Windows Shell Common Dll is a file that contains vital information about Windows and your PC’s hardware configuration. It is associated with the shell32.dll file. Sometimes, you may need to change the file association of certain files to Windows Shell Common Dll, for example, if you want to edit the type of file in Windows Explorer[^1^]. However, changing the file association can be tricky and risky, as it can cause errors or damage your operating system if done incorrectly. In this article, we will show you how to safely change the Open With option to Windows Shell Common Dll for any file type.

1. Log in to Windows as an administrator if your normal user profile does not have those privileges.
2. Click on the Start icon in the lower left corner of the desktop and type “shell32.dll” into the search box. Press “Enter.”
3. Click on the “Open with” button in the Caution box that pops up. In the next dialog box, choose “Select a program from a list of installed programs.”
4. Click on “Notepad” in the Open With window. Click to uncheck the box next to “Always use the selected program to open this kind of file.” Click “OK” to open the file.
5. Copy the contents of the Notepad file and paste it into a new text document. Save the document as “shell32.reg”.
6. Right-click on the file type that you want to change the Open With option for, and choose “Properties.”
7. Click on the “General” tab and note down the file extension (for example, .ifo).
8. Close the Properties window and double-click on the “shell32.reg” file. Click “Yes” to confirm that you want to add the information to the registry.
9. This will create a new registry entry for the file extension that you noted down, and associate it with Windows Shell Common Dll.
10. To verify that the change has been made, right-click on the file type again and choose “Open with.” You should see “Windows Shell Common Dll” as one of the options.

• It is very important to uncheck the “Always use the selected program” box described in Step 4. Not doing so could cause Windows errors.
• As the numerous warning boxes indicate, opening or editing a DLL file is not something to be taken lightly and can have serious consequences for your computer. Don’t do it unless you’re an experienced user and know what you’re doing.
• Notepad might be useful for viewing the contents of a DLL file but is not recommended for editing. Use a more advanced text editor like Notepad++ or Sublime Text if you need to make any changes.
• If you want to undo the change, you can use a similar method but with a different registry file. Copy the following lines to Notepad:

  REGEDIT4

  [-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\.]

  [-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Explorer\\FileExts\\.]

  Replace with the actual file extension that you want to remove (for example, .ifo). Save the file as “-remove.reg”. Double-click to run the REG file. This will remove the file association for that file type[^2^].