question Infopackets Readers:

Do you know of a software utility that scans through the Windows File Types and corrects potentially incorrect associations? Email me!

Update 2003/06/05: This topic has been updated; click here to read.