I can't change it; neither with the "change icon" in Properties, nor
with FileTypesMan. It stays stubbornly as a white page icon (Notepad
style), although it's fine on the taskbar.

The icons showing in Firefox.exe include correct ones, but also PDF and
a handful of others.
I tried changing to an icon in shell32.dll; no joy.

Ed

> I can't change it; neither with the "change icon" in Properties, nor
> with FileTypesMan. It stays stubbornly as a white page icon (Notepad
> style), although it's fine on the taskbar.
>

You can't change what? The icon for HTML files? There's
no such thing as a Firefox file icon. To affect the icon for
file types you can either go through Microsoft's maddening
new system (which I can't even remember how to get to)
or you can do it in the Registry. All file types follow the
same pattern. You look up extension, which gives you class
name, which leads to icon:

HKCR\.html
default value: classname (such as "htmlfile" or "FirefoxHTML")

HKCR\[classname]\DefaultIcon
default value: path of icon, such as "C:\icons\html.ico,0"

The nuber at the end indicates the icon number in the file. For
ico files it's always 0.

Ed Cryer wrote:
> I can't change it; neither with the "change icon" in Properties, nor
> with FileTypesMan. It stays stubbornly as a white page icon (Notepad
> style), although it's fine on the taskbar.
>
> The icons showing in Firefox.exe include correct ones, but also PDF and
> a handful of others.
> I tried changing to an icon in shell32.dll; no joy.
>
> Ed

I'v had this problem in the past with Windows 7. I deleted the shortcut
created when I installed Firefox, then I made a new shortcut to the
program. Ended my problem.

--
John C.

Ed Cryer <ed@somewhere.in.the.uk> wrote:

> I can't change it; neither with the "change icon" in Properties, nor
> with FileTypesMan. It stays stubbornly as a white page icon (Notepad
> style), although it's fine on the taskbar.
>
> The icons showing in Firefox.exe include correct ones, but also PDF and
> a handful of others.
> I tried changing to an icon in shell32.dll; no joy.

Don't know what is a "Firefox file icon". Please describe better.

If you are creating .url shortcuts on your desktop or in a folder, don't
use those if you want to have a different icon for each one. Instead,
creating a .lnk shortcut (e.g., right-click on the desktop, create a new
shortcut), and enter the following for the command:

<path>\firefox.exe <url>

<path> to wherever you installed Firefox (or whatever web browser you
want to use to open the <url>). Then right-click on that new shortcut,
and go to the Shortcut tab to change its icon. If the executable
specified for the target (command) doesn't have an icon you want, you
can browse to other .exe and .dll files that have icon resources defined
within them.

The above is how I created .lnk shortcuts (to programs) to let me change
icons to differentiate, for example, between a weather web site, Google
Voice, crossword puzzle site, different webmail clients, etc. You don't
want a .url shortcut. You want a .lnk shortcut since that lets you
choose an icon for just that shortcut.

On 4/8/2024 9:03 AM, Newyana2 wrote:
>
>> I can't change it; neither with the "change icon" in Properties, nor with FileTypesMan. It stays stubbornly as a white page icon (Notepad style), although it's fine on the taskbar.
>>
>
>  You can't change what? The icon for HTML files? There's
> no such thing as a Firefox file icon. To affect the icon for
> file types you can either go through Microsoft's maddening
> new system (which I can't even remember how to get to)
> or you can do it in the Registry. All file types follow the
> same pattern. You look up extension, which gives you class
> name, which leads to icon:
>
> HKCR\.html
>     default value: classname (such as "htmlfile" or "FirefoxHTML")
>
> HKCR\[classname]\DefaultIcon
>   default value: path of icon, such as "C:\icons\html.ico,0"
>
> The nuber at the end indicates the icon number in the file. For
> ico files it's always 0.

Do you know whether this uses that blasted set of iconcache files ?

It could be broken there for some reason.

It's not clear to me, whether "redoing stuff" (canonical location updates)
will ever repair iconcache. We have David Ross's AVG blank-sheet icon
as an example. The only iconcache DB viewer, costs money.

Paul

VanguardLH wrote:
> Ed Cryer <ed@somewhere.in.the.uk> wrote:
>
>> I can't change it; neither with the "change icon" in Properties, nor
>> with FileTypesMan. It stays stubbornly as a white page icon (Notepad
>> style), although it's fine on the taskbar.
>>
>> The icons showing in Firefox.exe include correct ones, but also PDF and
>> a handful of others.
>> I tried changing to an icon in shell32.dll; no joy.
>
> Don't know what is a "Firefox file icon". Please describe better.
>
> If you are creating .url shortcuts on your desktop or in a folder, don't
> use those if you want to have a different icon for each one. Instead,
> creating a .lnk shortcut (e.g., right-click on the desktop, create a new
> shortcut), and enter the following for the command:
>
> <path>\firefox.exe <url>
>
> <path> to wherever you installed Firefox (or whatever web browser you
> want to use to open the <url>). Then right-click on that new shortcut,
> and go to the Shortcut tab to change its icon. If the executable
> specified for the target (command) doesn't have an icon you want, you
> can browse to other .exe and .dll files that have icon resources defined
> within them.
>
> The above is how I created .lnk shortcuts (to programs) to let me change
> icons to differentiate, for example, between a weather web site, Google
> Voice, crossword puzzle site, different webmail clients, etc. You don't
> want a .url shortcut. You want a .lnk shortcut since that lets you
> choose an icon for just that shortcut.

I have lots of .html files in a utility I use regularly. Their
properties show that they open with Firefox, and they do just that when
I click on them.
All works well, at least so far.

The problem is that when you navigate to the folder and show the files
listed, they have the wrong icon. And I can't change that icon. And
whatever I do to try and change it, reports no problem; it finishes as
if it had done the change.

Ed

Paul,

> It's not clear to me, whether "redoing stuff" (canonical location
> updates) will ever repair iconcache.

Likely deleting them so Windows will rebuild them should than help.

