Setting default applications for FH4

gbrowne · Post by **gbrowne** » 04 Jan 2012 17:33

Happy New Year to everyone !!

I have found vague refs to this issue elsewhere, but not the answer...

Does anyone know where to set FH's default apps please. For example I have various PDF files that are multimedia attachments to sources, but when I try to open the PDF file by clicking its icon, I get a message...

'No application is registered as the default application for files of this type. Consequently the file cannot be opened.'.

Presumably there must be a way of registering external file handling utilities - editing images for example ?

Cheers,
Geoff.

ID:5755

PeterR · Post by **PeterR** » 04 Jan 2012 18:00

If I have a PDF, I can double-click its icon to open it in my PDF viewer (Foxit Reader, which I much prefer to Adobe Reader). Or I can click on the maroon-triangle button to Open Editor/Player. FH Help contains:

If no application opens for a given multimedia type, when you click on this command, you may need to configure your PC to specify a default application for the file type in question.

What happens if you double-click a PDF file in Windows Explorer? If you right-click on a PDF file in Windows Explorer you should be able to click on Open With > and then Choose Program.... When you select the relevant program, also tick the check box Always use the selected program for this kind of file.

FH should then open your selected default program for PDF viewing.

Post by **tatewise** » 04 Jan 2012 22:57

If you have difficulty getting Peter's suggestion to work, then please identify:
(1) Which version of Windows you are using (XP, Vista, 7)
(2) Whether you have Adobe Reader or some other PDF reader installed.
(3) Confirm what happens when you double-click a PDF file in Windows Explorer.

Then we can advise further with more precise instructions.

gbrowne · Post by **gbrowne** » 05 Jan 2012 09:04

Thanks for your reply Tatewise and PeterR,

Along with a few other FH users I am not using Windows at all, but experimentally running it under Ubuntu Linux. With the latest WINE version, it all works pretty much flawlessly now - potentially allowing a greater number of users to access the application without having to regularly pay Mr.Gates for Windows upgrades.

I asked here about the default apps settings because I was under the impression that FH probably had its own internal associations, but in fact it now seems it just uses the default Windows ones set in the registry.

With that info I will set these in the WINE registry and all should be well.

Thanks again for your help,
Geoff.

gbrowne · Post by **gbrowne** » 05 Jan 2012 15:28

Further to this and more for peoples future reference than anything, I have discovered that it is relatively straightforward to access native linux applications from within Wine with a small tweak. Anyone interested should consult the article here...

http://www.pcurtis.com/ubuntu.htm#winenative

PDFs now open perfectly and lightening fast !

Cheers,
Geoff.

Family Historian User Group