In this post I show how you can configure default apps using Intune for windows 10. By configuring default apps you configure which application will be used to open a specific file type or will be used to send an email or other tasks. In windows 10, some default applications are set to open certain tasks and file types. You can find these in the Default app screen in Settings -> Apps. Through the default app page, there are four ways to associate an application with a file type.
| Choose default app | Select default apps (changes protocol and file type association) |
| Choose default app by file type | Select which app to use by file type |
| Choose default apps by protocol | Select which app to use based on protocol |
| Set defaults by app | Select by app which file types are associated |
Keep in mind:
Sometimes not all file and protocol associations are linked to the new default app. For example: If you change the video player from the default “Movies & TV” app to “Windows Media Player” associated file types as .mp4, .mpg will change, but the protocol MSWINDOWSVIDEO will still use the “Movies & TV” app.
Set default apps with Intune
To configure the default apps through Intune, several steps must be followed. The first step is to configure the desired settings on a reference computer and export them to an xml file. Next, the xml must be encode to Base64. The encoded xml is then used in Intune to create a custom configuration profile. In this demo I use two computers; a reference computer to configure the settings and a target computer to test the policy on.
1. On your reference computer login as administrator and browse to Settings -> Apps -> Default Apps. In this screen you are able to choose the default apps. On the bottom of the screen you can reset the applications to their defaults or choose default apps based on file type, protocol and select by app.
2. Configure the applications you want to use as default applications. Additionally, you can select applications based on file type and protocol.
3. After you configure default apps, run Powershell (ISE) as an administrator. Enter the following command to export the settings to a XML file
Dism /Online /Export-DefaultAppAssociations:"<pathname/filename.xml>"
4. Open the XML file and copy the contents.
5. Open the Internet browser and go to an encoder for example https://www.base64decode.org/. Paste the contents of the xml file and press “Encode” to encode the xml data. Copy and save the encoded data string.
6. Login to the MEM admin center and select “Devices -> Windows -> Configuration profiles” or click here. Press “+ Create Profile” to create a new configuration profile.
7. Select platform “Windows 10 or later”, select profile type “Templates” and select template name “Custom”. Press “Create” to create the configuration profile.
8. Enter a recognizable name and optional description. Press “Next” to continue.
9. Press “Add” to add the custom OMA-URI setting.
10. Enter the following values and press “Save” to continue.
| Name: | For example: DefaultAssociationsConfiguration |
| Description: | For example: Default applications and associations |
| OMA-URI: | ./Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ApplicationDefaults/DefaultAssociationsConfiguration |
| Data Type: | String |
| Value: | Copy encoded Base64 value (step 5) |
11. A new row has been added, press “Next” to continue.
12. Assign the Configuration profile for example “testusers”.
13. Configure optional Applicability Rules or leave empty. Press “Next” to continue.
14. Review the settings and press “Create” to finish create and assign the device profile.
15. Wait for the device profile to be deployed to the target computer.
16. The default apps have now changed from the default windows 10 settings (left) to the settings as configured on the reference computer (right).
-
- Before policy
-
- After Policy
Keep in mind
Users will still be able to change the default applications, but the settings will be restored at the next sync.
I hope you liked this post about how to configure default apps using Intune. If you have any questions or comments about this post, just let me know in the comment section.
Thank you for the info. Is there a way to set it so that it does not reset after the user makes changes ? We would like to sett the defaults as a suggestion not as a mandatory .
HI Enrique,
As far as I know, this is not possible. Let’s hope this changes in the future.
regards, Aad
you could do this with a remediation script.
set a flag when it has run once. if the flag is set to true, it wont change it back
Thank you for this! Do I need to target this to users or devices ? I’ve tried to a group with a test user in and it doesnt seem to be doing a lot!
Hi James,
The policy can be assigned to both user and device. They both will work.
I’m having the same issue as @james cook i’ve tried in a test group with users and a test group with just devices
Hi,
I’ve uploaded a copy of the defaultassociation value used in my blogpost. You can copy it from my Github https://github.com/vmlabblog/Intune/blob/master/defaultassociationvalue
Try to see if this one will work.
regards Aad
Unfortunately doesn’t seem to work at all.
Tried the above instructions as well as the code posted on GitHub and neither does anything to the default apps.
I’ve resolved the issue, if anyone else has the same issue where it deploys but doesn’t work, I fixed by the following:
On step 5 of the above, when you enter the XML into https://www.base64encode.org/ the first line of the XML shows ” remove this top line and then select Encode, use this text.
For ease, the below will give you default apps; Outlook for Mail, Chrome for Browser and Adobe Reader for .pdf
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
Not sure why it has removed part of my comment above but the top line you should remove is:
?xml version=”1.0 encoding=”UTF-8″?
Thank You Michael for this.
You help me so much !!!!
Hi Michael,
Because of your comments, I tested it again, but it works for me without having to delete the first line . This is also consistent with Microsoft’s documentation. I was wondering which buildversion of Windows you are using. I used two Windows 10 21H2 enterprise VMs (OS Build 19044.1766).
regards, Aad
If we want to only set one or two apps as default and not all of them, can we export the xml file and then remove all the lines apart from the ones which reference the apps we want to set through the intune policy before we encode it?
You sure can, I have done this just to set the default PDF app
Hi Lewis,
This is certainly possible. When modifying, do remember not to change the xml formatting.
regards, Aad
Amazing, thanks guys!
We use same way to deploy file association for pdf file for Adobe acrobat reader dc, mail app for outlook & link open in Chrome browser. We are using since 2020 but from Feb 2022, on 100 of devices chrome is taking over pdf file randomly. We check all setting even ProgID for Adobe. All looks fine as the same setting works for other 80 devices. Any thoughts?
Hello, I see the same problem as you, and the Chrome application becomes the default application for PDF files.
Have you found a reason, a solution?
Have a good day
Just keep this in XML regarding Chrome
Hi,
Do you know whether it’s possible to have multiple default app profiles?
We have one for our Mail app and a separate profile for our media apps but when it deploys to my laptop it registers as a conflict.
My plan is to merge them into one profile but I have been asked to look into why the conflict appears even though they are defaulting different file types / apps.
Cheers,
Louis
Hi Louis,
You will get a conflict when you assign two different default association configurations to the same device. You will need to merge these policies to one profile to fix this.
regards, Aad
Any idea how to export XML of taskbar?
hi Alex,
Take a look on this article https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/configuration/configure-windows-10-taskbar
regards, Aad
This is fantastic thank you so much for the step by step. I had a quick question do you happen to know how to configure intune to setup default apps to task bar? Id like to have these pinned explorer, outlook, chrome, onenote and teams.
HI Ivan,
You can add the configuration to the xml. Check this link of Microsoft for more information.
regards, Aad