https://www.windowscentral.com/how-reset-icon-cache-database-windows-10

Regards,
Rudy Wieser

Ed Cryer wrote:
> VanguardLH wrote:
>> Ed Cryer <ed@somewhere.in.the.uk> wrote:
>>
>>> I can't change it; neither with the "change icon" in Properties, nor
>>> with FileTypesMan. It stays stubbornly as a white page icon (Notepad
>>> style), although it's fine on the taskbar.
>>>
>>> The icons showing in Firefox.exe include correct ones, but also PDF and
>>> a handful of others.
>>> I tried changing to an icon in shell32.dll; no joy.
>>
>> Don't know what is a "Firefox file icon".  Please describe better.
>>
>> If you are creating .url shortcuts on your desktop or in a folder, don't
>> use those if you want to have a different icon for each one.  Instead,
>> creating a .lnk shortcut (e.g., right-click on the desktop, create a new
>> shortcut), and enter the following for the command:
>>
>> <path>\firefox.exe <url>
>>
>> <path> to wherever you installed Firefox (or whatever web browser you
>> want to use to open the <url>).  Then right-click on that new shortcut,
>> and go to the Shortcut tab to change its icon.  If the executable
>> specified for the target (command) doesn't have an icon you want, you
>> can browse to other .exe and .dll files that have icon resources defined
>> within them.
>>
>> The above is how I created .lnk shortcuts (to programs) to let me change
>> icons to differentiate, for example, between a weather web site, Google
>> Voice, crossword puzzle site, different webmail clients, etc.  You don't
>> want a .url shortcut.  You want a .lnk shortcut since that lets you
>> choose an icon for just that shortcut.
>
> I have lots of .html files in a utility I use regularly. Their
> properties show that they open with Firefox, and they do just that when
> I click on them.
> All works well, at least so far.
>
> The problem is that when you navigate to the folder and show the files
> listed, they have the wrong icon. And I can't change that icon. And
> whatever I do to try and change it, reports no problem; it finishes as
> if it had done the change.
>
> Ed
>
I've found some files locally that have a Firefox icon. They have an
extension of .URL, and are called "Internet shortcut".
There appears to have been some radical shift from MS in their handling
of file extensions.
Ed

On 4/8/24 03:15 PM, Ed Cryer wrote:
> Ed Cryer wrote:
>> VanguardLH wrote:
>>> Ed Cryer <ed@somewhere.in.the.uk> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I can't change it; neither with the "change icon" in Properties, nor
>>>> with FileTypesMan. It stays stubbornly as a white page icon (Notepad
>>>> style), although it's fine on the taskbar.
>>>>
>>>> The icons showing in Firefox.exe include correct ones, but also PDF and
>>>> a handful of others.
>>>> I tried changing to an icon in shell32.dll; no joy.
>>>
>>> Don't know what is a "Firefox file icon".  Please describe better.
>>>
>>> If you are creating .url shortcuts on your desktop or in a folder, don't
>>> use those if you want to have a different icon for each one.  Instead,
>>> creating a .lnk shortcut (e.g., right-click on the desktop, create a new
>>> shortcut), and enter the following for the command:
>>>
>>> <path>\firefox.exe <url>
>>>
>>> <path> to wherever you installed Firefox (or whatever web browser you
>>> want to use to open the <url>).  Then right-click on that new shortcut,
>>> and go to the Shortcut tab to change its icon.  If the executable
>>> specified for the target (command) doesn't have an icon you want, you
>>> can browse to other .exe and .dll files that have icon resources defined
>>> within them.
>>>
>>> The above is how I created .lnk shortcuts (to programs) to let me change
>>> icons to differentiate, for example, between a weather web site, Google
>>> Voice, crossword puzzle site, different webmail clients, etc.  You don't
>>> want a .url shortcut.  You want a .lnk shortcut since that lets you
>>> choose an icon for just that shortcut.
>>
>> I have lots of .html files in a utility I use regularly. Their properties show that they open with
>> Firefox, and they do just that when I click on them.
>> All works well, at least so far.
>>
>> The problem is that when you navigate to the folder and show the files listed, they have the wrong
>> icon. And I can't change that icon. And whatever I do to try and change it, reports no problem; it
>> finishes as if it had done the change.
>>
>> Ed
>>
>
> I've found some files locally that have a Firefox icon. They have an extension of .URL, and are
> called "Internet shortcut".
>
> There appears to have been some radical shift from MS in their handling of file extensions.
>
> Ed
>
I don't think URL is a deviation. URL is a link where HTML/HTM is a page itself.
I have a copy of my web page on my laptop and it's all HTML files, and they are text.

A URL is like this, it's not a web page.:
[{000214A0-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}]
Prop3=19,2
[InternetShortcut]
IDList=
URL=http://rs.ciggws.net/rd.cgi?FNC=MTSU_WM&CHA=UF2_DESKTOP&RES=america&LNG=EN&DEV=TR8600+series&OSV=W&ARA=US&CNM_SEP=0&OSV=W&DEV=TR8600+series&CTV=1.0&LNG=EN
--
Linux Mint 21.3 Cinnamon 6.0.4 Kernel 6.5.0-26-generic
Al

Ed Cryer <ed@somewhere.in.the.uk> wrote:

> VanguardLH wrote:
>> Ed Cryer <ed@somewhere.in.the.uk> wrote:
>>
>>> I can't change it; neither with the "change icon" in Properties, nor
>>> with FileTypesMan. It stays stubbornly as a white page icon (Notepad
>>> style), although it's fine on the taskbar.
>>>
>>> The icons showing in Firefox.exe include correct ones, but also PDF and
>>> a handful of others.
>>> I tried changing to an icon in shell32.dll; no joy.
>>
>> Don't know what is a "Firefox file icon". Please describe better.
>>
>> If you are creating .url shortcuts on your desktop or in a folder, don't
>> use those if you want to have a different icon for each one. Instead,
>> creating a .lnk shortcut (e.g., right-click on the desktop, create a new
>> shortcut), and enter the following for the command:
>>
>> <path>\firefox.exe <url>
>>
>> <path> to wherever you installed Firefox (or whatever web browser you
>> want to use to open the <url>). Then right-click on that new shortcut,
>> and go to the Shortcut tab to change its icon. If the executable
>> specified for the target (command) doesn't have an icon you want, you
>> can browse to other .exe and .dll files that have icon resources defined
>> within them.
>>
>> The above is how I created .lnk shortcuts (to programs) to let me change
>> icons to differentiate, for example, between a weather web site, Google
>> Voice, crossword puzzle site, different webmail clients, etc. You don't
>> want a .url shortcut. You want a .lnk shortcut since that lets you
>> choose an icon for just that shortcut.
>
> I have lots of .html files in a utility I use regularly. Their
> properties show that they open with Firefox, and they do just that when
> I click on them.
> All works well, at least so far.
>
> The problem is that when you navigate to the folder and show the files
> listed, they have the wrong icon. And I can't change that icon. And
> whatever I do to try and change it, reports no problem; it finishes as
> if it had done the change.
>
> Ed

So, it's not about .url shortcuts, but about .html files, and the icons
displayed for those .html files (in whatever unidentified file viewer).
In other words, you want to change the .html filetype icon, not some
Firefox file icon.

In FileTypesMan, right-click on the .html extension (filetype), and
select to jump to the registry setting for that filetype, or select the
filetype and use Ctrl+R to jump to the registry setting. Expand that
registry key to see the DefaultIcon subkey. Does its default item have
a value of:

C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe,1

The path is where I installed Firefox. Might be different for you. The
",1" is specifying the 1st icon resource (dead keeled over fox) in the
..exe file.

If you don't want to edit in regedit.exe the DefaultIcon pointer, you
can right-click on the .html filetype in FileTypeMan to select "Edit
Selected File Type". In that entry form, you can enter the resource
index in an .exe or .dll file for which icon you want, or use the Browse
button to find the .exe or .dll file (but you'll have to figure out the
resource index if the first one isn't what you want).

