Bug 104793 - "Unknown application" visual bug in Windows 10 "set default file handler" application interface
Summary: "Unknown application" visual bug in Windows 10 "set default file handler" app...
Status: RESOLVED WORKSFORME
Alias: None
Product: LibreOffice
Classification: Unclassified
Component: Installation (show other bugs)
Version:
(earliest affected)
5.2.3.3 release
Hardware: x86-64 (AMD64) Windows (All)
: medium normal
Assignee: Not Assigned
URL:
Whiteboard:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2016-12-19 19:17 UTC by Ken Chappell
Modified: 2018-02-05 14:56 UTC (History)
3 users (show)

See Also:
Crash report or crash signature:


Attachments
Screenshot of problem (148.92 KB, image/jpeg)
2016-12-19 19:19 UTC, Ken Chappell
Details
clip from Windows 10 Set Associations dialogs with LibreOffice Writer (5.2.4.1) default (97.05 KB, image/png)
2016-12-20 15:44 UTC, V Stuart Foote
Details

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Description Ken Chappell 2016-12-19 19:17:11 UTC
Description:
Windows 10's default "set default file handler" application interface does not list Libreoffice Writer as an option for doc/docx and other Microsoft Word formats. Libreoffice Writer opens the programs fine - it's just that, for some reason, Writer isn't properly registering itself in a way that ensures ui consistency.

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Install LO 5.2.3, set LO as default for all MS Office file types within the installer
2. Go to "Control Panel\Default Programs" and click Set Default Programs. Find Libreoffice 5.2, and check the .docx file association.
3. Under the "Current Default" header for .doc/.docx and similar files, the program presented should be Libreoffice Writer. Instead, it reads "Unknown Application"

Actual Results:  
As mentioned above, under the "Current Default" header for .doc/.docx and similar files, the program presented should be Libreoffice Writer. Instead, it reads "Unknown Application"

Expected Results:
Libreoffice Writer should display as the default program for those file extensions.


Reproducible: Always

User Profile Reset: Yes

Additional Info:


User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/56.0.2924.28 Safari/537.36
Comment 1 Ken Chappell 2016-12-19 19:19:39 UTC
Created attachment 129790 [details]
Screenshot of problem
Comment 2 Ken Chappell 2016-12-19 23:34:06 UTC
I want to add that, even though this is most obvious in LO Writer, this quirk is replicated for multiple programs within the Libreoffice Suite.
Comment 3 V Stuart Foote 2016-12-20 15:41:55 UTC
OK, confirming. 

On Windows 10 Pro 64-bit en-US with
Version: 5.2.4.1 (x64)
Build ID: 9b50003582f07ac674d6451e411e9b77cccd2b22
CPU Threads: 8; OS Version: Windows 6.19; UI Render: default; 
Locale: en-US (en_US); Calc: group

Could be an issue in our packaging for Windows if the file association are not taking on Windows 10.
Comment 4 V Stuart Foote 2016-12-20 15:44:05 UTC
Created attachment 129810 [details]
clip from Windows 10 Set Associations dialogs with LibreOffice Writer (5.2.4.1) default
Comment 5 Ken Chappell 2016-12-20 22:34:51 UTC
Yeah, .doc files (and .docx) are definitely opening with LO Writer. I wonder why the Windows interface still lists unknown application as the default file opener?
Comment 7 Mike Kaganski 2016-12-21 07:02:40 UTC
IMO, the bug 44462 that I add as "See Also", will be resolved for Windows if this enhancement is finished, because this will enable OS-consistent way of defining file associations.
Comment 8 Charles 2016-12-21 20:09:55 UTC
Hi Mike...

As the OP for bug 44462, I have to disagree that resolving this bug should automatically resolve mine, because - well, because resolving this one does *not* resolve mine.

However, this bug begs a question...

Is there a way to make these changes programatically, without being dumped to the Default Programs screen?

I think the answer is yes, because I don't recall being dropped to that screen when I first installed LibO on my laptop after clean installing windows 10.

But I ask this because this is what happens when I install Firefox for someone. With Windows 7, you just clicked 'OK' on the first run to set it as default. Done. In Windows 10, after you click OK to set it as default, you're then brought to the Windows Default Programs settings page where you have to manually select Firefox and change it.

Now I'm off to open a bug for Firefox to set itself as the default without getting dropped to that screen - but I have a feeling that because Microsoft really wants users to use Edge, they may not let another web browser take over as the default without the extra hassle.

So, if there is a way to accomplish these changes without having to jump through those hoops, and it is possible to properly manage these fully from within LibO - which apparently is the case - I still think bug 44462 would be a valuable addition, simply because it puts all of the relevant file associations in one place and let's you see at a glance which one is set for LibO and which for MSO.

What I would do for my bug though is to add a single option to 'Allow Windows to control these for me', which could be made default if the devs so desired.

Of course, my being the OP for bug 44462 doesn't have anything to do with this opinion. ;)
Comment 9 Mike Kaganski 2016-12-21 21:02:29 UTC
Well, first of all, there are functions that are best done by OS/desktop manager. This one is one of them. More generally, it is not good to duplicate any OS-provided functionality in program, because doing this, the program takes responsibility to catch up with any changes in OS function; it should do that for any OS/DM it works on; it will need to fix its own bugs in this implementation etc. Now it is done by proper registration using proper method (installer technology suited for that kind of tasks and doing most of the job) - some small tweaks are only needed.

Second, doing so, we cannot stop with MSO file types only. Why? We can handle a multitude of formats, textual, spreadsheets, graphical, presentations, ... Where to stop? And by doing that, you will eventually loose the presumed ease of seeing associations of MSO files in one place.

Third, you may be unaware of this, but Windows "Default Programs" has a mode that already makes what you need: it is called "Set defaults by app". There you just choose a program (e.g. LibreOffice), and choose defaults for that program in one place. See e.g. https://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-set-default-programs-in-windows-10/

Lastly: it's not hammer's job to check if its owner uses it by default for hammering nails.
Comment 10 Ken Chappell 2017-01-18 15:18:10 UTC
This is fixed in LO 5.3.0.1, which is currently in testing.
Comment 11 Gene Sain 2017-02-03 15:42:24 UTC
Having a similar File Association issue.Calc is not launching correctly from File Association.  Noticed this after latest Windows 10 update to Version 1607 Build 14393.693 .  I usually update an .xls file monthly by simply launching from Nexus File Manager using the Windows Default Programs File Association.  Worked correctly before Update for Windows 10 Version 1607 for x64-based Systems (KB3211320) which installed on 1/25/2017 and the latest Libre Office update Version: 5.2.5.1 (x64).  

I end up with multiple processes of Libre Office running in Task Manager as well as a Calc entry but no launch of Calc.  Played with Default Programs and see some of the other issues described.  It will usually launch once after a boot, but can not then re-open from file association.  Usually have to kill the processes then before you can open the file even from within normal Libre Office program open from the desktop.  

I tried just resetting the Profile and also uninstalled and re-installed.  Definitely something going wrong with File Associations.
Comment 12 QA Administrators 2018-02-04 03:30:21 UTC
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