Icon Problem

  • Thread starter Thread starter Sweet Ol' Bob
  • Start date Start date
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Sweet Ol' Bob

How do I change the icon that is used to designate a file type?

I go to Windows Explore, click on Tools > Folder Options > File Types
and locate the file type I want to change. I am offered two options:
Change and Restore. If I choose Restore I get a completely different
association than the one I want. So I choose Change. But all that
happens is a list of icons representing applications comes up with no
way to change anything.

If I want to change the icon for other file types there is sometimes
an Advanced choice in place of Restore. Under that I can edit the icon
to the one I want.

So why are there two different kinds of file type menus? How do I get
the one I want?

--

Million Mom March For Gun Confiscation
http://home.houston.rr.com/rkba/mmm.html

An atheist visited Isaac Newton and noticed his new toy,
a mechanical model of the Solar System.

"Who made this?", asked the atheist.

"No one", replied Newton.

"But somebody MUST have made it - it couldn't make itself",
said the atheist.

"Why do you believe that about the model, but not about the
real thing?", asked Newton.
 
I think that you want to change the program that opens the file rather
than the icon associated with it, right? An icon is just a picture. It
doesn't do anything by itself other than to decorate the filename in some
kinds of lists.

Give us a specific example of a file type you want to change, and we'll be
better able to help.


Sweet Ol' Bob (SOB) said:
How do I change the icon that is used to designate a file type?
Click to expand...
I go to Windows Explore, click on Tools > Folder Options > File Types
and locate the file type I want to change. I am offered two options:
Change and Restore. If I choose Restore I get a completely different
association than the one I want. So I choose Change. But all that
happens is a list of icons representing applications comes up with no
way to change anything.
Click to expand...
 
I think that you want to change the program that opens the file rather
than the icon associated with it, right? An icon is just a picture. It
doesn't do anything by itself other than to decorate the filename in some
kinds of lists.
Click to expand...
Give us a specific example of a file type you want to change, and we'll be
better able to help.
Click to expand...

I use Winamp as my MP3 player. It generates a list with the extension
".M3U". Both MP3 files and M3U files have the Winamp icon associated
with them.

Then one day I "upgrade" Windows Media Player. It doesn't ask me if I
want it to be the default player for MP3 files - it just goes and
makes itself the default player, which causes all my MP3 and M3U files
to have a different association.

So I go to File Types and change the association back to Winamp. Now
it is the default player again. However, there is a bug somewhere that
causes Windows to display a different icon than the one I had
previously. But I cannot access the editor for file types which allows
me to change the icon, because there is no Advanced button, only a
Restore button.

How do I get to a menu that has Advanced on it?


--

Million Mom March For Gun Confiscation
http://home.houston.rr.com/rkba/mmm.html

An atheist visited Isaac Newton and noticed his new toy,
a mechanical model of the Solar System.

"Who made this?", asked the atheist.

"No one", replied Newton.

"But somebody MUST have made it - it couldn't make itself",
said the atheist.

"Why do you believe that about the model, but not about the
real thing?", asked Newton.
 
Sweet Ol' Bob (SOB) said:
I use Winamp as my MP3 player. It generates a list with the extension
".M3U". Both MP3 files and M3U files have the Winamp icon associated
with them.
Click to expand...
Then one day I "upgrade" Windows Media Player. It doesn't ask me if I
want it to be the default player for MP3 files - it just goes and
makes itself the default player, which causes all my MP3 and M3U files
to have a different association.
Click to expand...
So I go to File Types and change the association back to Winamp. Now
it is the default player again. However, there is a bug somewhere that
causes Windows to display a different icon than the one I had
previously. But I cannot access the editor for file types which allows
me to change the icon, because there is no Advanced button, only a
Restore button.
Click to expand...
How do I get to a menu that has Advanced on it?
Click to expand...

This may be an EditFlags issue. Using Regedit, go into HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
and look at the (default) entry for .m3u. It will normally be "m3ufile".
Now go to the entry for m3ufile (or whatever you have there). One of the
values under that key should be named EditFlags. Report back the type and
value. It's REG_BINARY and 00 00 10 00 on my system). If you have
something else, that may be the cause of the problem.
 
This may be an EditFlags issue. Using Regedit, go into HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
and look at the (default) entry for .m3u. It will normally be "m3ufile".
Now go to the entry for m3ufile (or whatever you have there). One of the
values under that key should be named EditFlags. Report back the type and
value. It's REG_BINARY and 00 00 10 00 on my system).
Click to expand...

Thanks, I will try that.
If you have
something else, that may be the cause of the problem.
Click to expand...

Although I am a programmer, and know how to hack the Registry, I find
this sort of thing to be ridiculous. Why would the designers have
different schemes for dealing with file types. The old File Manager of
Win3.x fame was friendlier than that.

