How to Add or Remove Programs From “Open With” Menu in Windows

Pankil is a Civil Engineer turned freelance writer. Since his arrival at Guiding Tech in 2021, he delves into the world of how-tos, and troubleshooting guides for Android, iOS, and Windows. Besides his new-found love for mechanical keyboards, he’s a disciplined footfall fan and loves international travel with his wife.

How to Add Programs in the “Open With” Menu in Windows

Adding an app or program to the “Open With” menu is quick and simple. The process is nearly identical on both Windows 10 and 11, so you can use the following steps on any PC:

Step 1:Find a file of the type for which you want to add programs to the “Open With” menu.

Step 2:Right-click on the file, go toOpen with, and then selectChoose another appfrom the submenu.

Step 3:In the dialog box that appears, you should see a list of programs suggested by Windows. If the program you want to add is on the list, select it and move toStep 5. If not, clickChoose an app on your PC.

Step 4:In the File Explorer window, locate and select theEXE fileof the program you want to add to the “Open With” menu. Then, clickOpen.

Step 5:Select theJust oncebutton.

Once you complete the above steps, Windows will open the file in the specified app or program. Subsequently, that app or program will appear in the “Open With” menu whenever youright-click on a fileof that type.

How to Remove Programs From “Open With” Menu in Windows

While adding programs to the “Open With” menu is straightforward, removing them isn’t, as it requires you todelete a few registry files.

Step 1:Click the search icon on the taskbar, type inregistry editor, and selectRun as administrator.

Step 2:Paste the following path in the address bar at the top and pressEnter. This will navigate you to theFileExtskey.

Step 3:Within theFileExtskey, you will see several entries for different file types. Double-click the key with the relevant file extension to edit its “Open With” menu. In this example, we’ll selectpptx.

Step 4:Click theOpenWithListsubkey to view the associated programs with the file type in the right pane.

Step 5:Right-click on the program you want to remove and selectDelete. Then, selectYesto confirm.

And that’s about it. Once you remove the string value associated with the program, it should not appear in the “Open With” menu for that particular file type.

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Last updated on 14 August, 2024

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