4 ms·
I imagine that the database for the online file association service for Windows XP has been lost to time, but for those who remember it: was it any good? It se
by tentacleuno 4mo ago
I imagine that the database for the online file association service for Windows XP has been lost to time, but for those who remember it: was it any good?
It seems like quite a good idea now -- if I remember correctly, Windows as of current seems to suggest a generic Bing search, which brings up all the spam "What extension is XXX?" sites.
That could have changed; I haven't really used Windows after 11's debut.
- reddalo 4mo agoIf I recall correctly, it was pretty bad. It used to open Internet Explorer on this page: http://shell.windows.com/fileassoc/0409/xml/redir.asp?EXT={ext} http://shell.windows.com/fileassoc/0409/xml/redir.asp?EXT={e... where {ext} was the extension. Suggestions were vague and they only made sense with well-known filetypes. There's a screenshot of how it looked here: https://protoweb.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/screen.jpg https://protoweb.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/screen.jpg
- formerly_proven 4mo agoToday that page would be titled "Microsoft Windows Copilot File Associations" The more things change, the more they stay the same.
- varun_ch 4mo agothis might be the only place where a redirection to bing provides a much better UX than what was there previously!
- jamesfinlayson 4mo agoI thought in the deep dark paste it used to take you to filext.com but it's been probably 20 years since I intentionally clicked on the link.
- izacus 4mo agoI don't remember it ever finding anything. Similar to the find driver dialog (until Win10 or so).