Configuring applications in Windows XP

[friend2u]

I recently bought a new PC running XP as my old (2 yo) PC does.
The new PC did not have an app which I like called ArcSoft (a photo editor) so I searched for the zip file which installed ArcSoft on my old PC and found it in a folder called I386 which had around a dozen other app folders containing self extracting zips for various apps. When I looked in the folder called I386 on my new computer I noticed a different arrangement, only a few files were in the folder so I concluded the apps must be housed somewhere else, perhaps in a folder called "whatever name".

Anyway I copied the app zip to a folder on C:\unzipped (my central folder for all zips, makes it easy to find).
From there I clicked the zip and it installed 27 files to C:\ one file it put in C:\Windows\Prefetch (it put a block file there) and it must have dropped the other files in various locations. If I click the exe file to start the photo editor it works fine and I can open phots from the app itself but the the app should appear in the "open with" option when I right click a photo which I would want to open but it does not. Is there any way of adding the app to the "open with" menu which currently only gives me "paint" "windows picture it express" and "INternet explorer" ?
I cant even get the app through the "browse button on the "open with menu" since when I select the exe file and click open it does nothing. Does anyone know how to fix/ configure this so it will show up on the "open with menu"?

 

[RealBlackStuff]

It is the file association that makes the connection.
Rightclick a photo with the .jpg extension, then select "Open with.." From the list pick your Arcsoft app and mark the square in the bottom left, that says "Always use this progr...". Click OK.
From now on, by just double-clicking on any .jpg file, that Arcsoft program opens up.
HTH

Found this for you:

Registry Editing Tips

Adding "Open With" Menu Command

The Open With context menu is only available when you Shift+right-click a file. But there is a way to add this option automatically to the menu every time you right-click a file. Launch the registry editor and go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Unknown\shell\openas\command\. This subkey is actually the action to open the "Open With" box for "unknown" files when windows can't find the suitable application to open a file with.

To add this action to every file, we must copy out the value of the Default string on the right pane. Press Ctrl+C or right-click and select Copy.

Now go back to the top of the list and HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*. Right-click on it and choose New Key. Name this subkey shell. Right-click on shell key and add a new subkey named openas. Right-click this key and add a new subkey named command. Now double-click the default string value in the right-hand pane. A dialog box will pop up. Press Ctrl-V to paste the complicated command line you copied earlier. Click OK.

In case you haven't noticed, we have made an exact copy of the subtree in the \Unknown tree. Now, every time you right-click a file, you will have an "Open With" option.


And another (perhaps better) one:
http://www.jsiinc.com/SUBA/tip0100/rh0126.htm