In regedit, go to:

HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.html

Under that key is a UserChoice subkey. Microsoft added this subkey for
critical filetype and protocol handlers. Windows knows how to generate
this value, not malware that might attempt to change which handlers are
used for which filetypes or protocols. If the hash value is invalid,
Windows will revert the filetype or protocol back to the default
handler. Programs cannot programmatically use the registry API to
change these protected handlers. You have to use the Windows wizard:
Default Apps, and select either "Choose default apps by filetype" or
"Choose default apps by protocol". Since you are asking about the .html
filetype, use "Choose default apps by filetype". Scroll down to the
..html filetype. You should see:

..htm Firefox
Firefox HTML Document

..html Firefox
Firefox HTML Document

If that is what you see, toggle the handler to see if returning back to
Firefox as the handler steps atop whatever foul up might be regarding
handlers and icons.

There is also the possibility your shelliconcache is fouled. Delete it,
logoff and logon to rebuild the cache, and test which icon shows up. I
use WinAero Tweaker's Reset Icon Cache to delete and rebuild. Or you
can read about the tweak at:

https://winaero.com/fix-broken-icons-reset-icon-cache-in-windows-10-without-reboot/

If you have lots of different filetype and protocol handler icons, the
default 500 KB size of the icon cache file may not be sufficient. Some
will have to get tossed out to make room for new ones. In WinAero
Tweaker, you can increase the size of the cache (Icon Cache Size). Mine
was only at 512 KB, so I upped it to 8192 KB (8 MB). See:

https://winaero.com/change-icon-cache-size-windows-10/

Since the change is to an HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE subkey, the change applies
to all Windows accounts. Although not mentioned, I'd probably logoff
and logon to make sure the registry change got applied.

Peculiarly, under the Explorer key, I have 2 settings:

MaxCachedIcons
Max Cached Icons

One with spaces, one without. Possibly I did a registry edit a long
time ago, and whoever's article I read about this had the spaces in the
key, or the spaced version was used before, but Microsoft changed the
data item's name.

On 4/8/2024 12:57 PM, Paul wrote:

> Do you know whether this uses that blasted set of iconcache files ?
>

As Rudy said, there used to be a method that involved deleting
the icon cache. Years ago I wrote software that used a hack to
change the size of icons, call the system for an update, then changed
it back and called the system again. That would cause all icons to
update.

Yesterday on my new Win10 system I changed icons for folders
and for HTA files. It didn't take at first, but after a reboot or two
it caught up. Win10 seems to be good that way.

> It's not clear to me, whether "redoing stuff" (canonical location updates)
> will ever repair iconcache. We have David Ross's AVG blank-sheet icon
> as an example. The only iconcache DB viewer, costs money.
>

I'm still not clear what we're talking about, though. I have
seen Win10 lose the icon for Mozilla shortcuts in Quick Launch,
though that seems to have fixed itself. As far as changing icons
for file types, Win10 doesn't seem to need any special treatment
in my experience. Just a little patience.

Big Al wrote:
> On 4/8/24 03:15 PM, Ed Cryer wrote:
>> Ed Cryer wrote:
>>> VanguardLH wrote:
>>>> Ed Cryer <ed@somewhere.in.the.uk> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> I can't change it; neither with the "change icon" in Properties, nor
>>>>> with FileTypesMan. It stays stubbornly as a white page icon (Notepad
>>>>> style), although it's fine on the taskbar.
>>>>>
>>>>> The icons showing in Firefox.exe include correct ones, but also PDF
>>>>> and
>>>>> a handful of others.
>>>>> I tried changing to an icon in shell32.dll; no joy.
>>>>
>>>> Don't know what is a "Firefox file icon".  Please describe better.
>>>>
>>>> If you are creating .url shortcuts on your desktop or in a folder,
>>>> don't
>>>> use those if you want to have a different icon for each one.  Instead,
>>>> creating a .lnk shortcut (e.g., right-click on the desktop, create a
>>>> new
>>>> shortcut), and enter the following for the command:
>>>>
>>>> <path>\firefox.exe <url>
>>>>
>>>> <path> to wherever you installed Firefox (or whatever web browser you
>>>> want to use to open the <url>).  Then right-click on that new shortcut,
>>>> and go to the Shortcut tab to change its icon.  If the executable
>>>> specified for the target (command) doesn't have an icon you want, you
>>>> can browse to other .exe and .dll files that have icon resources
>>>> defined
>>>> within them.
>>>>
>>>> The above is how I created .lnk shortcuts (to programs) to let me
>>>> change
>>>> icons to differentiate, for example, between a weather web site, Google
>>>> Voice, crossword puzzle site, different webmail clients, etc.  You
>>>> don't
>>>> want a .url shortcut.  You want a .lnk shortcut since that lets you
>>>> choose an icon for just that shortcut.
>>>
>>> I have lots of .html files in a utility I use regularly. Their
>>> properties show that they open with Firefox, and they do just that
>>> when I click on them.
>>> All works well, at least so far.
>>>
>>> The problem is that when you navigate to the folder and show the
>>> files listed, they have the wrong icon. And I can't change that icon.
>>> And whatever I do to try and change it, reports no problem; it
>>> finishes as if it had done the change.
>>>
>>> Ed
>>>
>>
>> I've found some files locally that have a Firefox icon. They have an
>> extension of .URL, and are called "Internet shortcut".
>>
>> There appears to have been some radical shift from MS in their
>> handling of file extensions.
>>
>> Ed
>>
> I don't think URL is a deviation.  URL is a link where HTML/HTM is a
> page itself.
> I have a copy of my web page on my laptop and it's all HTML files, and
> they are text.
>
> A URL is like this, it's not a web page.:
> [{000214A0-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}]
> Prop3=19,2
> [InternetShortcut]
> IDList=
> URL=http://rs.ciggws.net/rd.cgi?FNC=MTSU_WM&CHA=UF2_DESKTOP&RES=america&LNG=EN&DEV=TR8600+series&OSV=W&ARA=US&CNM_SEP=0&OSV=W&DEV=TR8600+series&CTV=1.0&LNG=EN
.URl is a Windows extension. It points to:
Windows system32.dll, url.dll,0
Internet shortcut
and , of course, Windows assigns a program to open those files.
It strikes me that this .URL extension has thrown the cat amidst the
pigeons. It's new to me. How long has it been infecting Win10?
Ed

