I am trying to find out how to open a file type with an app from the Windows App store.

If I select Open With from the right click menu I am given a list of apps, but the app I want to select from the app store is not listed.

If I select choose an app on your PC then I have to navigate to the exe, but the exe for Windows App store apps is hidden away in a secure folder that even if I had the full path to the exe I don’t have permissions to navigate to that path if I’m trying to open with as my standard user account, so I can’t select it from the choose an app on your PC file selector.

If I choose Browse apps in the Microsoft Store, then it opens the store looking for that file extension, and the app I’m looking for actually shows up in the search, but my only option is to open or install the app from the Windows Store. Opening it from here does not actually set that app as the default for that file type, it just opens the app and it doesn’t even open the app with the context of the file I was trying to run “Open With” on.

Is the only way to set the “open with” default for a file extension to open with an app in the Windows store by modifying the registry directly? This is the only way I have found that works, but it seems very dangerous and not a great option for everyone.

​I am trying to find out how to open a file type with an app from the Windows App store. If I select Open With from the right click menu I am given a list of apps, but the app I want to select from the app store is not listed. If I select choose an app on your PC then I have to navigate to the exe, but the exe for Windows App store apps is hidden away in a secure folder that even if I had the full path to the exe I don’t have permissions to navigate to that path if I’m trying to open with as my standard user account, so I can’t select it from the choose an app on your PC file selector. If I choose Browse apps in the Microsoft Store, then it opens the store looking for that file extension, and the app I’m looking for actually shows up in the search, but my only option is to open or install the app from the Windows Store. Opening it from here does not actually set that app as the default for that file type, it just opens the app and it doesn’t even open the app with the context of the file I was trying to run “Open With” on. Is the only way to set the “open with” default for a file extension to open with an app in the Windows store by modifying the registry directly? This is the only way I have found that works, but it seems very dangerous and not a great option for everyone.  Read More

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