Types is a lightweight Windows program to modify file extension properties under Windows Vista and Windows 7 (it actually is compatible with Windows XP as well). The application displays a list of all registered file extensions in alphabetical order in the main program window.

Each file extension is displayed with its current icon and the file extension text itself. A double-click opens the tabbed editor window to modify the file type’s properties. The Classes pulldown menu at the top can alternatively be used to select a file extension. A click on the edit button on the menu’s right opens the properties window if this option is chosen.

A filter is provided to quickly display only the selected file type in the program window.

The tabbed editor displays options to change default actions, class specific settings or the icon of the extension. The icon menu displays the current icon along with a selection of icon alternatives. A double-click on an icon displayed in the window sets it as the default file extension icon.

A browse button is available to select a different icon from the computer system. Users who want to pick a default Windows system icon need to point the browser to C:\Windows\System32\shell32.dll to do so.

Changes take effect immediately without need to restart or kill the explorer.exe process.

Types functionality does not end here. You can use the program to create new file extensions or delete existing ones.

An alternative is the Nirsoft application File Types Manager which offers a similar functionality.

Types is compatible with all recent versions of the Windows operating system. It requires the Microsoft .Net Framework 2.0.

Even worse, there is no option to create a new file type, edit an extension’s properties or change the icon. ExtMan is a free portable program for Windows users who want to create, edit or delete file extensions in the operating system. It adds the functionality to Vista and Windows 7, but runs fine under Windows XP as well.

The program displays a list of all known file extensions on startup. The list of extensions can be sorted by extension or file type. Users who are looking for a specific file extension can use the built-in search to do that comfortably.

English users need to click on the US flag to change the language from German to English. A selection menu is displayed on the right side to edit, create or delete extensions among other features. The easiest way to edit an existing extension is to double-click it in the extension listing.

Here it is possible to change the extension icon, manage actions, configure whether the file extension should always be shown in the operating system and if a confirmation is required to open files with the extension after download.

Actions can be created, edited or deleted. There is furthermore an option to configure a default action if multiple are available.

Another handy feature is the ability to create a backup of a selected extension to be able to restore it at a later time.

The final two options available are to reset the IconCache, which is handy if an extension icon has been modified, deleted or added, and Edit Flags to add flags to extensions.

ExtMan is a handy program for Windows users who want to create, edit or delete file extensions in the operating system.

The program will automatically scan the file types that are known by the system, and display them in the program interface. The scan may take a moment, considering that usually hundreds of file types need to be located and added.

Each file extension is displayed with its name and icon.

types

A double-click on a file extension opens the properties window of it. Here it is possible to change class specific information, including the linked class that is used to open the file type and the perceived type. Additional tabs lead to menu, icon and misc settings. In menu, all Windows Explorer context menu options are displayed. Icon can be used to change the file extension icon and other finally can be used to change the document title and extension visibility.

edit file extension

In Windows, it is possible to configure file extensions to be hidden, or always shown, and this is the preference to change the visibility of the selected extension.

It is furthermore possible to remove file extensions from the operating system in the main interface. This is done by selecting a class from the list of available ones. Now it is possible to right-click and select Delete, or use the red X icon in the top navigation to do the same.

Finally, a pulldown menu containing all classes is offered on the top as well, to quickly locate and selected one of the available classes.

Types is compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the Windows operating system. The program requires the Microsoft .net Framework 2.0, and can be downloaded from the homepage of the developer.

Instead of shouting “what the heck..” next time you need to open a file with an extension you’ve never heard of, try asking a great helper named File-Extensions.org for some advice about unknown extensions.

For instance let’s say you receive a 7zip archive and don’t have any clue of an application that could deal with this extension. If found in the database, this website provides you with a description of the file extension, its icon and category as well as a list of applications that are able to handle it. Besides searching for the desired extension manually, you can also browse the database by category.

Having just started its existence recently, File-Extensions.org database isn’t as large as you may have hoped so far but with a powerful base it offers, this extension database could become quite popular on the net.

Some users may have tried to change the file association with a double-click on the file after removing all existing associations from it.

My particular problem occurred after moving an application to another drive. Loading the file from within that application worked fine which was good to know. I tried searching the Internet for an solution but was not able to find one.

I then decided to solve the problem on my own. Here is how I repaired the broken file association and added the right executable as the default software for this application. Everything that needs to be done can be done using the command line and two commands.

Open the Windows command line and type the follwing ‘Assoc .ext’ replacing .ext with the file extension in question. It should display something like ‘.ext=name’.

Remember that and type ‘ftype name=”path to executable”‘. You might need to write ‘assoc .ext=name’ again to finish the process.

This way the file extension will again be associated with the correct executable. Below is a screenshot of how I changed the broken file association using the command line.

Update: Some users have asked for an example: Type Assoc .nzb into the command prompt and hit enter. Windows should now return the associated class for the file type. You can now use the command ftype [class]=”new path to program” to fix the file association, e.g. ftype nzb_auto_file=”d:\test\nbpro.exe”.