Create A Default Programs Control Panel Shortcut

There's no doubt that you'll have quite a number of programs running on your computer, and sometimes you may wish to alter their behavior. For Instance, you can change how programs open by associating a file type, choose a default web browser, and even select what action should be performed when Inserting a USB stick. In this tutorial, I will show you how to create a Default Programs shortcut on your desktop, thereby you can do all this with Incredible ease.


Before I begin, here's what I'm referring to. There's a couple of ways to change how your programs operate. The first Is by navigating to Windows Settings > System > Default Apps, and the second Is via Control Panel > Programs > Default Programs. For the purpose of this article, I will be using the latter (Control Panel) gateway.

Upon accessing the Default Programs settings In Control Panel, here's what you'll see.

Wouldn't It be nice to be able to access this with a click of the mouse? Well, I will demonstrate exactly how, by creating a shortcut on your computer's desktop. The process Is extremely simple, so without further ado, let's get this tutorial started.


Step One:
Firstly, right-click on a blank area on your desktop, and select New > Shortcut as arrowed below.

Step Two:
Next, In the Type the location of the Item field, enter the following command.

control /name Microsoft.DefaultPrograms

Then hit Next to move forward.

Step Three:
Now you need to enter a name for your shortcut. I've simply named mine Windows 10 Tips Default Programs. Click Finish to finalize the process.

Step Four:
As you can see, the Default Programs shortcut has been created on my desktop. I'll double-click It to make sure It's functional.

Step Five:
As expected, the Control Panel Default Programs has executed. Let's click on Set your default programs.

Step Six:
I can now choose the file types (file extensions) that I want associated with a given program. I'll use WinRaR archiver as the example, by clicking on Choose defaults for this program.

Last Step:
And here's a snippet of the file extensions that will open with WinRaR archiver. I can pick and choose according to my computing usability.

Final Thoughts:
There's obviously a lot more that can be done In Default Programs, but It's way beyond the scope of this article to cover the lot. It's a very powerful tool to have at your fingertips and now that you're aware of how to create the shortcut, do exactly that and familiarize yourself with everything It entails. You will not be disappointed.