How to change the program that opens a hyperlinked picture in Excel

Question

I have pictures in an Excel spreadsheet.  Each picture is hyperlinked to a .jpg file, with the hope that I would be able to click on the picture in Excel and have it open in a program that allowed me to manipulate the picture.  Unfortunately, the hyperlinks automatically open the .jpg files in Internet Explorer, which is not my preference.  I would like to change what program the files open in, but cannot figure out how.  I see there are similar questions posted, but no satisfactory answers.  The only answer I've seen is to change the .jpg files to .pdf files, but that is cumbersome and Adobe is ALSO not the program I would prefer to have the files open in.  Any suggestions?

Answer 1

Add a new key to the registry:

Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\jpegfile\CLSID

Right-click on (Default) and select Modify

Enter the value {FFE2A43C-56B9-4bf5-9A79-CC6D4285608A}

This will now change the open-with behaviour in MS Excel 2010 to use the default Windows app. Confirmed to work with Excel 2010 and Windows 7.and    8.1

Answer 2

You have to change the file association for jpg.

• Go to the start menu,
• enter "default" in the search window,
• double click on "Default programs" to display Control panel \  Default Programs dialog
• click on "Associate a file type or protocol with a program"
• find .jpg in the list of extensions
• double click on it to display the "Open With" dialog
• if your desired program is displayed, double click on it, if not, click on Browse ... button
• navigate to the execuatable file you want to make the new default
• double click on it
• OK out of dialogs

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Answer 3

You will not be able to change the program that launches a Hyperlink by modifying the File Association for any particular file extension (e.g. .JPG). Hyperlinks are based upon the Hypertext Markup Language (e.g. HTML). You would have to change your default browser in order to change the program that launches the hyperlink and that is an undesirable solution.

You can, however, modify the method by exchanging Assign Macro for Hyperlink. I'll provide a generic example that opens a picture from the public\pictures folder with Paint.

First, insert your picture into a worksheet and position, size and format it as you prefer. Right click it.

               !\[\](http://ydewhg.blu.livefilestore.com/y1pRsF_qxlCptD6Uizto5hNn0ZtDjtA8D3yay3z-2SZsoadRnvB8ndiybx_UzhjHFcOM6g014avw3TXBWOJiCDRveZbcs72f3FV/Macro_Assign.png?psid=1)

Select Assign Macro from the right click menu.

          !\[\](http://public.blu.livefilestore.com/y1pZ3zuQvwiZPgbjRG6Q7k1T6s33FbKpCHAB2mlhYRt6yjhmDJM-_Wb3DybFiu0I3CjFSFZWETxMK69XRTBKwlWGA/Macro_Create_New.PNG?psid=1)

In the Assign Macro dialog you may optionally rename the suggested macro name but this is unnecessary. Click New. When the Visual Basic Editor opens, paste this code into the empty macro Picture1_Click function,

Sub Picture1_Click()

    sCmdLine = "MSPAINT.EXE " & "C:\Users\Public\Pictures\Profile_Avatar.jpg"

    iTaskId = Shell(sCmdLine, 1)

End Sub

Note that the sCmdLine variable constructs the command line <program> <path\picture file>. This is a very common method of launching a file with a program but specific programs should be researched as to their specific command line parameters.

If you leave out the program (e.g. MSPAINT.EXE) and simply use the path and filename of the picture, it will launch according to the default for that file extension (e.g. what you were unable to accomplish earlier with the hyperlinks).

When you are satisfied with your modifications to the command line, press ALT+Q to close the Visual Basic Editor and return to Excel. The picture can now be clicked on to launch the picture in Paint.

Note that this workbook will have to be saved as a Macro Enabled Workbook (e.g. XLSM).

Answer 4

I have pictures in an Excel spreadsheet.  Each picture is hyperlinked to a .jpg file, with the hope that I would be able to click on the picture in Excel and have it open in a program that allowed me to manipulate the picture.  Unfortunately, the hyperlinks automatically open the .jpg files in Internet Explorer, which is not my preference.  I would like to change what program the files open in, but cannot figure out how.  I see there are similar questions posted, but no satisfactory answers.  The only answer I've seen is to change the .jpg files to .pdf files, but that is cumbersome and Adobe is ALSO not the program I would prefer to have the files open in.  Any suggestions?

I have had the same annoying problem. I have an Excel spread sheet with a lot of image thumbnails and hyperlinks to open the full files, but always it defaulted to opening in IE, and then slowely and with an error afterwards before I could open the next image.

Having read many comments and replies about the problem I settled on two FIXIT from Microsoft, one that does something to the registry so that files which the system considers as HTTP links are accepted, and the other fixit that tells IE to open files in their default programs. The latter fixit I thing was the solution.

In effect, what I think was happening was that Excel opens IE, which displayed the images as there were not instructions to do otherwise, but the fixit tells IE to redirect the open command and opens the files in my default program, e.g. Windows Image Viewer. Either way, the fixits worked and images now open as I require in my system default viewer, and quickly, and without an after error messageafterwards. The two Fixit I used were (for Windows 7 64bit) 

MicrosoftFixit50399.msi

MicrosoftFixit50655.msi

50399 being the one I think the most likely candidate to do the job.

Hope this helps

Griff

Answer 5

I also have this same problem.  Techies, please read the problem again ver carefully and address it.   There must be a simple way to assign a graphics program other than IE to open these jpg files.  The File Associations in the Windows Control Panel just does not fix this problem.  Is there a place in the Excel program where this can be changed?

Thanks for looking at this again.