Choose default program to open the shortcut in Windows 7

Question

Is there a way to specify which program should open the shortcut.

Take browsers for example. My default browser is Firefox. I have some important shortcuts on my desktop that don't perform well in Firefox, so I want them to open in Internet Explorer.

Important !
I know there are other ways of doing this. Such as creating favorites. But I need this feature also for other files, not only internet shortcuts.

I like to work with specific programs for specific files. So please try to help me with the problem of opening different files in different programs.

Solution 1

You can append the URL to a shortcut to the browser of your choice.

For example, my default browser is Chrome but I have a desktop shortcut to Outlook Web Access in Internet Explorer. The Shortcut target looks like:

"C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe" http://www.example.com/path/

You can do the same with document files:

%windir%\system32\notepad.exe d:\spreadsheet.csv

(quotes needed if there are spaces in the path.)

The easiest way to do this is to copy a shortcut to the program of choice from the Start menu to your desktop, right-click it and select 'Properties' and add the file path or URL to the 'Target' field.

Solution 2

Low-Tech solution: Drag the file on the application icon you can also put on your desktop.

Or use Right click → Open with → ...

Otherwise there is Browser Chooser, but that's not for arbitrary files, just stuff browsers open.

Comments

[Saif Bechan]

Thank you I like this solution, it is just what I wanted.

[Saif Bechan]

This solution is good, but it is not hard-coded in the shortcut. It is a good solution tho.