Calibre shown as default open for azw files.

[bookworm65]

Hi,

I have a problem that I can't find an answer to. I had to reinstall Windows a couple of weeks back, losing all my Apps at the same time. Reinstalling everything I come to find that all my azw files show as the Calibre icon, not the white little square they did previously. I was told to do it via control panel>default programs>choose default apps by file type. I did this but there was no App showing to open them with other than Calibre. I have Kindle for PC installed. So I would have thought that would have changed them automatically. When I get to choose default Apps by file type. It shows azw kindle content as being opened by kindle for pc. But azw3 as being opened by the Main Calibre program. But when I click on that to change how it operates Amazon or kindle are not choices. In fact Calibre is the only choice. So, how on earth does one change it to open via kindle for pc or kindle oasis rather than Calibre?

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by bookworm65

<snip>
So, how on earth does one change it to open via kindle for pc or kindle oasis rather than Calibre?

I would do it like this:

• In File Manager, right click a .azw file and select Open With,
• select Choose another App,
• scroll all the way down and select More apps,
• scroll all the way down and select Look for another app on this PC,
• that will open the Programs Files folder - find and select the program you want (it maybe be in Program Files (X86) if you're running 64 bit Windows).
• Don't forget to click in the Always use this app to open .azw files check box.

BR

[bookworm65]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

I would do it like this:

• In File Manager, right click a .azw file and select Open With,
• select Choose another App,
• scroll all the way down and select More apps,
• scroll all the way down and select Look for another app on this PC,
• that will open the Programs Files folder - find and select the program you want (it maybe be in Program Files (X86) if you're running 64 bit Windows).
• Don't forget to click in the Always use this app to open .azw files check box.

BR

Magic. Thank you, it was hidden away on the Desktop, but even then it didn't give me an option to always use. So I right clicked and tried open with, and this time kindle was an option. Thankfully now they no longer look like a Calibre icon.

[stumped]

for the record, I faced the same issue on new windows install.

I knew about open with... choose another app... but Kindle for PC does not install to a sensible location. Last time I needed to find my own install it was in App Data Local. [ but that was a re-install of a safer, older version- don't know or care where the current version goers to, as I have no intention of installing it

MS recommend that programs install to Program Files and do NOT install to app data, that's where much malware hides out. Amaozn clearly thingk they know better, as does Spotify. and maybe also Chrome.
And best of luck to enyone who needs to quickly find where Edge is installed

[theducks]

Well, it sorta makes sense (but, I agree that they should have done it different)

Kindle 4 PC is a Single user app. (apps like Calibre default to anyone on the PC, even if they have unique preferences and Libraries)

Each user has to have an Amazon Account, Amazon device ID (DRM key?) , My Kindle Library.

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by stumped

MS recommend that programs install to Program Files and do NOT install to app data, that's where much malware hides out. Amaozn clearly thingk they know better, as does Spotify. and maybe also Chrome.

Microsoft has long supported both per-machine and per-user software installation contexts. The per-user context isolates the program to a single user, allowing different users to run different program versions, and does not require privilege escalation for installation.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by theducks

Well, it sorta makes sense (but, I agree that they should have done it different)

Kindle 4 PC is a Single user app. (apps like Calibre default to anyone on the PC, even if they have unique preferences and Libraries)

Each user has to have an Amazon Account, Amazon device ID (DRM key?) , My Kindle Library.

Rather than dumping stuff into %APPDATA%, a Programs directory in %HOMEPATH% would have been a better solution. By default it could even include symlinks to %ProgramFiles% and %ProgramFiles(X86)%.

That said, I know for a fact that the Chrome software is NOT built specifically for each users Google account - i.e your copy of a given version of chrome.exe will exactly the same as the two copies I have on this system.

I don't have the Amazon software so I can't speak to it, but I would be very surprised if they built a bespoke version of the software specific to each Amazon account.

BR

[theducks]

BR
I had no idea they had even done this until I went looking because of this thread.
I found the app in the Kindle folder and I also found an empty KindlePC folder there.

Those mumbles were just my WAG at why the may have done it... Not condoning a poor practice.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by theducks

BR
I had no idea they had even done this until I went looking because of this thread.
I found the app in the Kindle folder and I also found an empty KindlePC folder there.

Those mumbles were just my WAG at why the may have done it... Not condoning a poor practice.

I did appreciate you were only offering an explanation, but what do your Wives And Girlfriends have to do with the price of fish

@jhowell - with the utmost respect, many (most) calibre users would not understand a single sentence of that 9 minute read on the MS Dev centre site. Nor am I sure the developers at Google and Amazon do either

How do 'installation contexts' intersect with 'default programs/open with lists' ?

BR

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

@jhowell - with the utmost respect, many (most) calibre users would not understand a single sentence of that 9 minute read on the MS Dev centre site. Nor am I sure the developers at Google and Amazon do either

How do 'installation contexts' intersect with 'default programs/open with lists' ?

I posted that in response to the statement "MS recommend that programs install to Program Files and do NOT install to app data". The link was to the Windows Installer documentation for developers indicating that either alternative is supported and approved by Microsoft.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by jhowell

Microsoft has long supported both per-machine and per-user software installation contexts. The per-user context isolates the program to a single user, allowing different users to run different program versions, and does not require privilege escalation for installation.

I just tried two programs that have all users/single user install options. The program installed into Program Files in all 4 test cases. The differences I noted were:

1. The all users installs placed the program data files in a directoy under Program Data while the single user install used a directory in the user's App Data area to store program data.

2. The start menu entry for all users was in Program Data/Microsoft/etc. while the start menu entry for single user was in App Data/Roaming/Microsoft/etc.

I did not check the registry entries created but it's highly probable they used the HKLM or HKCU keys depending on the install type.

This seems to match up with the Microsoft page you mentioned other than the single user program install directory being left as Program Files rather than being set to App Data\Local\Programs which would need Windows 7 or Server 2008 R2 to use.