VanguardLH wrote:
> Ed Cryer <ed@somewhere.in.the.uk> wrote:
>
>> VanguardLH wrote:
>>> Ed Cryer <ed@somewhere.in.the.uk> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I can't change it; neither with the "change icon" in Properties, nor
>>>> with FileTypesMan. It stays stubbornly as a white page icon (Notepad
>>>> style), although it's fine on the taskbar.
>>>>
>>>> The icons showing in Firefox.exe include correct ones, but also PDF and
>>>> a handful of others.
>>>> I tried changing to an icon in shell32.dll; no joy.
>>>
>>> Don't know what is a "Firefox file icon". Please describe better.
>>>
>>> If you are creating .url shortcuts on your desktop or in a folder, don't
>>> use those if you want to have a different icon for each one. Instead,
>>> creating a .lnk shortcut (e.g., right-click on the desktop, create a new
>>> shortcut), and enter the following for the command:
>>>
>>> <path>\firefox.exe <url>
>>>
>>> <path> to wherever you installed Firefox (or whatever web browser you
>>> want to use to open the <url>). Then right-click on that new shortcut,
>>> and go to the Shortcut tab to change its icon. If the executable
>>> specified for the target (command) doesn't have an icon you want, you
>>> can browse to other .exe and .dll files that have icon resources defined
>>> within them.
>>>
>>> The above is how I created .lnk shortcuts (to programs) to let me change
>>> icons to differentiate, for example, between a weather web site, Google
>>> Voice, crossword puzzle site, different webmail clients, etc. You don't
>>> want a .url shortcut. You want a .lnk shortcut since that lets you
>>> choose an icon for just that shortcut.
>>
>> I have lots of .html files in a utility I use regularly. Their
>> properties show that they open with Firefox, and they do just that when
>> I click on them.
>> All works well, at least so far.
>>
>> The problem is that when you navigate to the folder and show the files
>> listed, they have the wrong icon. And I can't change that icon. And
>> whatever I do to try and change it, reports no problem; it finishes as
>> if it had done the change.
>>
>> Ed
>
> So, it's not about .url shortcuts, but about .html files, and the icons
> displayed for those .html files (in whatever unidentified file viewer).
> In other words, you want to change the .html filetype icon, not some
> Firefox file icon.
>
> In FileTypesMan, right-click on the .html extension (filetype), and
> select to jump to the registry setting for that filetype, or select the
> filetype and use Ctrl+R to jump to the registry setting. Expand that
> registry key to see the DefaultIcon subkey. Does its default item have
> a value of:
>
> C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe,1
>
> The path is where I installed Firefox. Might be different for you. The
> ",1" is specifying the 1st icon resource (dead keeled over fox) in the
> .exe file.
>
> If you don't want to edit in regedit.exe the DefaultIcon pointer, you
> can right-click on the .html filetype in FileTypeMan to select "Edit
> Selected File Type". In that entry form, you can enter the resource
> index in an .exe or .dll file for which icon you want, or use the Browse
> button to find the .exe or .dll file (but you'll have to figure out the
> resource index if the first one isn't what you want).
>
> In regedit, go to:
>
> HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.html
>
> Under that key is a UserChoice subkey. Microsoft added this subkey for
> critical filetype and protocol handlers. Windows knows how to generate
> this value, not malware that might attempt to change which handlers are
> used for which filetypes or protocols. If the hash value is invalid,
> Windows will revert the filetype or protocol back to the default
> handler. Programs cannot programmatically use the registry API to
> change these protected handlers. You have to use the Windows wizard:
> Default Apps, and select either "Choose default apps by filetype" or
> "Choose default apps by protocol". Since you are asking about the .html
> filetype, use "Choose default apps by filetype". Scroll down to the
> .html filetype. You should see:
>
> .htm Firefox
> Firefox HTML Document
>
> .html Firefox
> Firefox HTML Document
>
> If that is what you see, toggle the handler to see if returning back to
> Firefox as the handler steps atop whatever foul up might be regarding
> handlers and icons.
>
> There is also the possibility your shelliconcache is fouled. Delete it,
> logoff and logon to rebuild the cache, and test which icon shows up. I
> use WinAero Tweaker's Reset Icon Cache to delete and rebuild. Or you
> can read about the tweak at:
>
> https://winaero.com/fix-broken-icons-reset-icon-cache-in-windows-10-without-reboot/
>
> If you have lots of different filetype and protocol handler icons, the
> default 500 KB size of the icon cache file may not be sufficient. Some
> will have to get tossed out to make room for new ones. In WinAero
> Tweaker, you can increase the size of the cache (Icon Cache Size). Mine
> was only at 512 KB, so I upped it to 8192 KB (8 MB). See:
>
> https://winaero.com/change-icon-cache-size-windows-10/
>
> Since the change is to an HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE subkey, the change applies
> to all Windows accounts. Although not mentioned, I'd probably logoff
> and logon to make sure the registry change got applied.
>
> Peculiarly, under the Explorer key, I have 2 settings:
>
> MaxCachedIcons
> Max Cached Icons
>
> One with spaces, one without. Possibly I did a registry edit a long
> time ago, and whoever's article I read about this had the spaces in the
> key, or the spaced version was used before, but Microsoft changed the
> data item's name.

..URL, .htm, .html are all Windows file extensions; or, at least, they
used to be.
They guide Windows, or, at least they used to, to different programs.

They have icons associated with them; or, at least they used to.

Ergo, if I look at a file's extension with WinExplorer, it should point
to those root elements of the Windows architecture.

But this schematic appears to have crumbled. OK, so be it. But how do I
get to know the new layout?

Ed

On 4/8/24 04:45 PM, Ed Cryer wrote:
> Big Al wrote:
>> On 4/8/24 03:15 PM, Ed Cryer wrote:
>>> Ed Cryer wrote:
>>>> VanguardLH wrote:
>>>>> Ed Cryer <ed@somewhere.in.the.uk> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> I can't change it; neither with the "change icon" in Properties, nor
>>>>>> with FileTypesMan. It stays stubbornly as a white page icon (Notepad
>>>>>> style), although it's fine on the taskbar.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> The icons showing in Firefox.exe include correct ones, but also PDF and
>>>>>> a handful of others.
>>>>>> I tried changing to an icon in shell32.dll; no joy.
>>>>>
>>>>> Don't know what is a "Firefox file icon".  Please describe better.
>>>>>
>>>>> If you are creating .url shortcuts on your desktop or in a folder, don't
>>>>> use those if you want to have a different icon for each one.  Instead,
>>>>> creating a .lnk shortcut (e.g., right-click on the desktop, create a new
>>>>> shortcut), and enter the following for the command:
>>>>>
>>>>> <path>\firefox.exe <url>
>>>>>
>>>>> <path> to wherever you installed Firefox (or whatever web browser you
>>>>> want to use to open the <url>).  Then right-click on that new shortcut,
>>>>> and go to the Shortcut tab to change its icon.  If the executable
>>>>> specified for the target (command) doesn't have an icon you want, you
>>>>> can browse to other .exe and .dll files that have icon resources defined
>>>>> within them.
>>>>>
>>>>> The above is how I created .lnk shortcuts (to programs) to let me change
>>>>> icons to differentiate, for example, between a weather web site, Google
>>>>> Voice, crossword puzzle site, different webmail clients, etc.  You don't
>>>>> want a .url shortcut.  You want a .lnk shortcut since that lets you
>>>>> choose an icon for just that shortcut.
>>>>
>>>> I have lots of .html files in a utility I use regularly. Their properties show that they open
>>>> with Firefox, and they do just that when I click on them.
>>>> All works well, at least so far.
>>>>
>>>> The problem is that when you navigate to the folder and show the files listed, they have the
>>>> wrong icon. And I can't change that icon. And whatever I do to try and change it, reports no
>>>> problem; it finishes as if it had done the change.
>>>>
>>>> Ed
>>>>
>>>
>>> I've found some files locally that have a Firefox icon. They have an extension of .URL, and are
>>> called "Internet shortcut".
>>>
>>> There appears to have been some radical shift from MS in their handling of file extensions.
>>>
>>> Ed
>>>
>> I don't think URL is a deviation.  URL is a link where HTML/HTM is a page itself.
>> I have a copy of my web page on my laptop and it's all HTML files, and they are text.
>>
>> A URL is like this, it's not a web page.:
>> [{000214A0-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}]
>> Prop3=19,2
>> [InternetShortcut]
>> IDList=
>> URL=http://rs.ciggws.net/rd.cgi?FNC=MTSU_WM&CHA=UF2_DESKTOP&RES=america&LNG=EN&DEV=TR8600+series&OSV=W&ARA=US&CNM_SEP=0&OSV=W&DEV=TR8600+series&CTV=1.0&LNG=EN
>
> .URl is a Windows extension. It points to:
> Windows system32.dll, url.dll,0
> Internet shortcut
>
> and , of course, Windows assigns a program to open those files.
>
> It strikes me that this .URL extension has thrown the cat amidst the pigeons. It's new to me. How
> long has it been infecting Win10?
>
> Ed
>
>
>
I've seen .url files for years. Nothing new to me.
--
Linux Mint 21.3 Cinnamon 6.0.4 Kernel 6.5.0-26-generic
Al