---

Now I have another problem that came about when I switched to NT4. If
I type some text and go back and forth editing it on the fly,
sometimes the editor shifts the Insert toggle on me and I start
overtyping. I do not hit the INS key - I know because I have put
things under it to keep it from moving. There is something in the
editor s/w that anticipates toggling the INS function.

Any idea what is causing this to happen, and what I can do to shut it
off.



--

Million Mom March For Gun Confiscation
http://home.houston.rr.com/rkba/mmm.html

An atheist visited Isaac Newton and noticed his new toy,
a mechanical model of the Solar System.

"Who made this?", asked the atheist.

"No one", replied Newton.

"But somebody MUST have made it - it couldn't make itself",
said the atheist.

"Why do you believe that about the model, but not about the
real thing?", asked Newton.
 
This may be an EditFlags issue. Using Regedit, go into HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
and look at the (default) entry for .m3u.
Click to expand...

I found it at near the beginning.
It will normally be "m3ufile".
Click to expand...

Default is listed as "Winamp.Playlist".
Now go to the entry for m3ufile (or whatever you have there).
Click to expand...

I did a Find on that and
One of the values under that key should be named EditFlags. Report back the type and
value. It's REG_BINARY and 00 00 10 00 on my system).
Click to expand...

That is exactly what I have.

I looked at the entry "Winamp.file" (eg. "mp3") which does allow
editing with the Advanced button, and its EditFlag is REG_DWORD 0.

So I changed the EditFlags for "Winamp.Playlist". Nothing happened.

But I did spot the icon key. The icon I want is labeled "0". The one
chosen for the M3U file is "2". So I did the edit.

Now something has happened. Before I tinkered with the Registry, MP3
file type allowed Advanced editing. Now it only has Restore button.

Thanks for your help. Further comments would be appreciated.



--

Million Mom March For Gun Confiscation
http://home.houston.rr.com/rkba/mmm.html

An atheist visited Isaac Newton and noticed his new toy,
a mechanical model of the Solar System.

"Who made this?", asked the atheist.

"No one", replied Newton.

"But somebody MUST have made it - it couldn't make itself",
said the atheist.

"Why do you believe that about the model, but not about the
real thing?", asked Newton.
 
Sweet Ol' Bob (SOB) said:
I looked at the entry "Winamp.file" (eg. "mp3") which does allow
editing with the Advanced button, and its EditFlag is REG_DWORD 0.
Click to expand...
So I changed the EditFlags for "Winamp.Playlist". Nothing happened.
Click to expand...
But I did spot the icon key. The icon I want is labeled "0". The one
chosen for the M3U file is "2". So I did the edit.
Click to expand...
Now something has happened. Before I tinkered with the Registry, MP3
file type allowed Advanced editing. Now it only has Restore button.
Click to expand...

You are running Windows 2000, right? I've checked many of the entries in
Folder Options | File Types, and every one of them shows the Advanced
button, although for some types the Windows you get when you click the
button is empty. Thinking back, I don't think I've ever seen a Restore
button. I have no experience with WinAMp, so I can't offer any
suggestions there.

With respect to the icons themselves, it appears that often the icon
displayed with a filename is determined by the program registered to open
that file. There's no explicit registry entry for the icon in these
cases. In the cases where the DefaultIcon key already exists, changing
the (Default) value should not affect the ability to modift File Types
data.
 
You are running Windows 2000, right?
Click to expand...

Yes, but it was an overlay of NT4. There are some things that are
different from a clean install of Win2K, so maybe that's where the
problem arises.
I've checked many of the entries in
Folder Options | File Types, and every one of them shows the Advanced
button, although for some types the Windows you get when you click the
button is empty. Thinking back, I don't think I've ever seen a Restore
button. I have no experience with WinAMp, so I can't offer any
suggestions there.
Click to expand...

Winamp is but one example.

Install the latest version of Windows Media Player. It will take over
the default file associations. For example, after installing WMP, you
will discover that MP3 files are associated with WMP and not with
Winamp as they were before the association.

So you change to Winamp and it selects an icon which you do not want.
Now it's time to use the Advanced editor to change the icon. But all
you have is the Restore button.

I got around this by bringing up Add/Remove Programs. On the left side
there is a link (Set Program Access and Defaults) that brings up a
page where you can activate file associations. I selected the default,
which apparently the system knew was Winamp and not WMP.

Now when I click on the Restore button, I get Winamp as the default. I
accept it and now I have the Advanced button, from which I can edit
the icon.

It would seem that somewhere in the Registry there is information
about the default media player being Winamp, which was not overwritten
when I installed WMP, even though that installation did overwrite
individual file associations.

---

Any comments about my question on why the INS toggle occurs without my
hitting the INS key when I am editing in Windows.

--

Million Mom March For Gun Confiscation
http://home.houston.rr.com/rkba/mmm.html

"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world. The unreasonable
one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore
all progress depends on the unreasonable man."
-- George Bernard Shaw
 
Sweet Ol' Bob (SOB) said:
Install the latest version of Windows Media Player. It will take over
the default file associations. For example, after installing WMP, you
will discover that MP3 files are associated with WMP and not with
Winamp as they were before the association.
Click to expand...

