Controlling File Type Associations

The check boxes shown in Figure 16-4 identify the types of media files that Windows Media Player can render. To get to this list, choose Tools, Options, and click the File Types tab. When you highlight an item in this list, the Description section of the dialog box enumerates the file name extensions that make up the selected file type. Check boxes that are selected in this list denote file types for which Windows Media Player is the default application. (A gray check box indicates a file type for which another program, at one time, has been registered as the default application.) If Windows Media Player is the default application for a file type, double-clicking a file of that type in Windows Explorer (or a shortcut to such a file) launches Windows Media Player, which renders the file.

Figure 16-4. The File Types tab in the Options dialog box lists the kinds of media files that Windows Media Player can render.

As you see, the list of file types is extensive. Not quite everything that moves or plays is there (RealAudio and QuickTime formats are notable absentees), but a great many media formats are represented.

Because the software market is well supplied with inexpensive (and in some cases free) alternatives to Windows Media Player, it’s quite possible that you have other programs that can also render some of these file types. If you do use more than one media player, you’ll want to decide which kinds of files should open by default with which applications. If you install another media player after setting up Windows XP, it’s possible that the other player will have taken over some of the file types that were originally associated with Windows Media Player. (Similarly, if Windows XP was installed as an upgrade, Windows Media Player might have assumed one or several of the file types of players you had configured with your earlier Windows version, indicated by a gray check box like the one shown in Figure 16-4.) If that’s the case, you can reinstate Windows Media Player as the default application for those formats by choosing Tools, Options, clicking the File Types tab, and reselecting the appropriate check boxes. Alternatively, if Windows Media Player is currently the default application for file types that you would rather play back in a different media player, you can probably take care of the problem by using dialog boxes provided by the other player.

Changing the Default Application for Individual File Extensions

The media formats listed in Media Player’s Options dialog box shown in Figure 16-4 represent types of files; some of these file types use more than one file name extension to identify themselves. The Windows Media Audio (WMA) file type, for example, uses the extensions .wma and .wax. If you change Windows Media Player’s behavior by selecting or clearing a check box in the Options dialog box, you are, in most cases, changing the default application for several file name extensions.

To change the default program for a particular extension, you might need to use Windows Explorer. Follow these steps:

1. In any Windows Explorer window, locate a file with the extension whose default application you want to modify.

2. Right-click the file and choose Open With.

3. In the Open With dialog box, select the program you want to use as the default for this file name extension.

4. Select Always Use The Selected Program To Open This Kind Of File and then click OK.

Changing the AutoPlay Behavior for a CD or DVD Drive

You can change the way Windows responds to the insertion of particular kinds of disks in your CD or DVD drive. Follow these steps:

1. Open My Computer.

2. Right-click the icon for your CD or DVD drive, choose Properties, and then click the AutoPlay tab.

3. In the list at the top of the dialog box, shown in Figure 16-5, select a disk type. (In the figure, we’ve selected Music CD. Other options include Pictures, Video Files, Mixed Content, Music CD, and DVD Movie.)

4. In the Actions section of the dialog box, select the action that you want Windows to take when you insert a disk of the selected content type. If you don’t want it to do the same thing every time, select Prompt Me Each Time To Choose An Action.

5. Click OK.

   
   

   Figure 16-5. You can specify the action you want Windows to take when you insert particular kinds of disks into your CD or DVD drive.