Windows 8 - Opening Your Files with Different Apps

Opening your files with different apps

Selecting an app

When you open a file in Windows 8, it will usually open with a Start screen app —even if you opened it from the Desktop . But you may not always want this. If you prefer to work in the Desktop, you can choose to open the file with a Desktop app . For example, a JPG picture opens in the Photos app by default, but you can open it in Windows Photo Viewer instead.

In this lesson, we'll show you how to open a file in a different app and also how to change the default app so a file will always open in your preferred app.

To open a file in the default app:

In Desktop view, double-click the desired file.

Double-clicking a file
The file will open in the default app. In this example, it opened in the Photos app.

The Photos app

To open a file in a different app:

Sometimes, you may want to open a file in a different app without changing the default . For example, you may want to open a photo with the Paint app to crop or resize it.

In Desktop view, right-click the desired file.

Right-clicking a file
From the drop-down menu, click Open with and select the desired app .

Selecting an app
The file will open in the app you selected.

The Paint app

To change the default app:

You may prefer to change the default app for certain types of files so they'll always open in the new app when you double-click them. For example, you may want your photos to always open in Windows Photo Viewer instead of the Photos app.

In Desktop view, right-click the desired file.

Right-clicking a file
From the drop-down menu, click Open with and select Choose default program... .

Choosing a default app
Select the desired app . If you don't see the app you want, click More options . In this example, we want to open the file in Windows Photo Viewer .

Selecting an app
The file will open in the new app. The next time you double-click a file of that type, it will open in the new default app.

Windows Photo Viewer