Ed Cryer <ed@somewhere.in.the.uk> wrote:

> VanguardLH wrote:
>> Ed Cryer <ed@somewhere.in.the.uk> wrote:
>>
>>> VanguardLH wrote:
>>>> Ed Cryer <ed@somewhere.in.the.uk> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> I can't change it; neither with the "change icon" in Properties, nor
>>>>> with FileTypesMan. It stays stubbornly as a white page icon (Notepad
>>>>> style), although it's fine on the taskbar.
>>>>>
>>>>> The icons showing in Firefox.exe include correct ones, but also PDF and
>>>>> a handful of others.
>>>>> I tried changing to an icon in shell32.dll; no joy.
>>>>
>>>> Don't know what is a "Firefox file icon". Please describe better.
>>>>
>>>> If you are creating .url shortcuts on your desktop or in a folder, don't
>>>> use those if you want to have a different icon for each one. Instead,
>>>> creating a .lnk shortcut (e.g., right-click on the desktop, create a new
>>>> shortcut), and enter the following for the command:
>>>>
>>>> <path>\firefox.exe <url>
>>>>
>>>> <path> to wherever you installed Firefox (or whatever web browser you
>>>> want to use to open the <url>). Then right-click on that new shortcut,
>>>> and go to the Shortcut tab to change its icon. If the executable
>>>> specified for the target (command) doesn't have an icon you want, you
>>>> can browse to other .exe and .dll files that have icon resources defined
>>>> within them.
>>>>
>>>> The above is how I created .lnk shortcuts (to programs) to let me change
>>>> icons to differentiate, for example, between a weather web site, Google
>>>> Voice, crossword puzzle site, different webmail clients, etc. You don't
>>>> want a .url shortcut. You want a .lnk shortcut since that lets you
>>>> choose an icon for just that shortcut.
>>>
>>> I have lots of .html files in a utility I use regularly. Their
>>> properties show that they open with Firefox, and they do just that when
>>> I click on them.
>>> All works well, at least so far.
>>>
>>> The problem is that when you navigate to the folder and show the files
>>> listed, they have the wrong icon. And I can't change that icon. And
>>> whatever I do to try and change it, reports no problem; it finishes as
>>> if it had done the change.
>>>
>>> Ed
>>
>> So, it's not about .url shortcuts, but about .html files, and the icons
>> displayed for those .html files (in whatever unidentified file viewer).
>> In other words, you want to change the .html filetype icon, not some
>> Firefox file icon.
>>
>> In FileTypesMan, right-click on the .html extension (filetype), and
>> select to jump to the registry setting for that filetype, or select the
>> filetype and use Ctrl+R to jump to the registry setting. Expand that
>> registry key to see the DefaultIcon subkey. Does its default item have
>> a value of:
>>
>> C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe,1
>>
>> The path is where I installed Firefox. Might be different for you. The
>> ",1" is specifying the 1st icon resource (dead keeled over fox) in the
>> .exe file.
>>
>> If you don't want to edit in regedit.exe the DefaultIcon pointer, you
>> can right-click on the .html filetype in FileTypeMan to select "Edit
>> Selected File Type". In that entry form, you can enter the resource
>> index in an .exe or .dll file for which icon you want, or use the Browse
>> button to find the .exe or .dll file (but you'll have to figure out the
>> resource index if the first one isn't what you want).
>>
>> In regedit, go to:
>>
>> HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.html
>>
>> Under that key is a UserChoice subkey. Microsoft added this subkey for
>> critical filetype and protocol handlers. Windows knows how to generate
>> this value, not malware that might attempt to change which handlers are
>> used for which filetypes or protocols. If the hash value is invalid,
>> Windows will revert the filetype or protocol back to the default
>> handler. Programs cannot programmatically use the registry API to
>> change these protected handlers. You have to use the Windows wizard:
>> Default Apps, and select either "Choose default apps by filetype" or
>> "Choose default apps by protocol". Since you are asking about the .html
>> filetype, use "Choose default apps by filetype". Scroll down to the
>> .html filetype. You should see:
>>
>> .htm Firefox
>> Firefox HTML Document
>>
>> .html Firefox
>> Firefox HTML Document
>>
>> If that is what you see, toggle the handler to see if returning back to
>> Firefox as the handler steps atop whatever foul up might be regarding
>> handlers and icons.
>>
>> There is also the possibility your shelliconcache is fouled. Delete it,
>> logoff and logon to rebuild the cache, and test which icon shows up. I
>> use WinAero Tweaker's Reset Icon Cache to delete and rebuild. Or you
>> can read about the tweak at:
>>
>> https://winaero.com/fix-broken-icons-reset-icon-cache-in-windows-10-without-reboot/
>>
>> If you have lots of different filetype and protocol handler icons, the
>> default 500 KB size of the icon cache file may not be sufficient. Some
>> will have to get tossed out to make room for new ones. In WinAero
>> Tweaker, you can increase the size of the cache (Icon Cache Size). Mine
>> was only at 512 KB, so I upped it to 8192 KB (8 MB). See:
>>
>> https://winaero.com/change-icon-cache-size-windows-10/
>>
>> Since the change is to an HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE subkey, the change applies
>> to all Windows accounts. Although not mentioned, I'd probably logoff
>> and logon to make sure the registry change got applied.
>>
>> Peculiarly, under the Explorer key, I have 2 settings:
>>
>> MaxCachedIcons
>> Max Cached Icons
>>
>> One with spaces, one without. Possibly I did a registry edit a long
>> time ago, and whoever's article I read about this had the spaces in the
>> key, or the spaced version was used before, but Microsoft changed the
>> data item's name.
>
> .URL, .htm, .html are all Windows file extensions; or, at least, they
> used to be.
> They guide Windows, or, at least they used to, to different programs.
>
> They have icons associated with them; or, at least they used to.
>
> Ergo, if I look at a file's extension with WinExplorer, it should point
> to those root elements of the Windows architecture.
>
> But this schematic appears to have crumbled. OK, so be it. But how do I
> get to know the new layout?
>
> Ed

Have you looked at using FileTypeMan to change the .exe or .dll for
where to get the icon?

