File Extensions

InstallShield 2020 Express Edition

File name–extension associations, or file associations, are registry settings that tell Windows what application to use to open files of a certain type. For example, Windows typically opens text files (files with the .txt extension) with Windows Notepad and opens bitmap files (files with the .bmp extension) with Microsoft Paint.

A file extension allows someone to identify the type of file without accessing the file. A suffix (.abc) is appended to the file name. The file extension is also useful because another application can recognize whether the application can work with the file (for example, open the file or modify it), based on the extension.

In InstallShield, you can register your own file extensions in the File Extensions view. Registering your file extension instructs the target machine’s operating system to use your application to open files with your file extension when an end user opens a file.

To access the File Extensions view in the Project Assistant:

On the Application Shortcuts page, in the Other Options area, click File Extensions. The File Extensions view opens.