Constant Windows path problems

I'm using 5K Player for videos. Worked ok so far. Then i decided to give PotPlayer a try. Nope, it didn't work. Even though i looked intensly into Opus' settings, to point at the right path, and set "open with" to PotPlayer, and finally even uninstalled 5KPlayer, a normal click would throw that window you can see at the bottom. There seems to be no way in the world, i can force Windows to use the right app. Using "open with" every time works, though.

On another machine of ours, there a similar problem witt AIMP, which insists on trying to open some "ghost path", and i see no way to fix it. Very annoying. I'm quite sure it's not related to Opus, that's why i post it here. I guess it's due to some badly designed registry settings, which aren't removed even after uninstall. For now i gave up using PotPlayer, and went back to 5K.

If anyone knows a solution to this nasty behavior, please let me know. I also had a similar issue with AIMP, which couldn't be taught to use the correct path, but kept trying to use an older, non existent EXE on my C: drive.

In that case i was able to solve the issue by placing a Symlink in that folder (AIMP.exe), to fool the player into believing it's the right path.

:partying_face:

Is it a good idea trying to fix the Windows default application by using DO settings? I would not recommend that.

Win10 and probably Win11 have their own mind when it comes to file associations. It is recommended to NOT let the applications itself handle file associations. This is what I read about it at least and it is even pointed out in the installer of "IrfanView" e.g.. It explicitly tells you do set "IrfanView" as default application for images only by using the Windows settings (for Win10+11) and to NOT use the checkboxes to enable specific image file extensions for IrfanView in the installer.

I had and have weird situations and problems setting the Windows default application as well if you let applications handle the associations by them self, so maybe try to avoid that as a first measure. There also is a "reset" button in the Windows settings for all the default applications. I had to make use of that, which is annoying, since you need to set ALL the default applications again, but after doing so, IrfanView and Pot Player started to work as expected (handling double clicks in Explorer e.g.).

Before doing the "reset" I had weird problems like IrfanView / Pot Player not showing up in the "Open With.." dialog.. or the checkbox "Always use this application to open.." was missing, which indicates something is wrong on the Windows side already.

The modern Windows settings are a real pain in the rear, but maybe try to fix it on a Windows level first and only use Explorer to validate expected results. Then look at how things behave in DO, in theory no more tinkering should be required.

Yes, that's why i tried the "open with" setting first, Windows side. It's supposed to just work, but it doesn't. Only thereafter i was looking into Opus' settings, in case it changes the application to what is secondarily assigned to the command. So i guess you're right about Windows and how it sometimes fails telling you, where the point of failure actually lies.

Another complication is the fact, that some file types share music/video. Wasn't it you, who helped me by coding that switch/script, which opens MP4 smaller than 100MB in AIMP, and all other MP4 in the video app? Because i have lots of music files now in the MP4 format, with embedded art work or sometimes even video.

As for the file type options in the applications, i'm always cautious and don't let the program decide, to avoid "stealing" the assignments from what i have, unless it's very clear.

And thanks for the "total reset" tip, maybe i will need it some day, if things are messed up completely.