Setting default programs

The first item in Default Programs lets you choose which file types and protocols you want to associate with programs. When you click Set Your Default Programs, you're taken to a page like the one in Figure 26.5.

Click a program name in the left column to see a description of that program in the right column. Then you can choose one of the following options:

• Set This Program as Default: Choose this option to make the selected program the default for all file types and protocols it can handle.
• Choose Defaults for This Program: Limit the program to act as the default for only certain file types and protocols.

Choosing the second option takes you to a list of all the file types and protocols that the program supports, as shown in Figure 26.6. You can scroll through the list and select the file types and protocols for which the program should act as default. Clear the check box of any file type or protocol for which you want some other program to act as the default. Then click Save to return to the previous page.

When you've finished choosing defaults for programs, click OK to return to the main Default Programs page.

You also can choose a default app for Windows 10 apps from the Windows 10 Settings page. Open the Start menu and select Settings. When the Windows 10 Settings page opens, click System and then select Default Apps. The screen shown in Figure 26.7 loads.

In Figure 26.7, we haven't chosen a default program for the Photo Editor app. To select a default program click the Choose a Default link next to the program that has no default. The menu shown in Figure 26.8 loads. Continue to select the program you want to use.

Associating a file type or protocol with a program

The second option in Default Programs is similar to the first. But instead of starting with a program, you start with a file type or protocol. When you click Choose Default Apps by Protocol, you see options similar to those in Figure 26.9.

File types are listed first, in alphabetical order. Protocols are separate at the bottom of the list. Use the scroll bar to scroll through the list. To assign a default program to a file type or protocol, click the item you want to change and click the Change Program button. Then use the Open With dialog box that opens to choose a program.

Choosing default apps by file type and/or protocol is also possible from Settings. Click the respective link at the bottom of the Associate a File Type or Protocol With Specific Apps page.

Changing AutoPlay settings

AutoPlay is a Windows feature that lets you choose which program you want to use to play content on CDs, DVDs, and devices (such as MP3 devices). Chances are you've already seen the AutoPlay screen at least once, after you inserted a CD or DVD, or connected a camera, mobile phone, or disk drive. Figure 26.10 shows an example.

Click the AutoPlay screen to see a list of actions to take. The AutoPlay dialog box lets you choose the action you want to take with the selected media. For a removable device that always has pictures on it, you might choose one of the Import Pictures and Videos options. Or, as the example in Figure 26.11 shows, the actions for the iPad that we connected to our computer include open in Microsoft Word, Import Pictures and Videos, and Open Device To View Files. Until you set a default AutoPlay option, however, Windows continues to ask you what you want to do when you attach the device.

When you click Change AutoPlay Options in the Control Panel, you get to see all your current AutoPlay default settings, as in Figure 26.12. You can also get there by clicking Change AutoPlay Settings in the Default Programs item in the Control Panel. Scroll to the bottom of the list to find icons for devices you connect to your computer, such as digital cameras.

To change the default action for any item, click the current action and choose the action you want from the menu that drops down. Click Save after making your changes to return to Program Defaults.

Setting program access and computer defaults

Anybody who has a user account can choose defaults using any of the methods described in this chapter. The Set Program Access and Computer Defaults option (see Figure 26.13) is strictly for computer administrators. It sets defaults that apply to all user accounts, and can even be used to limit programs that they can use. This is most often used in corporate settings when administrators want tight control over how staff members use their computers. But anyone with an administrative user account on a home computer can use it to control family members' program use as well.

Because the Set Program Access and Computer Defaults option can so severely limit what all users can do, you need administrative privileges just to start it. If you're in a standard user account, you need to log out. Then log in to an administrative account to open that option. When you first open it, you see these three options:

• Microsoft Windows: Choose this option if you want to set the programs that came with Windows 10 as the default programs.
• Non-Microsoft: Choose this option if you don't want to use any Microsoft programs.
• Custom: Choose this option if you want to use a combination of Microsoft and non-Microsoft programs.

After you choose one of these options, more options appear under that category. The exact options vary depending on what you choose. But they work in a similar manner. We'll use the Custom category, shown in Figure 26.13, as an example, because it offers the most options.

As shown in Figure 26.13, the first options let you choose the default web browser, e-mail client, and media player for online music and video. Scrolling down enables you to choose a default instant messaging program and Java virtual machine. The options available to you depend on what programs you have installed on your computer at the moment. For each program, you have the following options:

• Use My Current: Choose this option to keep whatever program you're currently using as the default program. This will be the only option when you don't have multiple programs to choose from.
• <Program Name>: To specify a program as the default, click the option button to the left of its name.
• Enable Access to This Program: Choosing this option allows users to run the program. Clearing the check box hides the program's icon on the Start menu and elsewhere, preventing users from running the program.

Sometimes you can't choose exactly the option you want. Other times, when you choose an option, the selected program doesn't comply. That's because the programmers who create these programs aren't required to make them work with the Program Defaults selections. If that's a problem, your only recourse is to contact the program publisher. They may have a newer version that's compatible with setting program defaults in Windows 10.

Click OK when you've finished making your selections. You may see a message stating that your choices may not work because of current file associations. If you click Yes, Windows 10 tries to change the file associations to go with the new default program automatically. If that step doesn't work, you can change file associations manually.