Trouble Opening Files (Page 1 of 1) Back to Carlanell Home Back to Computer Help
Have you ever had someone send you something that you couldn't open on your computer? You try to open something and you see something like the pictures below. When you try and open a files that your computer isn't currently set to open, a "Message Window similar to one of the two pictures below:
Your computer is prompting you to find a specific program on your computer that can open the file you attempted to open. Your computer has a list of registered software programs that have been installed on your computer.
If you get one of the above pictures and you don't know what it means, then just click its "cancel" button and the box will disappear. The above box will reappear the next time you try to open a file or picture you don't have software for. Your computer has software installed on it can open various registered file types. Some files types are text and word processing, some are spreadsheet files, some are various pictures such as photos and clip art. If you receive something that you cannot open it is because you don't have your software set up to open that type of file. If you want to open a file then you must have the matching software for that file. You can sometimes download free software that can view files even if you don't have the software to create or edit that file type.
If you use a Windows based computer, files your computer cannot open will probably look like this:
Sometimes you may already have the software you need, but you must know the correct program (or application) on your computer to select. If you find the correct program on the list, then you can check the "Always use this program to open this type of file" checkbox. Find someone knowledgeable and trustworthy to help you if you aren't certain.