Hyperlinks using the wrong application to view images (bmp & jpg)

Question

I have two machines, both running Windows 7 and Office 2010. On both machines i have jpg and bmp files associated with Windows Photo Viewer so that in Windows Explorer double clicking a file of this type (or right click and select open or preview) i view the image in Windows Photo Viewer. If i right click and select 'edit' i get the image opened in MS Paint.

This happens on both machines.

If i create a Word, Powerpoint or Excel file and insert a hyperlink referencing a jpg file or bmp file then i get different results.

On one machine the images are opened in MS Paint and in the other opens the images in Windows Photo Viewer. Note that these are the same set of files that behave differently on two different machines.

Can anyone tell me how to fix this?

Please note: i have read yards of advice on other forums about setting default associations etc - but this doesn't apply here - because the windows associations are set correctly and work as expected. It is MS Office that for some reason is launching the wrong program.

Answer 1

I can't see any way for Chrome to set which program gets run. I can't see how you would do this with IE, Firefox nor Safari either.

I haven't experimented much with this, but in Firefox there is an Application tab in the Options dialog box. And Internet Explorer's Internet Options dialog box lets you access the Default Programs applet in Control Panel.

However, you have clearly demonstrated that some settings require registry edits. Thanks for the follow-up.

Answer 2

See if Chrome lets you change which programs it uses for hyperlinked images. If it doesn't, consider changing browsers.

I can't see any way for Chrome to set which program gets run. I can't see how you would do this with IE, Firefox nor Safari either.

I have tried setting each of the different browsers to be the default, and re-started my test Excel file with links and the result is the same.

I don't get why the browser would affect how Office programs choose which program to use.

Answer 3

See if Chrome lets you change which programs it uses for hyperlinked images. If it doesn't, consider changing browsers.

Answer 4

I had to look... Chrome - this is the machine that (incorrectly) uses MS Paint and FireFox for the machine that works ok.

Answer 5

Which is the default web browser on these two computers?