How to set default applications in Windows 10

Default applications are applications that are automatically selected to be used when you try open a specific file type. In this guide we will be setting the default zip file application to WinRAR, but the same steps can be used for other file types and applications.

Setting File Type associations

Right click the file that is related to your application, in this case, a zipped folder. Select “Open with” and “Choose another app” 

Right click menu on a file to choose how to open it

In the menu, simply select the relevant application and tick the box “Always use this app to open xxx files”

Choose which app you want to open the file with

Click OK and you’re good to go – future files of that type will now open with the selected app.

Note: If the application you want does not appear on the list you can click the “More apps” arrow  to show more applications. These are applications that Windows recognizes as apps that might work with that file type, but not necessarily guaranteed.

Setting default applications for web browsing and more

To set applications for other uses like web browsing, Email handling and media players, you can do this with the few steps shown below. Note that the application will need to be installed first before you can set it as a default app.

Open start and type in “Default Apps”

Select Default apps from the list

For each category, select the application you want your PC to use.

Choose which apps should be the default

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