Shell integration issue
Posted: 14 May 2026 09:14
My desktop machine has recently developed a new, slightly odd, issue.
I have (and have had for years) xyplorer set to be the default file manager; it loads at startup and the config shell integration settings are ticked.
I have three desktop folders containing categorised application shortcuts: games, applications and utilities.
Double-clicking on a folder always opens it in XYPlorer. Until recently. Now, usually nothing happens.
If I right-click one of the folders, the context menu has XYPlorer as the top entry, and the Open entry has the XYPlorer icon. Choosing XYPlorer does nothing, and choosing Open opens the folder in File Explorer.
If I open XYPlorer from the tray icon, everything's fine.
I've deactivated and reactivated the shell extension config entries. No difference.
64-bit, current version. PC is Win 11, patched up to date (like that's possible to avoid these days!)
So... I assume there are registry entries that control the default file manager, and I also assume that as Windows often resets defaults on its own, particularly with respect to the browser, something relating to that might have happened, perhaps as a result of a Windows patch or something. But where should I be looking for issues? What bits of registry, and what should the contents be? Oh, and might it matter that XYPlorer doesn't live in the Programfiles tree on that machine?
I have (and have had for years) xyplorer set to be the default file manager; it loads at startup and the config shell integration settings are ticked.
I have three desktop folders containing categorised application shortcuts: games, applications and utilities.
Double-clicking on a folder always opens it in XYPlorer. Until recently. Now, usually nothing happens.
If I right-click one of the folders, the context menu has XYPlorer as the top entry, and the Open entry has the XYPlorer icon. Choosing XYPlorer does nothing, and choosing Open opens the folder in File Explorer.
If I open XYPlorer from the tray icon, everything's fine.
I've deactivated and reactivated the shell extension config entries. No difference.
64-bit, current version. PC is Win 11, patched up to date (like that's possible to avoid these days!)
So... I assume there are registry entries that control the default file manager, and I also assume that as Windows often resets defaults on its own, particularly with respect to the browser, something relating to that might have happened, perhaps as a result of a Windows patch or something. But where should I be looking for issues? What bits of registry, and what should the contents be? Oh, and might it matter that XYPlorer doesn't live in the Programfiles tree on that machine?