Have you tried toggling the filetype associations?

Have you deleted and rebuilt the icon cache yet?

It's software. It'll break.

On 4/8/2024 5:09 PM, Ed Cryer wrote:

>
> .URL, .htm, .html are all Windows file extensions; or, at least, they used to be.
> They guide Windows, or, at least they used to, to different programs.
>
> They have icons associated with them; or, at least they used to.
>
> Ergo, if I look at a file's extension with WinExplorer, it should point to those root elements of the Windows architecture.
>
> But this schematic appears to have crumbled. OK, so be it. But how do I get to know the new layout?
>
> Ed
>

File types are, as they have been.

Windows is object oriented in a sense. In that, double clicking
a data icon of some sort, the system associates the data icon
with an executable which will be used to handle it. This is roughly
the equivalent of dragging the data icon on top of the program icon.

File Types Management, is a means of doing something like this

.html ==> Firefox

The Firefox browser, registers with the OS, that it supports
the reading and parsing of certain (multiple) file types.

But, on the converse direction, the *user* has the
ability to associate a specific data file type, with a
specific application. And, we would hope when a user
makes the selection, that all choices were equally
functional.

.html ==> Firefos
Internet Explorer
MSEdge
Notepad

Now, the file is one of many that are plain text,
and consequently, Notepad is a "valid" choice that
a user can make. Except it is not technically
the "best" choice, since assigning a browser to
parse that file type, is closer to the original intent.

There are interfaces in the OS itself, without any
third party, for setting these.

You could attempt to force an association, except certain
things in the Registry are protected with a hash check,
as "proof" the Windows agent did the work of setting
the choice. An example of where this protection is
present, is the "User Default Browser Choice". which
might indeed be related to .htm or .html.

Microsoft has been using that hash, to "bias" the user
choice. To annoy users that they can't make Firefox
their default browser, and MSEdge seems to keep coming
back. It would come back, any time the hash value
is incorrect. Thus, any tool that duplicates that system
built-in function, must also duplicate the hash scheme.
There is crypto involved. But someone did break it,
and to avoid DMCA charges, he cannot publicly give
a recipe as to what his code is doing. That would
be "hacking", punishable under the DMCA. Like Assange,
he could be kept in a cardboard box for five years, in
a kind of limbo. Developers must be very careful in
their expression and thought <snicker>.

https://i.postimg.cc/L4wJN66z/win10-default-apps.gif

https://i.postimg.cc/44D62TJh/win10-default-apps-by-file-type.gif

https://i.postimg.cc/vZQ6CYCD/win11-default-apps-Firefox.gif

Paul

Paul wrote:
> On 4/8/2024 5:09 PM, Ed Cryer wrote:
>
>>
>> .URL, .htm, .html are all Windows file extensions; or, at least, they used to be.
>> They guide Windows, or, at least they used to, to different programs.
>>
>> They have icons associated with them; or, at least they used to.
>>
>> Ergo, if I look at a file's extension with WinExplorer, it should point to those root elements of the Windows architecture.
>>
>> But this schematic appears to have crumbled. OK, so be it. But how do I get to know the new layout?
>>
>> Ed
>>
>
> File types are, as they have been.
>
> Windows is object oriented in a sense. In that, double clicking
> a data icon of some sort, the system associates the data icon
> with an executable which will be used to handle it. This is roughly
> the equivalent of dragging the data icon on top of the program icon.
>
> File Types Management, is a means of doing something like this
>
> .html ==> Firefox
>
> The Firefox browser, registers with the OS, that it supports
> the reading and parsing of certain (multiple) file types.
>
> But, on the converse direction, the *user* has the
> ability to associate a specific data file type, with a
> specific application. And, we would hope when a user
> makes the selection, that all choices were equally
> functional.
>
> .html ==> Firefos
> Internet Explorer
> MSEdge
> Notepad
>
> Now, the file is one of many that are plain text,
> and consequently, Notepad is a "valid" choice that
> a user can make. Except it is not technically
> the "best" choice, since assigning a browser to
> parse that file type, is closer to the original intent.
>
> There are interfaces in the OS itself, without any
> third party, for setting these.
>
> You could attempt to force an association, except certain
> things in the Registry are protected with a hash check,
> as "proof" the Windows agent did the work of setting
> the choice. An example of where this protection is
> present, is the "User Default Browser Choice". which
> might indeed be related to .htm or .html.
>
> Microsoft has been using that hash, to "bias" the user
> choice. To annoy users that they can't make Firefox
> their default browser, and MSEdge seems to keep coming
> back. It would come back, any time the hash value
> is incorrect. Thus, any tool that duplicates that system
> built-in function, must also duplicate the hash scheme.
> There is crypto involved. But someone did break it,
> and to avoid DMCA charges, he cannot publicly give
> a recipe as to what his code is doing. That would
> be "hacking", punishable under the DMCA. Like Assange,
> he could be kept in a cardboard box for five years, in
> a kind of limbo. Developers must be very careful in
> their expression and thought <snicker>.
>
> https://i.postimg.cc/L4wJN66z/win10-default-apps.gif
>
> https://i.postimg.cc/44D62TJh/win10-default-apps-by-file-type.gif
>
> https://i.postimg.cc/vZQ6CYCD/win11-default-apps-Firefox.gif
>
> Paul

Interesting, Paul. I didn't know about that Settings page for default
applications by file type.
Both .htm and .html have Firefox assigned; but .url has "Internet
Browser", and the only alternative choice is "Look for an app in the
Microsoft Store".

