# Ftype

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ftype
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ftype.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ftype
> Source revision: 1312902966
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Short description|Windows command}}
{{lowercase}}
__NOTOC__
{{Infobox Software 
| name                   = ftype
| logo                   = 
| screenshot             = 
| screenshot size        = 
| caption                = 
| developer              = [Microsoft](/source/Microsoft)
| released               = {{Start date and age|1996|08|24}}
| latest release version = 
| latest release date    = 
| operating system       = [Microsoft Windows](/source/Microsoft_Windows)
| genre                  = [Command](/source/Command_(computing))
| license                = [Proprietary](/source/Proprietary_software) [commercial software](/source/commercial_software)
| website                = {{URL|https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/ftype}}
}}
In [computing](/source/computing), '''<code>ftype</code>''' is a [command-line](/source/command-line_interface) utility on [Microsoft Windows](/source/Microsoft_Windows) that is used to display or change the link between a [file type](/source/file_type) and an [executable](/source/executable) program.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.computerhope.com/ftype.htm|title=MS-DOS and Windows command line ftype command|website=www.computerhope.com}}</ref>

==Overview==
The <code>ftype</code> [command](/source/command_(computing)) was introduced as a [shell builtin](/source/shell_builtin) to [cmd.exe](/source/cmd.exe) with the release of [Windows NT 4.0](/source/Windows_NT_4.0). It lists all [Registry keys](/source/Windows_Registry) in [HKEY CLASSES ROOT](/source/HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT) which contain the {{mono|shell\open\command}} subkey, and prints out the [REG SZ](/source/REG_SZ) contents of the {{mono|(default)}} value within these keys. Since it is an internal command built into <code>cmd.exe</code>, there is no <code>FTYPE.EXE</code>.

Because {{mono|(default)}} values in {{mono|HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\<keyname>\shell\open\command}} contain information on how to open [file types](/source/File_association) with registered extensions, this command essentially lists all registered file types, and which executables are used to open them, along with any switches used by the executable.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb490912.aspx|title=Ftype}}</ref>

Multiple file extensions can be associated with the same file type and several file types can be linked to the same executable application.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ss64.com/nt/ftype.html|title=Ftype - File type - Windows CMD - SS64.com|website=ss64.com}}</ref>

==See also==
*[File format](/source/File_format)
*[Filename extension](/source/Filename_extension)
*[File association](/source/File_association)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{Cite book|author-last=Hill|author-first=Tim|title=Windows NT Shell Scripting|date=1998|publisher=[Macmillan Technical Publishing](/source/Macmillan_Inc.)|isbn=978-1578700479|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/windowsntshellsc0000hill}}
*{{Cite book|first=Æleen|last=Frisch|year=2001|title=Windows 2000 Commands Pocket Reference|publisher=[O'Reilly](/source/O'Reilly_Media)|isbn=978-0-596-00148-3}}
*{{Cite book|author=John Paul Mueller|year=2007|title=Windows Administration at the Command Line for Windows Vista, Windows 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 2000|publisher=[John Wiley & Sons](/source/Wiley_(publisher))|isbn=978-0470165799}}

==External links==
{{Wikibooks|Guide to Windows Commands}}
*[https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/ftype ftype | Microsoft Docs]

{{Windows commands}}

Category:Command-line software
Category:Utility software for Windows

{{windows-stub}}

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ftype](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ftype) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ftype?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.