Finding the right program to use can be a daunting task. Luckily, there are many web services that can help make the process easier. Here are four tips for finding the right web service:

  1. Do your research. Before you start searching for a program, it’s important to do your research. Look at user reviews and compare ratings to see which service is best suited for your needs.
  2. Use search engines. One of the quickest ways to find a program is to use search engines like Google or Yahoo! Search. Type in the name of the program you’re looking for and click on the first link that comes up.
  3. Check out online directories. Another way to find programs is by checking out online directories like CNET or PCWorld’s website listings of software programs and services. This method can be more time-consuming, but it can be helpful if you have specific criteria that you need to meet when selecting a program.
  4. Ask around . If you don’t find what you’re looking for on the internet, ask around your network or colleagues for recommendations on good programs to use. ..

You can use a registry hack to force Windows to skip this dialog altogether, and give you a list of applications to use to open the file instead, just as if you had selected the second option.

When you double-click on a file with an unknown extension, Windows presents you with this irritating dialog:

If you selected “Select a program from a list of installed programs”, you would get this much more useful dialog instead:

 

The registry hack will show you the second Open With dialog instead of that irritating first one.

Manual Registry Hack

Open regedit.exe through the start menu search or run box, and then browse down to the following key (create the key if it doesn’t exist)

Create a new 32-bit DWORD value on the right-hand side with the following values:

Name: NoInternetOpenWith Value: 1

The change should be immediate, no need to restart anything. To reset back to default, set the value to 0 or delete the key.

Downloadable Registry Hack for Vista or XP

To apply the registry hack, just double-click on the DisableInternetOpenWith.reg file and enter the information into the registry.

DownloadInternetOpenWith Registry hack for Windows XP / Vista