File Explorer > Open With replacement?

ltwally · 25 Sep 2016

It seems like the simple "open with" dialog has gotten worse with every version of Windows since they invented it. I avoided Win8/8.1, but cannot avoid Win10... and this is a feature that I use regularly, and absolutely hate what MS has done with it in Win10.

I've already checked out Open With Enhanced and found it unsatisfactory, with its suggestions to download outside applications.

Does anyone have any suggestions for other replacements for Win10's File Explorer > Open With dialog?

Thanks

Berton · 25 Sep 2016

ltwally said:

It seems like the simple "open with" dialog has gotten worse with every version of Windows since they invented it. I avoided Win8/8.1, but cannot avoid Win10... and this is a feature that I use regularly, and absolutely hate what MS has done with it in Win10.

I've already checked out Open With Enhanced and found it unsatisfactory, with its suggestions to download outside applications.

Does anyone have any suggestions for other replacements for Win10's File Explorer > Open With dialog?

Thanks

Unfortunately File Explorer on Win8 and later or Windows Explorer on Win7 and earlier is pretty much the core of Windows and can't be gotten rid of. One can install third-party file managers such as Total Commander and PowerDesk Pro [both are paid-for] or free ones such as FreeCommander that may server some purposes better. Total Commander and PowerDesk Pro can be useful as they have a built-in FTP feature useful for transferring files to a Web site, I've used it.

Try3 · 26 Sep 2016

I do not know from your question what you are ultimately trying to achieve. I assume you do not want to start the annoying process of following through the Choose another app selection.

If, and I'm just taking a wild shot in the dark here, you sometimes want to open files in an application that is not their default application and that does not appear in the available selections in Open with then you can put a shortcut to that other application in your SendTo folder

%UserProfile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\SendTo

and from then on you will always have the choice of either using a normal open [to open with the default application] or choosing the specialist application you want in the Send to list of the context menu.

Just by way of example, I have set picture formats to open with MS Office Picture manager by default but I sometimes want to use Paint or PhotoStudio instead so I have put shortcuts to Paint & PhotoStudio in my SendTo folder.

You will find, after a few uses, that Windows will add the other application to the Open with list once it learns that you sometimes use it for the file type concerned. So you could then remove the shortcut from SendTo [but I never do this as I don't completely trust the Open with list to keep the option I need].

Denis

dalchina · 26 Sep 2016

I find using it to quickly select a non-default program to open something usually ok. But if you install another program registered to handle that association, you have to confirm your default choice again, which is really annoying. And sometimes programs I expect to be in the list aren't there.

Using it to assign a default can be somewhat clumsy - but there are several other ways of assigning default programs.

Clearly one aspect is marketing- trying to get you to buy things via the Store. I only run into that very occasionally, so it doesn't bother me.