To change default apps for file types in Windows 11, open Settings > Apps > Default apps, type the extension (for example .pdf) in the search box under Set a default for a file type or link type, select the result and choose the app. You can also pick an app under Set defaults for applications and change each type it can open. Windows 10 uses the same Settings > Apps > Default apps entry point.
Changing a default decides which app opens a file when you double-click it. It does not clean up the right-click menu, which is where ContextCleaner comes in later in this guide.
How do I set a default app for a file type in Windows 11?
These steps follow Microsoft’s Change Default Apps in Windows page:
- Open Settings and select Apps > Default apps. You can also press Windows logo key + R and enter
ms-settings:defaultapps, the Settings link Microsoft documents for this page. - Under Set a default for a file type or link type, type the extension in the search bar, such as
.txtor.pdf. - Select the matching result.
- Choose the app you want from the list.
From then on, double-clicking that file type opens it in the app you picked. If the app you want is not in the list, it has probably not registered for that file type. Reinstalling the app or using its own “make default” setting usually adds it.
How do I change default apps in Windows 10?
Microsoft’s page applies to both Windows 11 and Windows 10, and the entry point is the same: Settings > Apps > Default apps. The Windows 10 page is laid out differently, and its link wording varies between builds, but it offers the same two approaches: choose a default by file type (or protocol), or set defaults for a particular app. Either way you pick the type, then pick the app.
Windows 10 support ended on October 14, 2025, so newer apps may expect the Windows 11 layout.
Set defaults by app or by file type: which should I use?
| You want to | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Change one file type | Set a default for a file type or link type | Open .csv in a text editor instead of a spreadsheet |
| Move many types to one app | Set defaults for applications | Make a new photo viewer handle .jpg, .png and .heic |
| Change your browser | Set defaults for applications > the browser > Set default | Switch from one browser to another |
| Change what opens a link type | Search the protocol, such as mailto | Send email links to a desktop mail app |
Set defaults for applications shows every file or link type an app says it can open, so it is the faster route after installing a replacement app. Searching by extension is better when only one type is wrong.
How do I change the default app for links (mailto, http)?
Link types use the same search box. Type the protocol, such as mailto or http, select it and choose an app.
For your web browser, Microsoft’s steps for Edge show the pattern that applies to any browser:
- Open Settings > Apps > Default apps.
- Under Set defaults for applications, select the browser.
- Next to the “make this your default browser” line, select Set default.
Why do my default apps keep resetting?
Microsoft’s default apps platform guidance explains the rules:
- When you install a new app that registers for a file type, Windows can ask you which app to use the next time you open that type. Choosing the new app there changes your default.
- Windows does not let apps change your defaults programmatically without you confirming in system UI. Microsoft states that editing the registry to change defaults is not supported.
- On managed work PCs, IT can set default associations through policy, which can override your own choices.
- Microsoft’s DISM documentation adds that on an upgrade, Windows may re-assign default handlers for some built-in apps, and that a broken association file can trigger “An app default was reset” notifications.
If a default keeps changing back, check whether you accepted a prompt after installing or updating an app, and whether your PC is managed by an organization. Then set the default again in Settings.
How do IT admins set default apps for everyone?
Microsoft documents a DISM workflow in Export or import default application associations:
- On a reference PC, set the defaults you want in Settings.
- From an elevated Command Prompt, export them:
Dism /Online /Export-DefaultAppAssociations:"F:\AppAssociations.xml"- Import the XML into a Windows image (WIM or VHD) with
/Import-DefaultAppAssociationsbefore deployment, or apply it through Group Policy or MDM. - Check what an online image has with
Dism /Online /Get-DefaultAppAssociations.
Microsoft recommends refreshing the XML with each major Windows version and not deleting entries by hand. If you need an elevated prompt for step 2, see how to run CMD as administrator.
Why does the right-click menu still show the old app?
Default apps and the right-click menu are separate. When you switch your .txt default from one editor to another, the old editor’s “Open with” or “Edit with” entries usually stay in the context menu, because the app added them when it was installed. The same goes for archive tools, cloud drives and code editors that add their own commands.
You have three options:
- Uninstall the old app if you no longer need it. Its menu entries normally go with it.
- Remove a single entry by hand. For one stubborn item, our guide to removing “Open with Code” from the right-click menu shows the free manual steps.
- Use a menu editor when there are many entries to tidy.
See where each right-click entry comes from, hide the ones you no longer use, and undo any change in one click.
Get it from Microsoft
How does ContextCleaner fit in?
ContextCleaner does not set default apps; Windows Settings does that. According to its Microsoft Store listing, it edits the right-click menu:
- See everything in one place: every menu item and extension, with a label for where it comes from and what it applies to (files, folders or empty space).
- Hide the clutter: turn off entries in both the short Windows 11 menu and the longer “Show more options” list.
- Pin to the top: move the commands you use most to the front of the menu.
- Tame slow add-ons: switch off third-party extensions you do not need.
- Safe by design: an automatic backup before every change, one-click restore from any earlier snapshot, and undo and redo history that survives closing the app.
It is made for Windows 11 and, per the listing, works on Windows 10 (22H2) too. For a walkthrough, see cleaning up the Windows context menu with ContextCleaner, and for how backups work when a change needs admin rights, see ContextCleaner backup and restore.
Frequently asked questions
How do I remove the default app for a file type in Windows 11?
Settings has no “none” option for a file type. You change the default by choosing a different app for that extension.
How do I set a default file type in Windows 11?
Go to Settings > Apps > Default apps, type the extension under Set a default for a file type or link type, select it and choose an app.
How do I set a file type to open with a specific program?
Use the Default apps search box as above, or right-click a file, choose Open with, pick the program, and tell Windows to always use it for that type when asked. The Settings route is the most reliable on every build.
Can I change default apps with the registry?
Microsoft says no. Defaults must be set by the user through system UI, and registry changes to default associations are not supported. IT departments use DISM and policy instead.
Why is an app missing from the list?
Usually the app has not registered that file type with Windows. Check the app’s own settings for a file association option, or reinstall it, then look again in Default apps.
Try ContextCleaner
ContextCleaner is in the Microsoft Store. More detail is on the ContextCleaner product page.
Keep your new default apps and a right-click menu that matches them.
Get it from Microsoft
Windows is a trademark of the Microsoft group of companies. ContextCleaner is not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft.
Last updated 23 October 2026. Published by Automata Labs, a software company in Canada.