How to set default program for RTF files?

[Alex Ethridge]

Using Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and I have a lot of RTF documents stored on it. Some open in a program called Astro and some in a program called Hancomb (I think).

All are RTF files and have RTF extensions and I don't understand how to make them all open in Hancom Office. I have looked for instructions but since there is no standardization, different on all phones, none of the instructions I find help at all.

By the way, when I tap on the file name, I am offered no option as to what I want to open a file with. I did at one time but not any more.

 

[Dannydet]

https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/29128/how-to-read-documents-in-rtf-file-type

 

[puppykickr]

Clear the defaults for all apps that can read these files.

Settings
Apps
(show all)
choose app
Advanced
Open by default
(clear defaults)
(do all again for each app that can read these files)

The next time you select one of these files, the prompt asking you what app to use should appear.

 

[Alex Ethridge]

Clear the defaults for all apps that can read these files.

Settings
Apps
(show all)
choose app
Advanced
Open by default
(clear defaults)
(do all again for each app that can read these files)

The next time you select one of these files, the prompt asking you what app to use should appear.

There is no Advanced as you described above.

Since posting this, I have learned more about the problem. RTF files with the file extension in lower case open fine in Hancom Office. The files with the extension in upper case, will not. To be clear, the extensions are:

rtf - will open fine in Hancom Office

RTF - will not. They open in Astro file manager as unintelligible gobble-de-gook with no option to do anything else, no option to change.

 

[Dannydet]

Try using this....
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.coolreader

 

[Alex Ethridge]

Try using this....
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.coolreader

Thanks, I'll give it a try after I figure out why I can't get anything from Google Play. I keep getting a cryptic error message, words to the effect that something went wrong on their end and to try again. Tried many times, no luck.

Side loading is no problem, though.

 

[puppykickr]

Ok, so if the issue is with the extention, then rename the file and put the desired extention on it.
Use your file manager to do so.

An issue may arise because the system may say 'a file with this name already exists', so you may just leave the wrong extention and place a ' . ' and then add the proper extention.

Or you can rename each one twice, your choice.

 

[puppykickr]

There is no Advanced as you described above.

Since posting this, I have learned more about the problem. RTF files with the file extension in lower case open fine in Hancom Office. The files with the extension in upper case, will not. To be clear, the extensions are:

rtf - will open fine in Hancom Office

RTF - will not. They open in Astro file manager as unintelligible gobble-de-gook with no option to do anything else, no option to change.

Where is the 'open by default' setting then?
Defaults or similar has to be there.

 

[Alex Ethridge]

Where is the 'open by default' setting then?

I'm wondering that, myself.

 

[puppykickr]

I'm wondering that, myself.

Check eack option in the app's page.

Be sure you scroll to the bottom.

 

[Alex Ethridge]

Check eack option in the app's page.

Be sure you scroll to the bottom.

I just want to confirm that you understand that if the file extension is in upper case, it is not recognized the same as when it is in lower case.

So "Filename.rtf" works fine and "Filename.RTF" does not.

I use Astro ans my file browser. I browse to the file I want to open and tap that file. If the file's extension is in lower case, it opens in Hancom Office. If the extension is in upper case, Astro opens it but it is unintelligible, a bunch of garbage characters that mean nothing to me..

 

[puppykickr]

I just want to confirm that you understand that if the file extension is in upper case, it is not recognized the same as when it is in lower case.

So "Filename.rtf" works fine and "Filename.RTF" does not.

I use Astro ans my file browser. I browse to the file I want to open and tap that file. If the file's extension is in lower case, it opens in Hancom Office. If the extension is in upper case, Astro opens it but it is unintelligible, a bunch of garbage characters that mean nothing to me..

Yes.
Understood.

At this point I would do as I described, and add the desired extention to the filename.

I do this regularly for files that I have trouble with or that download in odd formats.

If it does not work, then you can actually try something like https://www.online-convert.com/ that will change the format of the file to whatever is desired.

 

[Alex Ethridge]

Yes.
Understood.

At this point I would do as I described, and add the desired extention to the filename.

I have solved the problem by renaming (rather, re-casing) the file extensions. I had about 1480 files in 95 folders so it was an arduous and time-consuming process which I was able to make a little less so by writing a batch file that made things go quite a bit faster.

Once I got the file extensions all re-cased (.RTF to .rtf) on my windows machine, I deleted all the .rtf and .RTF files on the phone, then re-synchronized by copying all the files on the computer to the phone again.

I've been using upper case file extensions for many years and this is the first time I have had this problem. I guess this could have been a problem all along but because I very rarely access documents on the phone, I guess I was always accessing the few that had lower case extensions.

Linux does not see upper and lower case of the same alphabetic letter the same way as windows does. And since Android is based on Linux, that became a problem for me. Frankly, I have never believed the Windows way in this matter is a good idea.

 

[puppykickr]

Well, at least the problem is solved!

I am sorry that you had to go through all of that, but it is what it is- and we have all had similar experiences.

Sometimes the manual solution is the best way.

Hey, at least I can say I helped in a way, lol.