Associate Paint.net as default editor for gif files

[spamme]

I use few image types, 90% are png, the rest 10% are gif/jpeg. When I want to edit an image, I can start the editor from the context menu of the image icon and with almost all the images the default editor is Paint.Net but not for the gif images. I just googled it and I found some suggestion how to set it in the registry but ... I didn't found the clean way to do it.

How Paint.net is registering itself as the default editor for the other image types? How can add to this list the gif type?

[johoe]

unless your using a plugin im not aware of, Paintnet cant display or create animated gifs so sortof pointless using to edit them otherwise. Try Gimp

the other part to your question, how to set default program status. You do it the same way as any other file format. Right click the file and look for the "Open with" section and scroll down to "choose default program" Normally for gifs, the default programs be your default browser

[spamme]

@johoe

Thanks but:

- Gif aren't only animated, a lot of gif are simple pictures.

- I know how to set the default program for an extension, I'm looking a way to set the default program to edit a file, which is different

open png --> default program windows photo viewer

edit png --> Paint.net

And this is working

[johoe]

sorry idont understand the distinction, or what you mean by 'this is working'

my browsers the default program that opens gifs

and when i wanto edit them, just right click and use 'Open with' to choose Gimp or something else

but do prefer Paintnet for most image editing

[spamme]

I mean the edit command from the context menu:

[johoe]

oh right, well google found this solution http://www.sevenforu...g-software.html

itll change the right click edit option to your prefered program, and can confirm it works

Edited January 26, 2012 by johoe

[HyReZ]

The easiest way for me to associate an image file type with an application is to right click on the images thumbnail, scroll down the menu to Open With, and then select the app that I want to use to Always of want to open image with. I may not Always want to open a GIF with PDN but I will have that as a option if I select Open with instead of Edit in that same drop down menu.

[spamme]

@johoe

Thanks, I had also found this solution but I was looking how to do it only for the gif images, because paint.net is already the default editor for a lot of image types and I wanted to add it also for the gif. For this reason I asked: "How Paint.net is registering itself as the default editor for the other image types? How can add to this list the gif type?"

@HyReZ

Thanks, but I like how it works now, if I open the image ... it's in a viewer, lighter, faster and read only. If I want to edit it, I chose the edit option in the context menu and the image is opened in the editor program.

Edited January 26, 2012 by spamme

[pdnnoob]

unless your using a plugin im not aware of, Paintnet cant display or create animated gifs so sortof pointless using to edit them otherwise. Try Gimp

the other part to your question, how to set default program status. You do it the same way as any other file format. Right click the file and look for the "Open with" section and scroll down to "choose default program" Normally for gifs, the default programs be your default browser

here's an animated gif image plugin for you.

it's a filetype plugin, so make sure you put it in the filetype folder rather than the effects folder.

To open an animated gif file after you install the plugin, just rename the extension to .agif and open it with paint.net. That should automatically associate all .agif files with paint.net for you after you do it once.

Once you are done with the image, save it (as the .agif) and rename the extension back to .gif

EDIT: I just finished reading the entire thread (shoulda done that earlier). What image editor is currently opening .gif images when you click edit?

Edited January 26, 2012 by pdnnoob

[delpart]

Adding "EDIT with (application name)" is a simple method but it will be on any file type. If your needs are simple and this isn't being rolled out to thousands of client machines, you may want to try that first ...

Re-asssociating the default edit command is a real quagmire with Vista and Windows 7 especially.

Getting the Open with subcontext menu to show PDN is really simple, but requires two layers to navigate to when right cliicking and may require using Shift at times: Modify HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.gif\OpenWithProgids and add the value Paint.NET.1

Oddly enough on Technet there is a really long thread discussing methods of making these modifications that will give you all the specific edits to try: Technet Social discussion on chaning .jpg association to PDN actually

The Open with above is a guarenteed to work solution. Everything else is just what you want to see when you right click on the first layer.

**EDIT Heh, one of the applications in that thread actually works pretty quickly and easily ... tested safe by me and various scanning programs (and I'm not associated with this freeware/donation-ware in any way mind you): Change default program editor

Simple and easy without having to play registry editing navigation nightmares ... Just modify .gif to point to PDN ...

Edited January 26, 2012 by delpart

[johoe]

thanks again pdnnoob, will checkout how it does making agif's

[HyReZ]

@johoe

Thanks, I had also found this solution but I was looking how to do it only for the gif images, because paint.net is already the default editor for a lot of image types and I wanted to add it also for the gif. For this reason I asked: "How Paint.net is registering itself as the default editor for the other image types? How can add to this list the gif type?"

@HyReZ

Thanks, but I like how it works now, if I open the image ... it's in a viewer, lighter, faster and read only. If I want to edit it, I chose the edit option in the context menu and the image is opened in the editor program.

I think that my solution is best and here is why:

[spamme]

@pdnnoob

Ms Paint

@delpart

I tried to "fix" the registry and make it equal to png files:

I changed the .gif file and added the Paint.Net.1 key

Then I have modified giffile key and added the EditFlags

And added the edit command to the shell

And at the end I have also rebooted the computer but the gif files are still edited with ms paint.

About the "Change default program editor" application, I normally don't trust those type of software.

So either I run them in a virtual machine or in a sand box but in this case I can't because they have to access the registry.

EDIT

I have scanned the "Change default program editor" with Avira and "Microsoft Security Essential", then I scanned it online with virustotal.com and onlinescan.avast.com and found nothing, but this means only that perhaps it doesn't contain a known virus or malware.

