To set default apps in Windows 10, select Start > Settings > Apps > Default apps. Select the current app under a category, such as Web browser or Photo viewer, and pick the one you want. For a specific file type, such as .pdf, select Choose default apps by file type and change the app next to it.
Applies to: Windows 10. Windows 10 reached end of support on October 14, 2025, and only PCs enrolled in Extended Security Updates still get security fixes, through October 12, 2027.
The app has to be installed before you can pick it as a default.
Change a default app by category
- Select Start > Settings > Apps > Default apps.
- Under Email, Maps, Music player, Photo viewer, Video player, or Web browser, select the current app.
- Choose the app you want.
Browsers have a few extra settings of their own, covered in changing the default browser in Windows 10.
Change the default app for a file type
- On the Default apps page, select Choose default apps by file type.
- Find the file type, such as .pdf, and select the app next to it.
- Choose the new app from the list.
Use Open with for one file type
- Right-click a file and select Open with > Choose another app.
- Pick the app and check Always use this app to open files of that type.
- Select OK.
To see a file’s type, turn on file extensions in Windows 10.
Set defaults by app
To make one app handle everything it can open, such as VLC for all video types, use this view instead of changing types one by one. For DVD files in particular, see how to make VLC the default player for VOB files. A common example is sending .avi videos to VLC, which is explained step by step in how to play AVI files on Windows 10.
- Open Settings > Apps > Default apps.
- Scroll down and select Set defaults by app.
- Select the app and choose Manage.
- Next to each file type, select the current app and pick the one you want.
Change the default for links such as email
Links like mailto: (email addresses on web pages) are handled by protocols, not file types. On the Default apps page, select Choose default apps by protocol. Find MAILTO and pick your email app, such as Outlook or Thunderbird. The same list controls other link types, such as those that open Zoom or Teams meetings.
Reset all defaults
On the Default apps page, select Reset under Reset to the Microsoft recommended defaults. Every default goes back to the built-in apps.
Troubleshooting default apps
- The app you want isn’t in the list. Right-click a file of that type, select Open with > Choose another app > More apps > Look for another app on this PC, and browse to the program’s .exe file. Check Always use this app. Some file types, like the winmail.dat attachments Outlook sometimes sends, have no built-in app at all, so you’ll need to install a viewer to open winmail.dat before you can pick a default.
- You see “An app default was reset.” Windows resets a default when it thinks an app changed it the wrong way, often after an update. Set it again on the Default apps page.
- PDFs keep opening in Edge. Set the .pdf file type to your PDF reader under Choose default apps by file type, or turn on the reader’s own “make default” option.
- “How do you want to open this file?” appears every time. Make sure Always use this app to open is checked before you select the app.
- Settings won’t save or crashes. Install pending Windows updates and restart. If it still fails, select Reset on the Default apps page and set your choices again.
Frequently asked questions
How do I stop a file type from opening in the wrong app?
Pick the right app for that file type using either method above. Windows 10 doesn’t let you leave a file type with no default app, but you can always choose another. For .xps documents, the app you need may not be installed yet, so follow how to open an XPS file in Windows 10 to add XPS Viewer first.
Why does my default keep changing back?
Some apps reset defaults when they update. Set the default again, and check the app’s own settings for an option to make it the default.
How do I change my default browser in Windows 10?
On the Default apps page, select the app under Web browser and pick the one you want. Most browsers also offer a “Make default” button in their settings that takes you to this page.
Do default apps apply to every user on the PC?
No. Each Windows account has its own defaults, so other people on the same PC keep their own choices.
Your browser’s search engine is a separate setting: changing the default search engine in Windows 10. Want Edge gone completely? Read can you uninstall Microsoft Edge from Windows 10 first. A video file that won’t open in any app usually needs a codec, as explained in playing a .MOV file on Windows 10.
More detail is in Change default apps in Windows.
Matt Jacobs writes and maintains the guides on Support Your Tech, which he started in 2017. He spent most of his career keeping small-business PCs running and still takes the occasional consulting job, so the steps here come from fixing the same problems on other people’s computers. Every guide is checked on his own Windows 11, Windows 10, Mac, iPhone and iPad before it goes up.