File Associations in Windows 98SE

[BenoitRen]

My install of Windows 95 wants to have a word with you. I actually did what I said when I had the problem of getting "PROGRAM" in my list. You use double quotes around the path, and double quotes around %1.

[Dave-H]

Thanks so much ShadeTreeLee for your explanation about the registry entries for file associations.

I've wondered before where the "auto_file" entries came from and what their significance is.

Now I know!

Just to amuse you, I was on the phone to MS Technical Support some years ago, about a Windows 2000 issue in fact, and we got to looking at file associations. I asked him about the "auto_file" entries, and he was adamant that he'd never come across them before, and they couldn't have beeen generated by Windows!

I have also discovered that the spurious truncated entries in the "open with" dialogue do go away if you put quotes aroud the paths to the executables if they contain spaces. You do need them round the "%1" as well, as stated.

The other fix is to replace the entry in the registry using the 8 character DOS names of the folders, which never contain spaces of course. That works fine too.

[Fredledingue]

For those who are interrested, I'm currently developing a hta application to customize right click menus on files (and file associations by the way).

In the meantime, search and download ContextEdit software and use it.

Keep in touch!

[ShadeTreeLee]

OK, Dave-H and BenoitRen, I'll relent some and let you have your double quotes as a fix but when I tried it, that broke the application's ability to work with the file I wanted to "open with" in the first place - it just wouldn't. I of course, tried double quotes around both and even more tricks but no cigar for me. Your mileage DID differ - good to know, thanks.

I'm not surprised a MS tech wouldn't own the auto_file thing, they are the same people who want us 98 die hards to start calling 98 Gold, 98 Standard Edition at this late date, as if maybe the initials SE couldn't possibly stand for something else... If you don't know what I'm talking about, re-visit any MS Knowledge Base article and view the section about which OS the article applies to. Back in the day it used to just say:

98

98 Second Edition

which is more than obvious enough to understand which is which - so why change it now?