NirSoft, the developers of many utilities highlighted at this blog, has yet another no frills free application that simplifies the icon association process – FileTypesMan. Compatible with all iterations of Windows, not just 7, and including 64 bit releases, FilesTypesMan follows your typical NirSoft mindset – do one thing and do it well.
On execution, the application will scan the registry for all registered file types and display the results in a familiar tabular format. The process may take a few minutes depending on just how much is found; it took almost a minute in testing with almost 700 results ultimately returned.
Locate the desired extension you wish to re-associate within the scroll list. Alternatively you can use the typical Windows application Find dialog. Right-click on the extension and select Edit Selected File Type. You can also use the keyboard shortcut F2 – which can be handy if you wish to change many icons sequentially.
On the resulting dialog, locate the Default Icon field and use the browse button to …
… link it to the new graphic.
Changing file type icons can improve efficiency by being able to distinguish specific files more easily. As we are all creatures of habit, if you’ve recently switched applications to accomplish the same functionality – it can be troublesome to re-associate the new icon for all the file types. A great example is a user moving from Adobe Photoshop to GIMP – subconsciously you are used to the Adobe icon on all your graphic files, so the switch to GIMP is even more jarring. Re-associating .PNG files with an Adobe icon is a clever way to help ease the switch.
