ProgID or CLSID for vb.net apps?

Question

Hello,

When registering a file type extension for an app written in vb.net framework 4.0:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/shell/how-to-register-a-file-type-for-a-new-application

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/shell/how-to-include-an-application-on-the-open-with-dialog-box?source=recommendations

What's my ProgID and CLSID, since they belong to COM objects and the apps is pure .Net.

Those ids are also needed when adding to open with list:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/shell/how-to-include-an-application-on-the-open-with-dialog-box?source=recommendations

• And if I add to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.blah\OpenWithList instead of HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.blah\OpenWithProgids it will show up in the Open with list in Win10/Win11?

Thanks :)

Answer 1

Hi @StewartBW ,

To register a file type for your .NET application and ensure it appears in the "Open with" dialog in Windows 10/11, you need to understand a few key concepts:

1. ProgID: This is a string that uniquely identifies a programmatic identifier. For .NET applications, the ProgID is typically in the format of Company.Application.
2. CLSID: This is a globally unique identifier for a COM class object. For pure .NET applications, you typically don't have a CLSID unless you're exposing your .NET class as a COM object.
3. OpenWithList vs OpenWithProgids: The OpenWithList registry key is used to add an application to the "Open with" list directly, while the OpenWithProgids key associates a ProgID with a file type.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.yourfileext]
@="YourApp.ProgID"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\YourApp.ProgID]
@="Your Application Description"
"FriendlyTypeName"="Your Application Description"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\YourApp.ProgID\DefaultIcon]
@="\"C:\\Path\\To\\YourApp.exe\",0"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\YourApp.ProgID\shell\open\command]
@="\"C:\\Path\\To\\YourApp.exe\" \"%1\""

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.yourfileext\OpenWithList\YourApp.exe]

Best Regards.

Jiachen Li

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