open a file and a .net application will recognize it?

Question

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How to associate a file extension to the current executable in C#

I dont know how exactly to call this issue.

I am looking for a solution such as: my .net application will be automatically opened when a filetyle defined for that application is open.

For example: the filetype of that application has an extension xyz: hellothere.xyz

Whenever, the user opens the file with an extension "xyz" then that .net application will be opened. How can I achieve this?

Thanks in advance.

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 06 '11 at 18:54

A file association can be created manually in Windows Folder Options. This article describes how to do it programmatically, for example with a registry file:

Create a string key for your file extension in HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT named .xyz.
Set its value to the name of your file type, e.g., XyzDocument.
Create a string key HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\XyzDocument\open\shell\command.
Set its value to "path\to\your\program" "%1" or similar, per your needs.

You can also do it from a batch script with ftype and assoc:

ftype XyzDocument="path\to\your\program" "%1"
assoc .xyz=XyzDocument

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Dec 06 '11 at 18:55

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The term you are looking for is "file association". The best place to create a file association for your application is in your installer. The exact process depends on what installer technology you are using.

answered Dec 06 '11 at 18:55

Christian Hayter

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score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Dec 06 '11 at 18:54

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This is not a coding issue but an OS configuration issue.

For windows, you need to setup a file extension association with your program.

See this How to from Microsoft.

answered Dec 06 '11 at 18:54

Oded

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score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Dec 06 '11 at 18:54

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Something like this: How to change or select which program starts when you double-click a file in Windows XP

?

answered Dec 06 '11 at 18:54

Aerik

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I would like to do it automatically without opening and selecting which application to run. – olidev Dec 06 '11 at 18:57

score 0 · Answer 5 · edited May 23 '17 at 11:47

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If I am not mistaken, you want to register a filetype with your application. You can do this by right-clicking a file of that type, selecting Open with, and select your application.

EDIT Per your comment, devn, I see that you want to do this at install time. That being the case, you could use WiX to accomplish this like here.

edited May 23 '17 at 11:47

Community

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answered Dec 06 '11 at 18:55

Mark Avenius

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but I want to do it automatically. let's assume that a mp3 file, when I click on it, winamp will be opened. I dont know whether I can do this during the .NET setup process? – olidev Dec 06 '11 at 18:56

score 0 · Answer 6 · answered Dec 06 '11 at 18:56

You need to create a file association during the installation. For a walkthrough of creating that, see the "Creating a File Association" section of this MSDN article on creating that association during install.

Note: others have posted articles on how to do this manually, but I think you're mention of uses means you want to do this during setup.

open a file and a .net application will recognize it?

6 Answers6