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c#.netwindows-shellwindows-explorer

Programmatically access the "Open with" Windows Explorer menu list from .NET


When right-clicking a file in Windows Explorer, the "Open with" menu item displays a list of available applications, based on the file type of the clicked file.

See this picture as an example:

"Open with" context menu in Windows Explorer
(source: magerquark.de)

Now I want to be able to programmatically read the list of applications for a given file extension/type (e.g. "png") from within a C# .NET 2.0 application.

E.g.

public class FileOpenInfo
{
    public string ApplicationName { get; }
    public string ApplicationPath { get; }

    public static FileOpenInfo[] GetInformation( string extension );
}

Question:

Is it possible to get this list?


Solution

  • The list of programs associated with a file extension are stored in the Windows Registry.

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts
    

    The Microsoft.Win32 API contains the classes to access the registry.