Some incoming emails and photos do not respond to the actions which I request. While some do work correctly others show the message “This file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action” and “Create an association in the Folders option Control Panel”. I am having problems following this procedure so I would appreciate some assistance. The computer is running Windows XP.

Given that your question concerns email messages I will assume that the error message is appearing when you attempt to open particular attachments (e.g. photos, documents, etc.) on certain email messages. Before we go into the procedures to resolve the problem it is important that we understand the nature of the problem. Your computer would have many different files stored on the hard drive. These range from photo files through to documents and also program files. Different types of files are generally different formats. For example, a photo may be a JPEG file (which is a type of graphic file) whereas a document may be a DOC file (which is a Word document). Additionally, particular types of file, such as a photo files, could be in a variety of different formats. For example, there are many different types of graphics and photo files – including JPEG (as we previously mentioned), BMP files, PNG files, and the list goes on. As you can see, there are a whole range of file types and formats available for computers.

Unfortunately there is no magical program which can open and view every single file format (type) in existence. There are millions upon millions of different types of files so this is simply not possible. Therefore, Windows needs help to know which programs can be used to open different types of files. This is called a file association. Each file on a Windows system has an identifier, known as a file extension. By default these are hidden in Windows, but when they are visible they appear as (normally) a three character extension after the name of the file. For example, MyFile.doc indicates that the file is a DOC (Word document) file. Likewise, MyPhoto.jpg indicates that this is a JPEG (graphics or photo) file. You don’t need to be concerned too much about the mechanics of file extensions – just appreciate that Windows has this feature so that it can identify the type of each file on the computer. However, what you do need to realise is that the file extension (or type) is linked to a particular application on the computer. This is how Windows knows that when you double-click to open a DOC file that it should open the file using Microsoft Word. This link is known as the file association – essentially that a type of file (e.g. DOC) is associated with a particular application (Microsoft Word). Without this information Windows cannot tell which application should be used to open a particular file type, simply due to the breadth and number of different file types and applications available.

Windows includes applications which are capable of opening the most common file formats, including the most common graphics and picture file formats along with text-based and document-based files. However, when you go into more specialised files (such as PDF files) you will not be able to open those without installing a specific application on your computer which is capable of opening those types of files.

When you double-click to open an email attachment and it successfully opens, this indicates that the file association for that file type is correct and valid. From your question I assume that you have been able to successfully open various photo files which you have been emailed. These are likely to be JPEG files and I imagine they will be opening the Windows Picture and Fax Viewer application – an inbuilt application in Windows which opens graphics and picture files by default, unless another application which you install overrides these file associations to instead use itself to open these types of files. However, when you attempt to open a file and it shows the message “This file does not have a program associated…” this indicates that the file type has not been associated with an application and therefore Windows does not know which program should be used to open that type of file. Without having an example of a problematic file I cannot tell you which application should be used to open the file, although I can provide you with some general advice for troubleshooting this situation.

In the first instance you need to determine the nature of the file type so that you can find which application should be used to open the file. When Windows encounters an unknown file type (i.e. a file type with no extension) it will show the file extension of the file. Using this file extension you can then search the internet to determine the type of file. In the email if you are unable to see the file extension on the end of the file name, save the file to your desktop and you should then be able to see the extension. Once you have found the extension, go to www.filext.com . This is an online search engine allowing you to type in a file extension and it will return information about the file. Be aware, there is a lot of advertising on this website claiming to be able to fix your file association problems, speed-up your downloads, etc. These are all advertisements of (substantially) variable usefulness so ignore all those and don’t be tempted into clicking or purchasing/installing any such products, just use this website purely for the file extension search. Speaking of which, to search for the file extension, type it into the search box at the top right-hand corner of the page. On the search results page you should be given some additional information about the file extension. Be aware, one file extension could be used for multiple purposes, so make sure you read the entire detailed information section of the page.

If anything is recognisable in the listing of programs then that’s great, as it has probably jogged your memory as to the application that can be used to open that type of file. However, if you don’t recognise any of the applications (or even the description of the file) then don’t rush into downloading one of the suggested applications, as it is likely that you did previously have an application on your computer capable of opening that type of file and we don’t want to download something new on your computer unnecessarily. So if you are not completely certain about what application should be used to open the file then please forward one of the emails containing the unknown file to me and I will be able to advise regarding a recommended program that you should use to open and view the file.

In the event that you have identified the program which should be used to open the file and the program is installed on your computer, we can proceed with re-establishing the file association. In the message Windows recommends that you create the association through the Control Panel. While this is possible it is a cumbersome way to create the association, so fortunately we have an easier method. Save the problematic file to your desktop. Once this has been done, find the file on the desktop and select “Open With” (if this produces another small menu select “Choose Program”). A window will appear allowing you to select the program that should be used to open this type of file. Look through the program listing to check whether the program is listed. If so, select the program. Should the problem not be listed, click the “Browse” button which will allow you to find the program on your computer. In either case, once the program has been selected tick “Always use the selected program to open this kind of file” and click OK. The file will open in the selected program and in future when you double-click on any files of that type they will open in the same program. The file association has now been restored for that file type.

As mentioned, if you are unable to reach this point because you are unable to determine the program which should be used to open the type of file then please contact me again for further advice.