Files open in the wrong program fix

Most of us double-click a file to open it, but if the file association in Windows is broken, as it often is, it won’t open in the app you expect it to. You can fix that by clicking on the Start menu and choosing Settings. Click on the System tab and look for the category labeled “default apps.” In there, you can choose what app opens each type of file and specify an app for different file extensions.

All you need to do is right-click on the file you want to open and select ‘Choose another app‘. This will open a new window where you can set the default program to use in order to open the respective type of file. Simply check the option ‘Always use this app to them files‘.

You can also set the default apps for opening specific files and folders from the Settings page.

1. So, go to Settings and select Apps and then click on ‘Default Apps’, as shown in the screenshot below.

1. 
2. Now, click on the type of content that you want to open.
3. A drop-down menu will appear on the screen, allowing you to select the default program to use.

                     Further explained:

It depends on the type of file it is.  Say for instance you downloaded and Adobe file.  Adobe files open with PDF and all PDF files are supposed to be associated with Adobe Reader to be able to open the files.  If something or someone changes what program they open with, you will get this type of error.  Just follow one of the 2 steps above to re associate the PDF files to open with Adobe reader.  If you don't see it in the list, as illustrated above, then you can go to more app to find the program.

Below are the most common file associations for a Windows based PC.