I tried it anyway and it worked, thanks

Edited January 27, 2012 by spamme

[delpart]

And at the end I have also rebooted the computer but the gif files are still edited with ms paint.

About the "Change default program editor" application, I normally don't trust those type of software.

So either I run them in a virtual machine or in a sand box but in this case I can't because they have to access the registry.

EDIT

I have scanned the "Change default program editor" with Avira and "Microsoft Security Essential", then I scanned it online with virustotal.com and onlinescan.avast.com and found nothing, but this means only that perhaps it doesn't contain a known virus or malware.

I tried it anyway and it worked, thanks

The Open With approach seems to work for what it does, but lacks what I consider to be ideal proximity. I did those same edits and then took a gander at that thread and came to the conclusion that the number of keys they were modifying it was best to just recommend that application.

Glad to hear at least there is "a" solution. Anymore, with Sourceforge and all the rest of the freeware movement ( this application being in that theme) it's hard to not just scan and run. I used GFI's scanning suite, Norton Corporate, a couple general malware runs, MS Security Essentials, etc and didn't get a single false positive as well on it. I also used the human test to see if it popped up anywhere (index and organic searches), what kind of feedback and revision tracking it had etc ... Just someone providing a solution to a problem even with paranoia set to maximum.

Sort of like leaving the house sometimes ... Just have to hope you dont get hit by a bus.

I guess now I'll look through the requested features and see if file associations and context menus are slated for 4.x of PDN ... at least a wider range of file associations should be available. I never thought about why PDN didn't register .gif until this thread for all that.

**EDIT: Ack, forgot my manners ... You're welcome and thank you for making me fix something I didn't even realize I needed fixing.

Edited January 27, 2012 by delpart

[spamme]

Prevent is better than cure, it's not so difficult to create a key logger with a regex for credit card numbers on post the information in some forgotten forum and run it on the system so when the application is closed the key logger continue to run.

I work in the IT and I know the risks of such type of applications. It isn't be paranoid, it's just be aware of the risk that you are taking.

I saw people going on holidays in some foreign lands and behave like at home, they think that the whole world is like their home and everybody is like their neighbors, they ignore complete that in some lands your life is worth nothing and they kill you only to get your shoes.

There isn't a zero risk situation but you can minimize the risk, if you have to cross the road, before crossing check for incoming vehicles and cross only when you are sure, this is minimize the risk. In some lands you can forget light signals and crosswalk, and cars don't stop to let you cross the road, you have to find your "window of opportunity" to cross the road.

Once Lenin said: "Trust is good but control is better" and he wasn't an IT person, perhaps he was little bit paranoid but for sure not an IT person

[pdnnoob]

I've never had this issue before because (I mentioned this in a different thread), for some odd reason, my computer came without MS paint. If you don't have any emotional attachments to MS Paint, you could just delete it and paint.net would become the new default.

[david.atwell]

No need to go mucking about with the registry...Control Panel > Programs > Make a file type always open in a specific program. Just remove MSPaint from all of those and replace it with PdN.

[pdnnoob]

No need to go mucking about with the registry...Control Panel > Programs > Make a file type always open in a specific program. Just remove MSPaint from all of those and replace it with PdN.

That's just the problem. The question isn't how to get all gif images to open in paint.net, it's to make paint.net the default image editor for gif images. If I'm not mistaken, spamme wants images to open in windows picture/fax viewer and make the "edit" button open it in paint.net.

[delpart]

That's just the problem. The question isn't how to get all gif images to open in paint.net, it's to make paint.net the default image editor for gif images. If I'm not mistaken, spamme wants images to open in windows picture/fax viewer and make the "edit" button open it in paint.net.

Correct.

Plus the best solution seems to be to use a bit of freeware, thus eliminating the need for direct registry edits.

And with Vista and beyond the default editor option dialog has been removed (more or less). The whole reason that thread exists over at Technet is not because those people wanted to be spending time mucking about. But because of the missing wizard/dialog options in the UI of the operating system for edit versus open and a lack of feature set with the application to do this for them. Windows 7 can also throw into the mix a Preview option ...

I still open up groups of photos etc so I use other viewers for various file types (for thumbnail and gallery style viewing). When I want to edit something I either start PDN first or use right click context to do it. Not having to find PDN in the Open With but just choosing my new option of "Edit with PDN" is to my liking.

Just a matter of preference. That's the curse and hallmark of the Windows experience is the customization to fit your wants and needs ...

[scriptor]

to do it quickly you can use the REG command.

Open a command prompt as administrator and paste

reg query hkcr\SystemFileAssociations\image\shell\edit\command 

to get the current value.

To change the data use:

reg add hkcr\SystemFileAssociations\image\shell\edit\command /ve /t REG_EXPAND_SZ /d "\"%ProgramFiles%\Paint.NET\PaintDotNet.exe\" \"%1\""

 

If your paintdotnet.exe is located elsewhere just adapt the path.

Using the REG command you can easily revert to different values without the hassle of navigating inside the registry.

And you can always do a query to check if things are as desired.

There is no need to reboot after this registry change.

I put my REG commands in a batch file so I can change things in one swoop when I setup a new system.

Edited September 7, 2017 by scriptor
clarification

[Ego Eram Reputo]

Thread is five years old Scriptor. Let's allow it to rest in peace.

 

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