Associating .bmp in Windows 8

[Gav80K]

I'm using the 32bit portable version of XnView MP on Windows 7 and 8.1 (from the "zip win 32bit" download link) and I'm having a problem where I can't get XnView MP to open .bmp files under Windows 8.1. If I go to Settings -> Integration -> Run the File association(s) tool... that successfully associates most image types with XnView MP, but .bmp isn't in the list of file extensions so it doesn't get associated with XnView MP.

If I run the "Associate files with XnViewMP.exe" file that's in the XnView MP directory I find that .bmp is in this list, but any files I associate using this program end up being opened by the file association program. For example, if I use the "Associate files with XnViewMP.exe" program to associate .bmp files and then click on a .bmp file all that happens is that the File association program is run. Clearly it's associating .bmp files with "Associate files with XnViewMP.exe" instead of with xnviewmp.exe. So that's a no go as well.

Under Windows 7 I can associate .bmp files with XnView MP by right clicking on the file, selecting "Open with" and then selecting XnView MP as the default program. Unfortunately, if I do the same thing under Windows 8.1 when I double click on a .bmp XnView MP starts up but doesn't display the .bmp file, so that doesn't work either.

I've been having this problem with all versions of XnView MP since Windows 8.1 came out and it has continued to be an issue with all versions of XnView MP up to the current 0.78 release. Can somebody tell me how I can associate .bmp files with XnView MP in Windows 8.1 so that double clicking on a .bmp will open it in XnView MP?

Thanks a lot.

[Erixx haxx]

Hello:

Someone else has posted this issue in the bugs section so it might be a bug with xnviewmp and Win8.

I wondered if this might help:

Does enabling the setting for XnviewMp "When Starting with file" Set to fullScreen change anything ??
-General
--Startup

The post is Here: http://newsgroup.xnview.com/viewtopic.php?f=62&t=32648

[Gav80K]

Starting in fullscreen doesn't solve the problem. It still opens with an empty window and doesn't display the image.

It has been an issue ever since Windows 8 was launched and I've never been able to solve it. I've tried programs like DefaultProgramsEditor and Types to try and change how XnView MP opens .bmp files in Windows 8.1, but I've never been able to get it to work.

XnView MP will display .bmp files if you drag them into the Window, it just won't open them by double clicking on them.

[xnview]

if you drag&drop a .bmp on XnViewMP's icon, same problem?

[Gav80K]

if you drag&drop a .bmp on XnViewMP's icon, same problem?

That actually works, so I realised it must be something wrong with my file associations. I checked using Types and noticed that the open action for bitmaps was missing the "%1" at the end. To open .bmps correctly it has to be:

"[xnviewpath]\xnviewmp.exe" "%1"

I added the "%1" and that has resolved the issue. The same issue exists in Windows 10, and there's no way to fix it from the Control Panel -> Default Programs dialog in either 8.1 or 10. You therefore have to use a third party tool like Types to edit the open action and add in the "%1".

It would be good if this could be resolved in XnView MP without the need for third party tools to modify the file associations. Maybe it can already be done with the "Associate files with XnViewMP.exe" program, but I've never been able to get that to work. In Windows 7, 8.1 and 10 it always associates file types with "Associate files with XnViewMP.exe" instead of with xnviewmp.exe, so when you try to open an image it opens the file association program instead of XnView MP. Am I using it wrong?

Also, thanks for fixing the zlib1.dll bug I reported in the other thread.

[xnview]

if you drag&drop a .bmp on XnViewMP's icon, same problem?

That actually works, so I realised it must be something wrong with my file associations. I checked using Types and noticed that the open action for bitmaps was missing the "%1" at the end. To open .bmps correctly it has to be:

"[xnviewpath]\xnviewmp.exe" "%1"

Strange that %1 was missing!

"Associate files with XnViewMP.exe" must not be used for windows >= 7 but the standard association panel