Setting Default Programs

Question

Can someone tell me how the Programs listing is populated when setting the default programs? I want to add and remove a few but do not see how to do it. Thanks

From the start menu: Control Panel\Programs\Default Programs\Set Default Programs

Answer 1

I assume you mean you've written a program and you want it to appear on that list so that the user is able to choose what he/she wants your program to be the default for. MSDN has a pretty good overview of the topic, but the basic idea is that you've just got to set a few registry entries.

The following example shows the registry entries for a fictional Contoso browser that is called WebBrowser:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
   SOFTWARE
      Contoso
         WebBrowser
            Capabilities
               ApplicationDescription = This award-winning Contoso browser is better than ever. Search the Internet and find exactly what you want in just seconds. Use integrated tabs and new phishing detectors to enhance your Internet experience.
               FileAssociations
                  .htm = ContosoHTML
                  .html = ContosoHTML
                  .shtml = ContosoHTML
                  .xht = ContosoHTML
                  .xhtml = ContosoHTML
               Startmenu
                  StartmenuInternet = Contoso.exe
               UrlAssociations
                  http = Contoso.Url.Http
                  https = Contoso.Url.Https
                  ftp = Contoso.Url.ftp
   SOFTWARE
      RegisteredApplications
         Contoso.WebBrowser.1.06 = SOFTWARE\Contoso\WebBrowser\Capabilities