Windows 10: Is there a way to associate an entire class of files with an application on Windows?

I think this is a question to either people who took part in developing at least the Shell APIs in Windows or those documenting these APIs, as published at https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/shell/shell-entry. I have read a large number of articles under the "Windows Shell" topic, but am left with scattered and vague understanding on how Windows file associations work.


I have a vanilla Windows 10 installation -- there aren't any third party video players of any kind, there is only Windows Media Player and the new Movies app. I have verified to be unable to play back, say,WebM video files.


However, I do have .webm Registry key under the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Classes key, withContentType value of "video/webm" and PerceivedType value of"video". It's a similar situation with the other novel extensions there too, like.webp and .mkv, and others. I don't know why it's there and what created these keys.



That makes me at least believe that Windows should be capable to classify different video containers into a some sort of "video" class of files, given how it at least theoretically knows these are "video/" major MIME type each and the fact that they share the same "perceived type".


Is there a way then for me to associate all such video files with my application, without explicitly creating one association for every known video format? I want to benefit, if possible, from the kind of classification I think Windows might be able to do.


Thing is, my application doesn't explicitly support or reject individual video container formats like WebM .webm extension or MPEG-4 .mp4 extension, or any other -- it passes the file for playback to DirectShow, which in turn by design relies on installed filters to try and play back media files. Since these filters can be installed separately from my application, I don't see how I can reliably maintain a by-file-type association. I'd rather delegate this to whatever Windows subsystem created the .webm key under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Classes key in the first place. Perhaps Microsoft updates these as part of Windows Update?


If I could associate whatever Windows considers video files, however it does so, with my application, per entire class that is video files, at least I could allow the user to attempt to play back whatever they throw at my application, by virtue of it being available in the context menu if Windows thinks it's a media file. Certainly, this is no worse than the old situation where Windows Media Player typically registers itself with a number of media container formats and still is unable to play every file of every supported format because of missing codecs. At least I won't have to update my application every time a new video format comes out.

:)

 

File Association Helper in Startup

from another forum on May 6, 2018:
You can uninstall File Association Helper in less than 5 minutes. Here are the steps to follow:

Step 1 — Uninstall File Association Helper via Control Panel

Simply go to Start > type Control Panel > double click the first result to launch Control Panel.
Then go to Uninstall a program > locate File Association Helper in the list and select it
Select Uninstall > wait until Windows completely removes FAH from your PC.
Restart your PC.
Step 2 — Clean the Registry Editor

Now that you removed the program, you also need to remove any traces or file changes associated with it. To do that, you need to open the Registry Editor.

Go to Start > type “regedit” > launch the Registry Editor
Locate the following keys and delete them:
KEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareFile Association Helper
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwareFile Association Helper

Step 3 — Check all the hidden files and folders

File Association Helper may have left behind various hidden files and folders. In order to completely remove the software, you can also need to delete these files. Here’s how to do that:

Simply go to Start > type Control Panel > double click the first result to launch Control Panel. On Windows 10, you can also type “Show hidden files and folder” in the search box. Then simply check Show hidden files, folders and drives and jump straight to step number 3.
RECOMMENDED: Click here to fix common PC issues and speed up your system
Go to Folder > select Show Hidden Files and Folders
Locate the following folders:
Crogram FilesFile Association Helper
C*Biggrinocument and SettingsAll UsersApplication DataFile Association Helper
C*Biggrinocuments and Settings%USER%Application DataFile Association Helper

4. Delete them and then restart your PC.

Step 4 — Empty Temp Folder

The final step is to clean the Temp folder where all the temporary files are stored. To empty the folder, go to Start and type the %temp% command.

This will open the Temp folders. You can now empty them. If the system displays an error message when deleting some files, leave them. The files might be in use by Windows services or some running software.

Step 5 — Use a dedicated tool to remove software leftovers

After you performed all the steps listed above, you have removed 99.9% of all the files and folders left behind by File Association Helper. However, there may be a few file that escaped your scrutiny. In order to make sure that you have removed all of them, you can also use a dedicated software uninstaller.

These applications are specially designed to remove the selected application along with all of its files and registry entries. As a result, the application will be completely removed from your PC.

There are many great uninstaller tools available on the market, but the best are IOBit Uninstaller and Revo Uninstaller so feel free to try any of these tools.

 

Can a file extension(.flv) be added to Default Program Associations.

Hi Fred,



Thank you for posting your query on Microsoft Community.



I understand that you are facing issues associating a particular file extension with a program on Windows 10. I apologize for the inconvenience caused to you.

To assist you better, please provide the information:

When you say that "Default Program Associations", are you referring to the list of default applications in default programs settings?



I want you to be informed that all the file extensions is listed in the default program settings which is displayed under
Associate a file type or protocol with a program.



In default program list, all the programs or application will be listed. Then we can select each program as default program for opening a particular file.

I suggest you to refer to the below steps to make default program for a particular file extension.

1. Type "Control Panel" without the quotes in search box and click on it.

2. Click on Programs.

3. Then click on Default Programs and click on Choose Default for this Programs.

4. Select .flv file from the list.

Also you can try other steps to associate the a particular extenstion with the program.

1. Type "Control Panel" without the quotes in search box and click on it.

2. Click on Programs.

3. Then click on Associate a file type or protocol with a program
and search for .flv extension from the list.

4. Click on .flv and then click on Change Program.



Reply to us with the information, so that we can assist you better.

Let us know if you need any further assistance on Windows related issues and we will be glad to help.

 

When clicking the files getting error that the file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action.

Hello,

I understand that when you try to open the file, you are prompted that the files does not have a program associated with it for performing this action. We will certainly help you.

• What file are you trying to open?

This issue is caused if the file is not associated with any of the application or program to open it.

If those files are the pictures as I can see that you are trying to access the picture folder. I suggest you to follow the below steps and check if the issue resolves.

• Right click on the file and select Open with.
• Select Photo App or Photo Gallery.
• Double click and check if you are able to open that file.

Keep us posted if the issue is resolved. We are glad to help you.