Cannot "Open With Photoshop 2026"

[CMalwitz]

Ever since the update to Photoshop 2026, I can no longer set my default for opening .webp files in Photoshop. When I right click to "Open With" only Photoshop 2025 pops up but when I click that, it doesn't work. I tried remapping through the Default Apps panel, but that doesn't work either. I have tried uninstalling Photoshop, restarting, and re-installing. Still no luck. (I'm on Windows 11).

[D Fosse]

This is broken file associations, most likely caused by uninstalling the old version after the new one has been installed. The old version takes file associations with it on the way out.

Normally, an uninstall-reinstall will fix it and reinstate the correct file associations.

I really wish Adobe would make this small change to the CC installer:

If "remove older versions" is turned on, by whatever updater configuration, uninstall the older versions first (after checking system compatibility). Then install the new version.

This would completely avoid the problem, which turns up regularly with every update cycle.

[AndyFearnley]

This has happened to me before, what fixed it for me was resetting the file association through the old Control Panel interface instead of the newer Windows 11 Default Apps settings.

Here’s what I did:

1. Open Control Panel (you can search for it in the Start menu).

2. Go to Default Programs > Associate a file type or protocol with a program.

3. Scroll down to .webp, click it, then hit Change program.

4. If Photoshop 2026 doesn’t show up in the list, click More apps > Look for another app on this PC, and manually navigate to the Photoshop 2026 executable (usually something like C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop 2026\Photoshop.exe).

5. Select it, hit OK, and that should force Windows to use the right version.

In my case, even though I had multiple Photoshop versions installed, Windows was still defaulting to the older one until I manually pointed to the 2026 .exe. Also make sure the old version isn't registering the file type again after install, uninstalling any older versions might help if the problem persists.

[CMalwitz]

Thanks. I tried this and navigated to the Adobe Photoshop 2026 > Photoshop.exe. file and clicked Just Once and the window just keeps popping up in and endless loop. I have tried every variation of uninstalling every version of it and only installing the 2026 version, also tried going back to 2025 and just running the update to get to the 2026 version and checking the box to remove old versions. 

I also tried going straight through the Default Apps and setting it that way. When I try to open the file the same menu (below) just keeps popping up.

[Celso_MC]

Why does Adobe launch a product that doesn't work? Why does Adobe launch new products when the previous ones are full of issues that were not dealt with in the first place? AI will be helpful on a product that already does its job, not one with issues that were not corrected. Adobe seems to forget that users should spend more time working, instead of searching for patches and corrections that allow them to respect their deadlines.