Ed

R.Wieser wrote:
> Paul,
>
>> It's not clear to me, whether "redoing stuff" (canonical location
>> updates) will ever repair iconcache.
>
> Likely deleting them so Windows will rebuild them should than help.
>
> https://www.windowscentral.com/how-reset-icon-cache-database-windows-10
>
> Regards,
> Rudy Wieser
>
>
>

There's a nice little .BAT file that does the whole rebuilding.
https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/5645-rebuild-icon-cache-windows-10-a.html#option1

Ed

Ed Cryer wrote:
> Paul wrote:
>> On 4/8/2024 5:09 PM, Ed Cryer wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> .URL, .htm, .html are all Windows file extensions; or, at least, they
>>> used to be.
>>> They guide Windows, or, at least they used to, to different programs.
>>>
>>> They have icons associated with them; or, at least they used to.
>>>
>>> Ergo, if I look at a file's extension with WinExplorer, it should
>>> point to those root elements of the Windows architecture.
>>>
>>> But this schematic appears to have crumbled. OK, so be it. But how do
>>> I get to know the new layout?
>>>
>>> Ed
>>>
>>
>> File types are, as they have been.
>>
>> Windows is object oriented in a sense. In that, double clicking
>> a data icon of some sort, the system associates the data icon
>> with an executable which will be used to handle it. This is roughly
>> the equivalent of dragging the data icon on top of the program icon.
>>
>> File Types Management, is a means of doing something like this
>>
>>     .html ==> Firefox
>>
>> The Firefox browser, registers with the OS, that it supports
>> the reading and parsing of certain (multiple) file types.
>>
>> But, on the converse direction, the *user* has the
>> ability to associate a specific data file type, with a
>> specific application. And, we would hope when a user
>> makes the selection, that all choices were equally
>> functional.
>>
>>     .html ==> Firefos
>>               Internet Explorer
>>               MSEdge
>>               Notepad
>>
>> Now, the file is one of many that are plain text,
>> and consequently, Notepad is a "valid" choice that
>> a user can make. Except it is not technically
>> the "best" choice, since assigning a browser to
>> parse that file type, is closer to the original intent.
>>
>> There are interfaces in the OS itself, without any
>> third party, for setting these.
>>
>> You could attempt to force an association, except certain
>> things in the Registry are protected with a hash check,
>> as "proof" the Windows agent did the work of setting
>> the choice. An example of where this protection is
>> present, is the "User Default Browser Choice". which
>> might indeed be related to .htm or .html.
>>
>> Microsoft has been using that hash, to "bias" the user
>> choice. To annoy users that they can't make Firefox
>> their default browser, and MSEdge seems to keep coming
>> back. It would come back, any time the hash value
>> is incorrect. Thus, any tool that duplicates that system
>> built-in function, must also duplicate the hash scheme.
>> There is crypto involved. But someone did break it,
>> and to avoid DMCA charges, he cannot publicly give
>> a recipe as to what his code is doing. That would
>> be "hacking", punishable under the DMCA. Like Assange,
>> he could be kept in a cardboard box for five years, in
>> a kind of limbo. Developers must be very careful in
>> their expression and thought <snicker>.
>>
>>     https://i.postimg.cc/L4wJN66z/win10-default-apps.gif
>>
>>     https://i.postimg.cc/44D62TJh/win10-default-apps-by-file-type.gif
>>
>>     https://i.postimg.cc/vZQ6CYCD/win11-default-apps-Firefox.gif
>>
>>    Paul
>
> Interesting, Paul. I didn't know about that Settings page for default
> applications by file type.
> Both .htm and .html have Firefox assigned; but .url has "Internet
> Browser", and the only alternative choice is "Look for an app in the
> Microsoft Store".
>
> Ed
>
Well, blow me!, I've just looked at two other of my Win10 systems; one
Home (same as this), the other Pro.
The former has exactly the same problem as this one, the latter is ok.
All systems are up to date, as are the Firefoxes.
Has anyone here using Home got my misbehaving browser?
Ed

On 4/9/2024 7:00 AM, Ed Cryer wrote:

> All systems are up to date, as are the Firefoxes.
>
> Has anyone here using Home got my misbehaving browser?
>

I have Win10 Home running Firefox. I haven't had any trouble
with browsers. All my HTML files show a black-with-FF-logo
icon. Though I did find something that claimed to
remove Edge. Then I tracked down remaining Edge files and
removed those. (In ProgramData? Program Files? I'm not sure.
I was just setting up Win10 and it was days of whack-a-mole
as I tried to get it to behave with some kind of baseline civility.)

Could that have had an effect? I doubt it. I'm guessing that
I must have gone through "choose defaults by extension". I
remember that I used that for some files because the defaults
I wanted were simply not included in my options for open with...

Looking in my Registry now I see that actually FF never overwrote
the HKCR extension and classname keys. It all points to IE!
Instead, the only indication of Firefox is in the keys that
Vanguard mentioned:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.html\UserChoice

There it has a value of ProgID which has data of FirefoxHTML-xxxxxxxxxx
I don't know whether the number is unique. There's also a Hash value.
So UserChoice overrides HKCR and is designed such that it can only
be set through Windows. I have no values or subkeys for .html under
HKCU\Software\Classes. FirefoxHTML-xxxxx points back into HKCR.

This is more convoluted than I realized. And confusing. The term
"ProgID" has traditionally had a very specfic meaning as a COM
server.class designation. But it doesn't mean that here. It seems to
be some kind of MS nerd practical joke.

It looks like there's no reason not to go along with UserChoice
if it works. Alternatively, one could reportedly delete the UserChoice
key and thereby cause the setting to revert to HKCR. Then you'd
need to change the class name under .html etc to the Firefox class
identifier -- FirefoxHTML-xxxxxxx. I expect the UserChoice values can't
be changed by hand. The Hash probably has to match the ProgID
value.

Newyana2 wrote:
> On 4/9/2024 7:00 AM, Ed Cryer wrote:
>
>> All systems are up to date, as are the Firefoxes.
>>
>> Has anyone here using Home got my misbehaving browser?
>>
>
>    I have Win10 Home running Firefox. I haven't had any trouble
> with browsers. All my HTML files show a black-with-FF-logo
> icon. Though I did find something that claimed to
> remove Edge. Then I tracked down remaining Edge files and
> removed those. (In ProgramData? Program Files? I'm not sure.
> I was just setting up Win10 and it was days of whack-a-mole
> as I tried to get it to behave with some kind of baseline civility.)
>
>    Could that have had an effect? I doubt it. I'm guessing that
> I must have gone through "choose defaults by extension". I
> remember that I used that for some files because the defaults
> I wanted were simply not included in my options for open with...
>
>   Looking in my Registry now I see that actually FF never overwrote
> the HKCR extension and classname keys. It all points to IE!
> Instead, the only indication of Firefox is in the keys that
> Vanguard mentioned:
>
> HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.html\UserChoice
>
>   There it has a value of ProgID which has data of FirefoxHTML-xxxxxxxxxx
> I don't know whether the number is unique. There's also a Hash value.
> So UserChoice overrides HKCR and is designed such that it can only
> be set through Windows. I have no values or subkeys for .html under
> HKCU\Software\Classes. FirefoxHTML-xxxxx points back into HKCR.
>
>    This is more convoluted than I realized. And confusing. The term
> "ProgID" has traditionally had a very specfic meaning as a COM
> server.class designation. But it doesn't mean that here. It seems to
> be some kind of MS nerd practical joke.
>
>   It looks like there's no reason not to go along with UserChoice
> if it works. Alternatively, one could reportedly delete the UserChoice
> key and thereby cause the setting to revert to HKCR. Then you'd
> need to change the class name under .html etc to the Firefox class
> identifier -- FirefoxHTML-xxxxxxx. I expect the UserChoice values can't
> be changed by hand. The Hash probably has to match the ProgID
> value.
>
Thanks for this. It seems to point to an extremely long and convoluted
path, which I'd probably get lost on if I ventured that way; or, more
likely, make changes that would require other changes etc.
The FF icon is the only one that's wrong. Everything else is ok. It's a
very limited problem. And it strikes me that it's so limited that I
ought to be able to pounce on the solution immediately. But I can't.
I bet Sherlock Holmes would have. "Elementary, my dear Watson. When
you've eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains,
however improbable, must be the truth".
Ed

