WARNING: Read Please

[JBaymore]

This confirms my suspicions that there is nothing at all to worry about. Leaving it as it is will do no harm whatsoever but I find it more convenient to re-associate the AIR file format on my system with AirEd. This is a straightforward procedure taking only a few seconds.

Hagar,

Thanks for being a test pilot!

[Hagar]

This confirms my suspicions that there is nothing at all to worry about. Leaving it as it is will do no harm whatsoever but I find it more convenient to re-associate the AIR file format on my system with AirEd. This is a straightforward procedure taking only a few seconds.

Hagar,

Thanks for being a test bed!  Brave man.  [smiley=clapping.gif]

Apparently (if the information is true) some people are not having the good fortune you had.  Apparently (if the information is true) it can actually kill all the FS aircraft.  Also apparently (if the information is true) ACES are now involved in the potential issue (assuming threre IS an issue).  

Thanks for drawing our attention to this John. I don't claim to be a  software expert (or any other sort of expert for that matter) but I really think this is a case of some people jumping to conclusions when they spotted the AIR file icon had changed. The first thing they would do is double-click it & that's when the panic started. I can only speak for my own system but I don't consider myself at all brave by trying it. I've installed a great deal of software of all descriptions over the years & have never known any application to corrupt files simply by associating itself with the file extension.

I did notice a couple of points. When installing Adobe AIR there is no option to disable the file associations. This is unusual as most applications have this option although I suspect most people are not aware of what it means. Also, the file type is changed as well as the icon. If you look at my second shot above it is now an Installer Package file. This means that the file icon won't change when you re-associate it with a different program. It's possible to re-associate the AIR file extension with AirEd but there is no way to change the icon. I consider this no more than a minor inconvenience which might possibly be changed in the next version of Adobe AIR. I uninstalled Adobe AIR as I have no use for it & now all is back exactly as it was before I installed it. I would have no hesitation in installing it again if I ever need it. Adobe AIR appears to be an installer package for developers & I'm not sure what the ordinary PC user would need it for.

Not sure what updating to Adobe Reader 9.0 (as it's now called) involves either. I'm still on Adobe Reader 7.0.

I repeat, this worked for me on my old WinXP system. I can't speak for other operating systems like Vista. Try it for yourself at your own risk although I suspect the rumours are groundless.

[JBaymore]

[quote]I did notice a couple of points. When installing Adobe AIR there is no option to disable the file associations. This is unusual as most applications have this option although I suspect most people are not aware of what it means.

[homebrewer]

Please tell us about this simple, straightforward procedure...

[Hagar]

Please tell us about this simple, straightforward procedure...

I thought we'd covered this in your Vincent-Monsted topic in the FS2004 forum. It should be possible to associate file types with any program you wish. Right-click on any AIR file icon & select Properties. Click the Change button & choose a program from the list. There's no point in associating it with a text editor like Notepad so you might just as well leave it as it is.

The best method might be to uninstall Adobe AIR. This will revert the file association back to what it was before you installed it.