How to set up file associations

If you want to have an option to open certain archive formats directly in Windows Explorer, you should set up file associations in the dialog box shown below (this dialog displays just after installation and is also accessible via Start menu>All Programs>TC4Shell>File associations).

Enable checkboxes next to the file formats you want (or choose Select all/Deselect all), click Apply and then click Close.

Note that setting up file associations in TC4Shell does not modify the system file associations. For example, if you associate ISO files with TC4Shell in Windows 10 and then double-click an ISO file in Windows Explorer, Windows will offer you to mount this image on a virtual drive instead of opening in Windows Explorer. In order to view it Windows Explorer without mounting, right-click the ISO and choose Open in this window.

You can also click Add and select additional file formats to be opened with TC4Shell or click Edit to change the existing ones.

In the window that appears, specify the file extension and select the corresponding plugins for processing files with this extension. Some of plugins may also have additional options, such as compression level and method, and so on. In this case, you can click the Options button (when it's active) and specify them as required. Note that you can also modify these settings later when creating a new archive. And finally, you can set up priorities for these plug-ins using the Move Up and Move Down buttons. When files with certain file extension can be opened using several plug-ins, TC4Shell will be picking them up in the list from top to bottom.

Note also that you can enable Suggest setting associations if archives are found in the Explorer, so that each time you open Windows Explorer and choose a file archive with an extension not associated with TC4Shell, the system could associate its file extension with TC4Shell and then directly open such files directly in Windows Explorer.

Click Yes if you want to set up the association or click No to hide this prompt and instruct the system not to show it again for this file extension. Alternatively, you can enable In the future, do not show me this dialog box and then click No to disable autodetection of archives (you can enable it again in the association setup dialog).

It is also possible to set up association for a given file type on the Navigation tab of the file properties dialog.

The workflow is similar to adding a new file type, except that TC4Shell automatically checks the file contents and shows only automatically detected plugins. If you want to activate plugins from the list of all available plug-ins, simply disable Show recommended plug-ins only.