Windows Vista Cannot change default program for pps files

Tried to set up powerpoint viewer on a friend's HP machine. They had office installed but it was asking for an activation key, I assume it was one of those 30 day trials that had expired. Any time they got a pps in an email, they had to save the file, then go and click on it, it would come up with the activation screen, they would close that, and the slideshow would still work but without sound.
Soooo, downloaded Powerpoint viewer and installed it, opened one of their saved files and up she came with sound, but then the activation box came back up. As they don't use office at all, I uninstalled it.

Big mistake.

Now pps files will only open with media centre or picture viewer, the "always use this program to open this type of file" box is ticked and greyed out so I cannot untick it and I cannot get the powerpoint viewer to even appear anywhere in the default program boxes to select it. I have pointed it to the viewer in the program files, but it does not seem to do anything.

I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling the powerpoint viewer, with a restart in between but it has not helped.

I am not familiar with the registry, so I don't know where or what to look for to see if it is in there. I would have thought being MS software it would have put it in.

So now my friend cannot even view powerpoint files and I feel like an idiot.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

Hello AmereMortal,

Sorry about the xp reference. I have edited this out of the post. Thank you for pointing this out to me.

 

I think that might be for XP (or earlier). I know there used to be options like that for editing file types but I cannot seem to find them in Vista. Why can't they leave stuff alone! Just get used to how to do things and where to find them in one OS and then they change it all and you have to start all over again.

 

Hello again,

What are your options when you right click on an *.pps and select properties? Is there a general tab with a button that allows you to change the default program to open it with?

Also see my thread below. That is the correct route to do this by.

 

How about using control panel>default programs icon

See:
http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878_11-6172036.html

or
http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/69758-default-programs.html

Once again, I appologize for the operating system mixup. I use windows 7 myself and am trully a fine example of the phrase: "if you don't use it you lose it ". Oh my! XP is muddy and Vista is fuzzy.

 

Thanks, will check the links you left, but I am not too hopeful.

Nope, it is not in the default programs, and I cannot find any way to add it either. The programs need to add themselves to the registry, but the ppt viewer does not seem to be doing that for some reason. Or at least, not doing it properly. It installs itself in program files in a folder named office2 (which seems weird to me), but windows is just not recognising it.

Using 'open with' from the context menu does not work either.
And the whole thing is going to be complicated because she has used up her broadband quota, and is now being charged per mb till it resets. At best, she still has some dialup time, but groannnnn, what a pain.

I will have a look again tomorrow when I go there, but pretty sure I cant get to anything like that from properties. I have tried so many different things, they are getting muddled. And a lot of it is circular, you end up at the same options box no matter where you start from. That is what is so frustrating, because you are right, that is usually how you do it. I have set file types many, many times over the years, it is one of the things I am quite confident doing, but this bug has got me beat.

I may have to look and see if they have restore points set and if there is one, just do a system restore. But that is not till tomorrow, too busy till then.

Let you know how it goes. Thanks again for trying to help

 

Hi again Ameremortal,

Did you make sure to download the 2007 version?

Did you uninstall office before or after the viewer? Asking this because ppviewer details state that :

download powerpoint viewer 2007
------------

Are you using the option "browse " and pointing it to the path leading to pptview.exe (in my case, C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\pptview.exe). Keep in mind that I am using win7 but the viewer did not show up on the default "open with" list until I browsed to and selected it for the opening of pps, making sure the "always use this app" was checked.

Please review this link http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/69758-default-programs.html and use methods #4, #5, #6, especially #7 make note of the "Browse Button" in the picture, and step C "always use this application" . Apply and Ok your way out.
-------------

In a pinch.....
Have not tried this but you may wish to give it a go:
add to the "open with" list tool: vista compatible
http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/126340-open-add-program.html
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/openwithadd.htm
-------------

Alternate method.....
Harder work but the viewer can be opened first and the *.pps can be browsed to and opened.

Create a shortcut to pptview.exe on the desktop and any *.pps file can be "dragged and dropped" onto this shortcut which will open in viewer.
-------------

Alternate program......
Considered "open Office "? Many use this as a substitution or replacement for MsOffice. Comparable to and compatible with MSOffice, up to and including Office 2007. Some even prefer it.
http://why.openoffice.org/

If the above "Open Office" is a viable option, remember to also get the plugins, one is needed for pps which will open in "empress" which is msoffice powerpoint substitution/twin/wanna' be.

Some kind friend could download this for her friend, who is currently being charged per mb, and either burn it to disk or copy to thumbnail.
---------------

Additional comment.........
Once the association thing can be fixed or solved, there is also a fix for getting pps to open in email but this issue that can be put on the back burner for now.

 

Hi Goddez,

Yes, I have browsed to it, and I have tried directly associating the file type. But it just does not seem to 'take' as it were. It 'should' work, but it does not. That is what is so frustrating. I have done this many times, in every version since 95, for a variety of software. Ever since PaintShop Pro hijacked the jpgs from Photoshop 4!

No I didn't see the warning about it not registering if it already had PowerPoint, and I installed the viewer while Office was installed, THEN uninstalled Office, and that is where the problem came in.

I have since reinstalled the viewer without office but it still is not working.

I am not sure if it was 2007 that I installed, I thought I grabbed the latest one (and my problems would seem to confirm that), but maybe I didn't. So I will download that and take it over, uninstall what I have there, reboot, install the new one, reboot and see if that fixes it. Sigh.

My friend has never used Office at all, and does not need an office app. She just uses notepad or wordpad if she needs to write a letter, and the comp still has MSWorks on it anyway. Still, if OpenOffice will let her open pps, I might have to try it if nothing else works. I found it a bit slow to load, but that was on the old machine.

A kind friend would be more than happy to do this

Thanks, I appreciate the time you are taking to help . Will post again when I have tried the new install file.

 

Update: Finally thought to check for restore points. Yay, took it back to before I played with it. But when I went to uninstall Office, it started to install. And it still had some viewer stuff hanging around. So before it could, I went into the registry and found everything that had powerpointviewer and deleted it.
Then I double clicked on a pps file and let it install Powerpoint. Success! Sort of.

Now it opens pps, but in doing so, encounters a 'setup error' which loses the mouse. By doing a ctrl+Alt+Delete, and a stop task on the setup task, it works again.

So now all I have to do is find out what is causing the error and fix that and we will be good. But at least she can now view the powerpoint shows, even if she does have to fiddle.

She is happy enough, as she has sound, and I can get back to the task of doing a harddrive diagnostic on my own computer, to see if it is a problem with the hardware or the system files.

God I hate these things sometimes.

Thanks for the help.