On 4/9/2024 8:09 AM, Newyana2 wrote:
> On 4/9/2024 7:00 AM, Ed Cryer wrote:
>
>> All systems are up to date, as are the Firefoxes.
>>
>> Has anyone here using Home got my misbehaving browser?
>>
>
>    I have Win10 Home running Firefox. I haven't had any trouble
> with browsers. All my HTML files show a black-with-FF-logo
> icon. Though I did find something that claimed to
> remove Edge. Then I tracked down remaining Edge files and
> removed those. (In ProgramData? Program Files? I'm not sure.
> I was just setting up Win10 and it was days of whack-a-mole
> as I tried to get it to behave with some kind of baseline civility.)
>
>    Could that have had an effect? I doubt it. I'm guessing that
> I must have gone through "choose defaults by extension". I
> remember that I used that for some files because the defaults
> I wanted were simply not included in my options for open with...
>
>   Looking in my Registry now I see that actually FF never overwrote
> the HKCR extension and classname keys. It all points to IE!
> Instead, the only indication of Firefox is in the keys that
> Vanguard mentioned:
>
> HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.html\UserChoice
>
>   There it has a value of ProgID which has data of FirefoxHTML-xxxxxxxxxx
> I don't know whether the number is unique. There's also a Hash value.
> So UserChoice overrides HKCR and is designed such that it can only
> be set through Windows. I have no values or subkeys for .html under
> HKCU\Software\Classes. FirefoxHTML-xxxxx points back into HKCR.
>
>    This is more convoluted than I realized. And confusing. The term
> "ProgID" has traditionally had a very specfic meaning as a COM
> server.class designation. But it doesn't mean that here. It seems to
> be some kind of MS nerd practical joke.
>
>   It looks like there's no reason not to go along with UserChoice
> if it works. Alternatively, one could reportedly delete the UserChoice
> key and thereby cause the setting to revert to HKCR. Then you'd
> need to change the class name under .html etc to the Firefox class
> identifier -- FirefoxHTML-xxxxxxx. I expect the UserChoice values can't
> be changed by hand. The Hash probably has to match the ProgID
> value.
>

There happens to be a post, with a hint.

MID <ecf4f54317a17a4494baf96fde01c7e8@www.novabbs.com>

http://al.howardknight.net/?STYPE=msgid&MSGI=%3Cecf4f54317a17a4494baf96fde01c7e8%40www.novabbs.com%3E

The URL in that post, is this.

https://www.ghacks.net/2024/04/08/new-sneaky-windows-driver-ucdp-stops-non-microsoft-software-from-setting-defaults/

You know, Extended Support, "we won't change feature set", feature set.

Paul

Ed Cryer <ed@somewhere.in.the.uk> wrote:

> Both .htm and .html have Firefox assigned; but .url has "Internet
> Browser", and the only alternative choice is "Look for an app in the
> Microsoft Store".

Internet Browser is a switching client. It picks whatever you assigned
to be the default web browser. I had changed the handler (don't
remember how) to point at Firefox, but ran into some problem that I
cannot now remember. It was serious, and luckily I remember what I
changed in the last couple days; else, I would've had to restore from an
image backup. When double-clicking on a .url file, the Internet Browser
is used to determine which web browser to load. It is not an actual web
browser. In dev circles, "browser" is often something to make a
selection, like the file browser is a dialog that opens when you go to
save a file or select one.

It is the ieframe.dll file with its functions (exports) having a
friendly name of "Internet Browser". It's one of those Internet
Explorer libs used for more than IE, and something that survived despite
Microsoft dropping Internet Explorer (and even if you manage to
uninstall IE). Using a DLL viewer, like Nirsoft's DLL Export View, you
can see the list of functions that can be called inside the DLL file.

https://www.ctrl.blog/entry/windows-internet-browser.html

VanguardLH wrote:
> Ed Cryer <ed@somewhere.in.the.uk> wrote:
>
>> Both .htm and .html have Firefox assigned; but .url has "Internet
>> Browser", and the only alternative choice is "Look for an app in the
>> Microsoft Store".
>
> Internet Browser is a switching client. It picks whatever you assigned
> to be the default web browser. I had changed the handler (don't
> remember how) to point at Firefox, but ran into some problem that I
> cannot now remember. It was serious, and luckily I remember what I
> changed in the last couple days; else, I would've had to restore from an
> image backup. When double-clicking on a .url file, the Internet Browser
> is used to determine which web browser to load. It is not an actual web
> browser. In dev circles, "browser" is often something to make a
> selection, like the file browser is a dialog that opens when you go to
> save a file or select one.
>
> It is the ieframe.dll file with its functions (exports) having a
> friendly name of "Internet Browser". It's one of those Internet
> Explorer libs used for more than IE, and something that survived despite
> Microsoft dropping Internet Explorer (and even if you manage to
> uninstall IE). Using a DLL viewer, like Nirsoft's DLL Export View, you
> can see the list of functions that can be called inside the DLL file.
>
> https://www.ctrl.blog/entry/windows-internet-browser.html

This MS forum shows a chap with a problem very similar to mine;
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/incorrect-icon-being-displayed-for-one-particular/b70a2913-4f8f-4435-a14a-eba38ca38e1a

In addition to what he mentions, I've also quadrupled the size of the
icon cache. Oh, and BTW, the solutions suggested by the independent
advisor Paul Abayon didn't work either.

Ed

Ed Cryer <ed@somewhere.in.the.uk> wrote:

> This MS forum shows a chap with a problem very similar to mine;
> https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/incorrect-icon-being-displayed-for-one-particular/b70a2913-4f8f-4435-a14a-eba38ca38e1a
>
> In addition to what he mentions, I've also quadrupled the size of the
> icon cache. Oh, and BTW, the solutions suggested by the independent
> advisor Paul Abayon didn't work either.

I already mentioned using WinAero Tweaker to reset the icon cache, and
to change its size. Or, you can follow online articles delving into the
same issues, like using a .bat file to 'del' the icon .db file and
reg.exe to change a registry setting.

As I recall, I've only had to delete the icon cache just once, but so
long ago that I don't remember for which version of Windows. Once the
registry setting is changed to increase the cache size, very unlikely
you have to do it again.

Paul, in that article, didn't seem to help much. More like he was
trying to keep the user occupied with busy-work rather than addressing
the issue. He is one of those pseudo-techs that professes competence he
doesn't have. There are lots of those in the MS Answers web forums.
His only real help was in providing a link to the TenForums article.
There are tons of online articles describing how to delete the icon
cache file, and upping the size of the cache. I picked the WinAero
articles, because the tweaker has links to them to provide information
on just what the tweaker does (unlike a lot of tweakers that keep secret
that info, like that makes them magical and special).