Double click opens default program, but not the file

[gottathinkupanewone]

Recently, when I double click on a picture file in the Explorer pane, the default program opens, but not the actual file.

This happens on both my Windows 10 computers, and only on Windows 10.

It seems to happen only to picture files. Doc files open properly in Word, pub files open properly in Publisher, etc. But double clicking on a picture file opens only the default program, not the actual file.

I have reset the default to no avail. I have set the program from its own menu to associate with picture file extensions. Double clicking still opens the program to an empty work area.

Once the default program is open, I can use it to open pictures normally. I cannot figure out why Windows is opening only the program but not the file, when everything else seems to work.

Does anyone have any clue how to fix this annoyance?

 

[terry4536]

What default program? I can only guess that perhaps the picture file was not saved to a unique file name.

If that is the case, then change the settings to achieve a unique file name for each picture.

 

[gottathinkupanewone]

The default programs are either Jasc Paint Shop Pro 7 or Microsoft Picture It, depending on what the file extension is.

Each picture is an individual file. Every file has a unique name. The file extensions are correctly associated with the default program. The programs open when I double click a file. It's just that the pictures, themselves, do not open.

 

[terry4536]

The only other thing I can think of is to check out the button on your mouse. You can assign tasks to the buttons on the mouse. Perhaps the were changed at some point (for a game for example).

In which case just reset the mouse to the default settings.

Or there may be an optional setting in either the Windows or the programs to better suit you. I'm not familiar with either of those programs. If there is a FAQ section for those programs, do a search for anything associated with your problem.

 

[gottathinkupanewone]

No, my mouse is working normally, too. The buttons are not programmed to do anything but click. I never play computer games.

This is a very recent phenomenon, but is happening on both my Windows 10 computers, so I'm guessing it's some glitch in Windows.

I have searched online for a solution, but can find no mention of this exact issue. There are apparently people who can't open anything at all by double-clicking.

 

[terry4536]

No, my mouse is working normally, too. The buttons are not programmed to do anything but click. I never play computer games.

This is a very recent phenomenon, but is happening on both my Windows 10 computers, so I'm guessing it's some glitch in Windows.

I have searched online for a solution, but can find no mention of this exact issue. There are apparently people who can't open anything at all by double-clicking.

If it is recent phenomenon, it may be yet another problem with the Windows 10 updates. If you have an approximate date that it started, then look back on your update history for updates in that period of time. Then you can try uninstalling the updates to that time. Then see if your problem is corrected.

Then you can pause the Windows 10 updates until perhaps the glitch is fixed.

 

[97Greyhound]

give me more details about your program
Use this https://defaultprogramseditor.com/ tool it will help you to solve your issue

 

[marcelo.spitteler]

I have EXACTLY THE SAME PROBLEM. I use Jasc Paint Shop 5 to open .jpg files. The program starts but the file is not open. If the program is already opened, the file opens OK. Default Programs Editor was not useful to correct this. Did you find a solution?

Recently, when I double click on a picture file in the Explorer pane, the default program opens, but not the actual file.

This happens on both my Windows 10 computers, and only on Windows 10.

It seems to happen only to picture files. Doc files open properly in Word, pub files open properly in Publisher, etc. But double clicking on a picture file opens only the default program, not the actual file.

I have reset the default to no avail. I have set the program from its own menu to associate with picture file extensions. Double clicking still opens the program to an empty work area.

Once the default program is open, I can use it to open pictures normally. I cannot figure out why Windows is opening only the program but not the file, when everything else seems to work.

Does anyone have any clue how to fix this annoyance?