Windows 101: Default Programs in Windows 7

Lots of Windows 7 end users  / consumers might not know what the Default Programs do in their system.  Default Programs can be found in the Start menu in your Windows 7 but have you actually tried to click or open it? A a default program is the application or program that your Windows will use to open a particular type of file such as music, pictures, videos, documents and the likes.  A good example of this is that if you have more than one multimedia player installed in your system like Windows Media Player, Zune, or say Media Player Classic, using the Default Programs feature in Windows 7 you can actually set which of these players will open a music file or a video file.

Here’s how we can modify each installed programs to open a particular type of file. Click on Default Programs in your Start Menu and click on Set default programs on the next window that will appear.

Now here’s the list of programs installed in my system.  I got WMP, Zune, VLC, iTunes, Media Player Classic to play my multimedia files.  All of these programs can play music and videos but I can modify each one of them to play a particular audio file type say MP3, WMA, etc., and video files like AVI, MKV, MP4, 3gp, etc.

Now I’ll show you how to modify the Zune player to associate and play specific type of files.  Click on Zune in the list.  You will see in the right pane a total of defaults for Zune and the number of current file types associated in it.  In this case my Zune player has 3 out of 10 defaults. 

Now you have to options, either click Set this program as default to set Zune to open all the file types it can open or you may just select Choose defaults for this program to set which file types will be associated and be opened in Zune.  Since I have several multimedia players installed in my system I will set Zune to play a file which has .mp3 file extension since I kinda like the nice and clean look of Zune when I play my MP3 files.  The picture below shows that the .mp3 file extension was selected.  The other three file extension (.m4b, .mbr, and .zpl) is default to Zune so we can’t deselect it.  After selecting which file type will be associated to your program click save and your Windows 7 will apply it to your system.

Now I’ve shown you how to modify a program to associate to a particular file type.  Try to experiment on the other programs, say your web browsers or your picture viewers and editors.  Have fun exploring your Windows 7!   :)

Windows 101: Looking for your hidden folders?

In Windows by default, folders with “hidden” attributes can’t be seen in your Windows explorer because as it says, it “HIDDEN.”  Usually system folders are hidden, but what if you need to access some of this folders? Here’s how:

In  your Windows explorer task pane, click on Organize then Folder and search options.

Next, in the Folder options dialogue box, click on the View tab and tick on the “Show hidden files, folders, and drives”  then OK to reveal your hidden folders.

Now let’s take a look, this I the same path / location shown above. Notice the two new folders added in the list?

Now, what if even you enable the “Show hidden files, folders, and drives”  option you still can’t see your hidden folders?  Some of my friends experience this in their flash drives when they got a virus / worm that hides their file folders. My friends usually come to me and ask me to fix a flash drive since he can’t find his files but according to the the drive’s properties it still has files that occupies certain space.  In this case process will be a little bit complicated, unless you know or you still remember your DOS commands.  If you’re a Windows baby then I suggest your must read on.

Now to reveal those hidden folders use your “attrib” command to disable any attributes in a file or folder ( this usually usually works for me ).  To do this open a command prompt and go  to the location of the attrib.exe command in “c:\windows\system32”  then key in

attrib –r –a –s –h g:*.* /d /s

and hit the Enter key.  Wait until all the attributes of your folders will be removed.

Note: g: in the command syntax is the drive assigned to you flash drive so this will depend in the drive assigned to your flash drive.

Now take a look and compare the two screenshots below.

This is before implementing the attrib command.

This is after implementing the attrib command where hidden folders was revealed.

So if you think DOS is obsolete, think again! Don’t under estimate the power of DOS. haha..

Talking on starting the year right…

Last year on this date, January 2, 2010, I received my first Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Award.  I started as a Windows7ako online community member,became active in it’s Facebook page, named president of the community (they usually call me El Pres), next thing I know, I’m involve in hosting events and delivering a talk or a demo on my favorite topic, Windows.  I still remember my first demo in the first community meetup was a Windows 7 feature called Problem Steps Recorder and I became active since then, giving talks here and demos there.   I never knew there’s this MVP thing then and after a few months I got nominated by Jojo Ayson, one of the MVPs here in the Philippines.  Lilian Quek from Singapore informed me that I was nominated and I complied with the requirements.  Few months later, I was surprised with an email in my inbox congratulating me being an MVP.

About the MVP Award Program

Since the early 1990s, Microsoft has recognized the inspiring activities of MVPs around the world with the MVP Award. MVPs freely share their deep knowledge, real-world experience, and impartial, objective feedback to help people enhance the way they use technology. Of more than 100 million users who participate in technology communities, around 4,000 are recognized as Microsoft MVPs.

MVPs make exceptional contributions to technical communities, sharing their passion, knowledge, and know-how. Meanwhile, because MVPs hear the opinions and needs of many others in the technical community, they are well-placed to share highly focused feedback with Microsoft.

MVPs are independent experts who are offered a close connection with people at Microsoft. To acknowledge MVPs’ leadership and provide a platform to help support their efforts, Microsoft often gives MVPs early access to Microsoft products, as well as the opportunity to pass on their highly targeted feedback and recommendations about product design, development, and support.

Awarded in over ninety technology areas, MVPs reflect Microsoft's global customer base and the breadth of Microsoft's technologies. A significant proportion of new MVPs represent emerging markets in China, Russia, and Korea, as well as smaller markets including Ghana, Nepal, and Kazakhstan.

Today, January 2, 2011, the same email has landed in my inbox, telling me that my MVP Award has been renewed.  Thanks Microsoft and most of all to the Lord Almighty :)