How to remove an application from the Open With list in Windows 10

Anyone who uses Windows 10 will know when right-clicking on any file will appear an 'Open with' option that allows selecting which application to open that file. However, sometimes it displays options with irrelevant applications. Of course, you can always set which apps will open for certain file types. But if the list is too long to make you 'eyes itchy', check out the article below to learn how to remove apps from the 'Open with' list.

There are two ways to do this in Windows 10. One is to edit the 'Open with' list from the Registry Editor, and the second is to use third-party software.

1. Use Registry Editor

* Note that unless you understand what you are doing, it is best to back up the registry before proceeding in this way, because if you make inappropriate edits, Windows or applications There may be errors.

Step 1: Click on the Search tool in the Taskbar at the bottom of the screen, type regedit, select the results found and confirm Yes when the User Account Control prompt is displayed.

How to remove an application from the Open With list in Windows 10 Picture 1

Step 2: Copy the link below, paste it into the address bar of the Registry Editor and press Enter .

ComputerHKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerFileExts 

How to remove an application from the Open With list in Windows 10 Picture 2

Here you will find all the file extensions currently available on your Windows 10 computer.

Step 3: Click on the extension you need to edit the 'Open with' list, then select the OpenWithList folder . The right pane will display all the applications that can open it.

How to remove an application from the Open With list in Windows 10 Picture 3

Step 4: Right-click the application you want to remove from the 'Open with' list, select Delete .

How to remove an application from the Open With list in Windows 10 Picture 4

Perform the same process on all file types for which you want to change the 'Open with' list.

 2. Use of third party software

In this way, download and launch OpenWithView. The software is free and requires no installation, but it needs to be run with administrator privileges.

After extracting and running, OpenWithView will display all programs in the "Open with" list.

How to remove an application from the Open With list in Windows 10 Picture 5

Select the programs you want to remove from the 'Open with' list, right-click one of them, and then select Disable Selected Items . This will remove the above programs from the 'Open with' list.

How to remove an application from the Open With list in Windows 10 Picture 6

Using this freeware from Nirsoft is especially helpful if you have too many apps on the 'Open with' list and you want to get rid of them quickly.

summary

These two methods will help you remove applications from the "Open with" list. However using freeware OpenWithView could be a quicker way. Not only that, it also provides a high level of security because you can undo errors much easier than those that occur during operations in the Windows Registry Editor.

Wish you success with the way to remove applications from the 'Open with' list in Windows 10 as above!