I've stayed as far away as possible from Windows Media Player, just on
general principles. Since it's a Microsoft "special" application like IE,
the fact that it can do uncommon things to your system isn't surprising,
It would seem that somewhere in the Registry there is information
about the default media player being Winamp, which was not overwritten
when I installed WMP, even though that installation did overwrite
individual file associations.
Click to expand...

It's my experience that ALL install/uninstall processes suck badly,
especially including those from Microsoft. They generally work fine on a
machine with a fresh install of Windows and no other applications and work
less well the more your system resembles something used in real life.
Any comments about my question on why the INS toggle occurs without my
hitting the INS key when I am editing in Windows.
Click to expand...

Adding an unrelated question onto a thread isn't the best approach because
the second topic often gets overlooked.

What program are you using for editing? Handling of the Insert key is
usually an application issue, assuming that it's not a keyboard problem.
 
What program are you using for editing? Handling of the Insert key is
usually an application issue, assuming that it's not a keyboard problem.
Click to expand...

Any editor. Right now I am using the one that comes with Free Agent. I
also use the editors that come with other applications such as Eudora,
Mozilla, Note Tab. That all behave the same way, which leads me to
believe there is an editor API they are using.

There appears to be some particular keystroke combination which
includes backspaces that causes the editor to go into INS mode. I know
there are other hidden editor changes that are invoked by keystrokes I
make in error. I once buggered the editor so badly I had to reboot.

Is there any way I can set the preferences for this API assuming that
is what is behind all these application text editors?

--

Million Mom March For Gun Confiscation
http://home.houston.rr.com/rkba/mmm.html

"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world. The unreasonable
one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore
all progress depends on the unreasonable man."
-- George Bernard Shaw
 
Any editor. Right now I am using the one that comes with Free Agent. I
also use the editors that come with other applications such as Eudora,
Mozilla, Note Tab. That all behave the same way, which leads me to
believe there is an editor API they are using.
Click to expand...

I would be very surprised to find any kind of common API in a collection
of editors that diverse. Do all of these editors use the Insert key to
put the editor into insert mode? Not all editors do -- some don't even
have an overwrite mode. Some may use ald ALT or CTRL key combination.

If they do all use the Insert key for that function, I'd suspect
inadvertent keyboard remapping or keyboard malfunction.
There appears to be some particular keystroke combination which
includes backspaces that causes the editor to go into INS mode. I know
there are other hidden editor changes that are invoked by keystrokes I
make in error. I once buggered the editor so badly I had to reboot.
Click to expand...

Is your keyboard programmable? Matbe one of those peculair sequences is
altering its behavior.
 
I would be very surprised to find any kind of common API in a collection
of editors that diverse.
Click to expand...

They all behave the same which tells me that they are made of common
elements.
Do all of these editors use the Insert key to
put the editor into insert mode?
Yes.

If they do all use the Insert key for that function, I'd suspect
inadvertent keyboard remapping or keyboard malfunction.
Click to expand...

It could be - I am running a long extension cord for the KB.
Is your keyboard programmable? Matbe one of those peculair sequences is
altering its behavior.
Click to expand...

Keytronics 104. Probably the most widely used KB in existence.

I could be jamming the line to the computer, but why always INS
toggle?

Oh well, this will remain one of those mysteries we are accustomed to
with Windows.

Thanks for your help.

--

Million Mom March For Gun Confiscation
http://home.houston.rr.com/rkba/mmm.html

"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world. The unreasonable
one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore
all progress depends on the unreasonable man."
-- George Bernard Shaw
 
I was going through all the responses and wondered if
you got the solutions before I got to the last post.

Open any folder window and go to "tools" "folder options".
Use the "file types" tab. There's your associations like
the older versions of windows had.

Now, winamp also has its own menu option under its preferences.
It has a listing of the file types it knows and all
you have to do is select the ones you want winamp to
own and hit restore. Done.

Windows Media player also has the same function to
owning program associations although the only time
I ever remember seeing it is during an install, and not
all versions offer it. And, lol not all versions
respect your choice and they end up associating what
they want with what THEY want you to use.

for icon cosmetics, icons (or actually their data) can
either stand alone in their own file or be included as
part of another. When you pick an icon, go choose any
windows executable file and choose any icon you want
from that file. Try shell.dll or user.dll. This reminds
me of that game "inner space" where it loaded all the icons
from all your files and directories and used them as
the graphics for the enemy ships so you can shoot them.

Oh and watch out for the wildcard. At times, all versions
of windows will choke and display random icons on your screen
in place of the real associated ones. Its only a visual bug
as icons are only a visual and non functional thing. A reboot
fixes that.

Good luck
Yimmy DA Tulip
 
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