Has anyone else had their Default Programs List wiped out after installing Sketchup Pro 2018?
I log in this morning, to find all my programs asking me, " ----- is not your default program for ---- files. Set as Default?" I open up my Set Default Programs list, only to find it empty except for Sketchup 2018, LayOut 2018, & Style Builder 2018, all sitting there with a guilty expression on their faces.
I’m running Windows 7, and the only other install/ unistalls I did was an uninstall of Sketchup Pro 2016.
That I did not - I just double-clicked the .exe installer and ran with the defaults. I believe I’ve done the same with the previous versions of Sketchup that installed as well.
Then SketchUp is not installed correctly and you can get all sorts of odd behaviors. Close SketchUp if it is open, find the installed and right click on it. Choose Run as administrator and then when presented with it, choose the Repair option.
In recent times, running the installer with a simple double-click has become very risky due to tightened security in Windows. The consequences are sensitive to pre-existing conditions in your PC, which is why some people get away with it but others encounter very bizarre errors later. The only way to be certain any errors are not from this cause is to right-click the installer and choose Run as Administrator.
Alas, I learn something new everyday. I’ll keep this in mind for future installs, though I’m annoyed that Windows would default to an option that’s mired in chaos…
I’ve done the Repair process and things look the same, so hopefully that’s the last of my issues. I don’t know if there’s a way to easily restore the Default Programs list, but at the most it’s a mild annoyance, so I can live with that.
Danke, sketch3d_de. I’ve done some restoring and the plot thickens now -
I restored to a point right before installing 2018, and the Default Programs List was still empty. I took it a step further to when I unistalled 2016 an hour earlier, and that brought the list back!
I apologize for leading everyone down this rabbit hole with SU 2018, but I suppose the question becomes “how can one uninstall SU 2016 without running into the same issue?”
May I ask why uninstall SketchUp Pro 2016 (other than to save storage space)? Multiple versions can co-exist without problems, and you might want the older version for odds and ends. Also, I suspect that you would not be able to re-install and re-licence your copy of SketchUp Pro 2016 at this point, if you remove it (I recall reading some discussions about this, I don’t have personal experience with trying to re-licence an older version).
Mostly storage is the reason, along with having 2017 installed as well. Also, I seemed to have issues with 2016 not playing nicely with certain extensions (Solid Inspector if I remember), and 2017 seemed to fix those. That, and the rest of the SU users at my company use 2017 .skp’s , so coordinating version would be a nuisance. Honestly, If I leave 2016 installed, I doubt I’d find reason to use it again.
Also, you might have a good point with the license - I’d already unistalled 2016, then restored it back, but I don’t think I the licensing authiorization would be restored too.
uninstalling a SU program installation normally should not impose the behaviour described, if you may want try again some time restart Windows and create a restore point before.
Well, I found some free time, and it looks like SU 2016 Pro is indeed the culprit- I checked the Default List immediately before and after uninstalling 2016 again, and it wipes clear.
As for why? I haven’t the faintest clue. Perhaps my workstation is unique with this (a mutant strain of SU 2016 ), or perhaps others with 2016 haven’t noticed, but at least the issue’s been noted for posterity…
I can’t say with any degree of certainty, but typically I install SU using the link that I get from the auto-email telling me that a new version of SU is available, and has all of the licensing info.
As for the installer (the .exe file that I initially download?), it’s long gone, so I wouldn’t be able to check any of its details. I can say for sure that I didn’t run it with the “Run as Administrator” option, so I may’ve sealed my fate years ago…
), or perhaps others with 2016 haven’t noticed, but at least the issue’s been noted for posterity…