3 Simple Ways to Fix How Do You Want to Open This File

Setting a default program to open files is a quick way around this issue

4 min. read

Updated onMarch 15, 2024

updated onMarch 15, 2024

Share this article

Improve this guide

Read our disclosure page to find out how can you help Windows Report sustain the editorial teamRead more

Key notes

The messageHow do you want to open this filepops up either when you just installed a new copy of Windows 10 or reset the Windows settings, or in case you’ve never used that specific file type.

This message is Windows 10’s attempt to set a default application to be used when trying to launch different types of files.

In this article, we will explore the best ways to deal with this message and discuss how to make it go away for good if you want to. Read on to find out more.

Why does the How do you want to open this file message appear?

This error occurs if you open a specific file type for the first time. It can also appear if you need to select a default app to launch your files. So, this is a perfectly normal prompt on your PC.

What can I do when getting How do you want to open this file message?

1. Choose a default program

This solution works great if you don’t mind going through the same process whenever you encounter this error.

Even more, rest assured that using WordPad, Microsoft Word, or Notepad is also ideal toeasily open ADOC files.

2. Change the Default app settings

The software available on the list will vary depending on the file for which you want to set the default app. This should fix how you want to open this file issue by selecting apps like Excel, Python, Java, and VS Code for the relevant file types.

How do I fix How do you want to open this file on Windows 11?

Restarting your PC in safe mode should help fix how you want to open this file on startup issues on Windows 11, especially if the popup appears randomly. Also, you can use the other solutions listed in the earlier section of this article.

How do I reset the default file format?

With this, you have reset all file associations to the default.

In this article, we explored two methods that will take care of theHow do you want to open this file messageon Windows 10 and another one for Windows 11. However, you can use the solutions interchangeably for the two operating systems.

If you are facing other issues, like thefile is open in another program error, check our detailed guide to fix it quickly.

The solutions offered in this list will indeed resolve any problems relating to this issue. Please let us know how this worked for you using the comment below.

3 Simple Ways to Fix How Do You Want to Open This File#

What can I do when getting How do you want to open this file message?#

1. Choose a default program#

2. Change the Default app settings#

How do I fix How do you want to open this file on Windows 11?#

How do I reset the default file format?#