File type mappings (cont.)

The fact that the computer must maintain a list of which applications open which filetypes has some corollaries of interest

Some file types can be opened by many different applications (e.g. .html, .jpg, .txt, .mp3)
applications may "compete" to remap the filetype (e.g. Netscape vs Internet Explorer, Real Player vs Windows Media Player)
viruses may subvert your computer by remapping file types
users may accidentally overwrite the settings
may require some effort to retain mapping when moving file between OSes
How to change a filetype association in Windows

Whether and how users should reset the settings (extension mappings in Win, desktop database on Mac)

Last modified 2002-04-22