The Vista installation program hijacked many file type and protocol
associations and replaced them with Microsoft programs. I've managed to
change most of them back to the programs I prefer by using Control Panel >
Default Programs > Associate a File Type or Protocol with a Program but a
few remain because I can't determine how to make the switch. For example,
the default choice for URL:HyperText Transfer Protocol is now Internet
Explorer but when I click Change Program ... to switch to Mozilla Firefox,
the only choice available is Opera and there's no method to select other
programs. The situation is the same for many other protocols such as FTP or
HTTPS where Opera is the only alternative.

How do I select Firefox or other programs to be the default?

In fact, the entire process for making these switches is incredibly
confusing because 3 choices are available where only 1 should be needed:

1. Set your Default Programs 2. Associate a File Type or Protocol with a
Program 3. Set Program Access and Computer Defaults

The third choice above is divided into 3 more sections to make the matter
even more confusing! The first choice above won't work either because in the
Internet Explorer section, protocols like HTTP are grayed out and can't be
changed.

If Microsoft's goal here is to make switches as difficult as possible, they
have certainly succeeded. As far as I'm concerned, whoever designed this
section of the Control Panel should never be allowed near a computer again!

I updated to Firefox 2.0.0.2 after which I was able to make Firefox the
default choice for URL:HyperText and other protocols using Control Panel >
Default Programs > Set your default programs.

Barney

"Barney Katz" <MSnews2005.mykids@neverbox.com> wrote in message
news:OFm$d5CTHHA.996@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...[color=blue]
> The Vista installation program hijacked many file type and protocol
> associations and replaced them with Microsoft programs. I've managed to
> change most of them back to the programs I prefer by using Control Panel >
> Default Programs > Associate a File Type or Protocol with a Program but a
> few remain because I can't determine how to make the switch. For example,
> the default choice for URL:HyperText Transfer Protocol is now Internet
> Explorer but when I click Change Program ... to switch to Mozilla Firefox,
> the only choice available is Opera and there's no method to select other
> programs. The situation is the same for many other protocols such as FTP
> or HTTPS where Opera is the only alternative.
>
> How do I select Firefox or other programs to be the default?
>
> In fact, the entire process for making these switches is incredibly
> confusing because 3 choices are available where only 1 should be needed:
>
> 1. Set your Default Programs 2. Associate a File Type or Protocol with a
> Program 3. Set Program Access and Computer Defaults
>
> The third choice above is divided into 3 more sections to make the matter
> even more confusing! The first choice above won't work either because in
> the Internet Explorer section, protocols like HTTP are grayed out and
> can't be changed.
>
> If Microsoft's goal here is to make switches as difficult as possible,
> they have certainly succeeded. As far as I'm concerned, whoever designed
> this section of the Control Panel should never be allowed near a computer
> again!
>[/color]