Windows 10: Why file explorer open every time i hover over one of my apps

Discus and support Why file explorer open every time i hover over one of my apps in Windows 10 Software and Apps to solve the problem; i was on my computer and i go hover my mouse on any app icon and it opens a file exploreri have no idea what is happening, is it a bug or is it... Discussion in 'Windows 10 Software and Apps' started by willson hu, May 24, 2025 at 5:37 PM.

  1. Why file explorer open every time i hover over one of my apps


    i was on my computer and i go hover my mouse on any app icon and it opens a file exploreri have no idea what is happening, is it a bug or is it supposed to add a file explorer im confused.how do i fix this problem

    :)
     

  2. Notepad automatically opening when ABA file downloaded

    Hi Fiona,

    We suggest that you follow these steps to uncheck the Always open this type of file:

    • Right click on an ABA file.
    • Hover your mouse cursor on Open with and select Choose another app.
    • Uncheck the Always open this type of file and click on
      OK
      .
    Let us know how it goes.
     
    Nathaniel Mon, May 24, 2025 at 5:38 PM
    #2
  3. Bree Win User
    Open file location is missing in pinned apps

    ,
    No, that's not the sort of 'file location' the OP is referring to. Your 'file location' opens File Explorer at the location of the shortcut for that app in the Start Menu's Programs folder. The OP wants the list of recently opened files, or the Jump List as it is known (hover over each one and it shows its file location). Theirs is turned off (and yours by the looks of it).


    Why file explorer open every time i hover over one of my apps 104325d1485972545t-open-file-location-missing-pinned-apps-jumplist.png
     
  4. mngerhold Win User

    Why file explorer open every time i hover over one of my apps

    Can I customize the list of suggest apps in the "Open with" menu?

    Well, I hope this helps the OP - it took a while. I tried 'Default Program Editor' (DPE) and it did indeed add (or remove) items, but when I tried to specifically add Word to pdf opening, it failed - it went through the motions, but nothing happened. So I started again, playing with settings for opening .doc files. This seemed to work: initially in explorer I had 3 programs appear in the 'default' list that pops up on a rt-click>open-with:

    Why file explorer open every time i hover over one of my apps 294973d1598623103t-can-i-customize-list-suggest-apps-open-menu-explorer-doc-open-b4-edit.png

    and this is what the relevant bit of the Registry showed:

    Why file explorer open every time i hover over one of my apps 294974d1598623158t-can-i-customize-list-suggest-apps-open-menu-regedit-doc-open-b4-edit.png

    Don't ask me why just 3 of those 8 (a to h) programs show up (maybe the 'instant' list is limited to three? - no, see later) - anyway, I used DPE to remove Wordpad from the list: when saving the edit as a REG file, this is what I got:

    Code:
    and the result in Explorer was:

    Why file explorer open every time i hover over one of my apps 294976d1598623523t-can-i-customize-list-suggest-apps-open-menu-explorer-doc-open-after-edit.png

    and the registry now shows:

    Why file explorer open every time i hover over one of my apps 294977d1598623552t-can-i-customize-list-suggest-apps-open-menu-regedit-doc-open-after-edit.png

    Note how item 'g' from the list has been removed (it seems there is no issue with having a letter missing). I then messed about trying to open a .doc file with various other programs, and they all started to appear in the 'instant' list:

    Why file explorer open every time i hover over one of my apps 294978d1598623687t-can-i-customize-list-suggest-apps-open-menu-explorer-doc-open-additions.png


    So I thought 'well, that is easy - just open a pdf once in Word and it should appear'. So back to trying to open PDFs: but however many times I tried, Word would never appear.

    Why file explorer open every time i hover over one of my apps 294979d1598623906t-can-i-customize-list-suggest-apps-open-menu-explorer-pdf-open-no-word.png

    even though there were any number of entries in the Registry 'Open With' list, including Word:

    Why file explorer open every time i hover over one of my apps 980d1598623968t-can-i-customize-list-suggest-apps-open-menu-regedit-pdf-open-no-word-lots-others.png

    So what did DPE make of this - well, it showed some of the entries:

    Why file explorer open every time i hover over one of my apps 294981d1598624067t-can-i-customize-list-suggest-apps-open-menu-dpe-list-pdf-open-some-others.png

    Although Word is shown, it doesn't appear on a rt-click. Its entry can be removed, but that doesn't help. So my attention was drawn to the existence of another folder below 'OpenWithList', namely 'OpenWithProgids', and that contained a specific ref to Sumatra (my preferred program for PDFs). Looking back at the same entry for .docx, I found this:

    Why file explorer open every time i hover over one of my apps 294983d1598624540t-can-i-customize-list-suggest-apps-open-menu-regedit-doc-open-docx.png

    so I added an identical Word.Document.12 ref to the list for PDFs:

    Why file explorer open every time i hover over one of my apps 294984d1598624610t-can-i-customize-list-suggest-apps-open-menu-regedit-pdf-open-word-progids.png

    I think IrfanView is there as it got added during my experiments! I now get this in Explorer:

    Why file explorer open every time i hover over one of my apps 294985d1598624682t-can-i-customize-list-suggest-apps-open-menu-explorer-pdf-open-word.png
    Hurrah! I then tried to use DPE to remove the redundant entries, and got this as a .REG file:
    Code:
    But when i merge that with the registry, the IrfanView item does not get deleted:

    Why file explorer open every time i hover over one of my apps d1598625244t-can-i-customize-list-suggest-apps-open-menu-explorer-pdf-open-irfanview-still-there.png

    and as seen in the registry:

    Why file explorer open every time i hover over one of my apps 0d1598625265t-can-i-customize-list-suggest-apps-open-menu-regedit-pdf-open-irfanview-still-there.png

    so I deleted it by hand, and at last have the entries I (or rather, the OP) want:

    Why file explorer open every time i hover over one of my apps 294991d1598625395t-can-i-customize-list-suggest-apps-open-menu-explorer-pdf-open-i-want.png


    Note that my manually added reg entry is of type Binary', as there seems to be no way to add a value of type 'None'.

    So it seems that DPE cannot cope with entries in the 'Progids' list, and something makes some programs fall into that list, rather than the 'openwithlist'. I am sorry for any typos above, or pictures in the wrong place - can't be bothered to check it too thoroughly. Hope it helps someone!

    atb, Martin
     
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Why file explorer open every time i hover over one of my apps

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