Restoring file type associations and icons

I can't remember exactly when this happened, but for the past couple of days, all sdlxliff files on my computer are displaying a MemoQ icon instead of the actual Trados Studio one.

Not only that, but the sdlxliff file type is associated with MemoQ, which means that if I double-click on an sdlxliff file, my computer tries to open it with MemoQ.

If you've encountered the same inconvenience with this file type or any other, here's how to fix it.

File type associations

1. On the Windows File Explorer, right click on any of the problem files and select Properties, then click the Change button on the Properties dialog box.

2. Select the right program from the list to restore the file type association. 

The icon will also change to reflect the one for the program you have chosen. If that's still not the right file type icon, keep reading to learn how to change it.

If the program you want to use is not in the short list, click on "More apps" and locate the appropriate program on your computer.*

3. After clicking OK, you should see the new program icon associated with your files.

* In the example above, I've associated the sdlxliff file type with Trados Studio 2021, which shows in the short list. To associate the file type with Trados Studio 2022, so that sdlxliff files will open in the new version when I double-click on them, all I need to do is find the program in the path shown in the screenshot below.

Icons

After completing the steps above, you may still not have the right icons. For example, I'm currently seeing this:

If you're familiar with Trados Studio files, you know that this isn't right. The project file type is showing a blank page icon and the sdlxliff file type is showing the Trados Studio program icon. 

Unfortunately, changing icons is not a simple process, and it involves tweaking the Windows registry. Fortunately, RWS has provided an article with 3 possible solutions to this issue, one of which is a nicely packaged file that you can simply download and run.

A word of caution: Make sure to make a backup of your current registry. You will find a link to detailed instructions in the RWS article.

Here's the result, after running the .reg file:

Now each file type is showing the correct icon.

And that's all there is to it. No more hijacked file type associations and icons!