Windows 10: Changing Default Action for MP3 Files to Open with VLC

Changing the Default Action for MP3 Files to Open in VLC on Windows 10

By default, when you double-click an MP3 file on Windows 10, the file opens in the Groove Music app. However, if you prefer to use VLC as your default media player, you might have noticed that double-clicking an MP3 file opens it in VLC, but it gets added to the playlist instead of playing directly. In this article, we will show you how to change the default action for MP3 files to open and play directly in VLC on Windows 10.

Setting VLC as the Default Media Player

Before changing the default action for MP3 files, you need to set VLC as your default media player. Here are the steps to do so:

1. Right-click on any media file (e.g., MP3, MP4, AVI, etc.) and select Open with > Choose another app.
2. Scroll down and click on More apps.
3. Scroll down and click on Look for another app on this PC.
4. Navigate to the folder where you have installed VLC (e.g., C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC) and select the vlc.exe file.
5. Check the box next to Always use this app to open .mp3 files (or any other media file format you want to open with VLC).
6. Click on OK to set VLC as the default media player.

Changing the Default Action for MP3 Files

Once you have set VLC as the default media player, you can change the default action for MP3 files to play directly instead of adding them to the playlist. Here are the steps to do so:

1. Right-click on an MP3 file and select Open with > Choose another app.
2. Scroll down and click on More apps.
3. Click on VLC media player to select it as the default app to open MP3 files.
4. Click on OK to set VLC as the default app for MP3 files.
5. Right-click on the MP3 file again and select Open with > VLC media player.
6. In the VLC player, click on Media > Open File.
7. In the Open File dialog box, select the MP3 file you want to open and click on Open.
8. In the VLC player, click on Tools > Preferences.
9. In the Preferences dialog box, click on Input / Codecs in the left-hand pane.
10. In the right-hand pane, scroll down to the Playlist section and uncheck the box next to Play and exit.
11. Click on Save to save the changes.

• To change the default action for MP3 files to open and play directly in VLC on Windows 10, you need to set VLC as your default media player first.
• To set VLC as the default media player, right-click on any media file, select Open with > Choose another app, scroll down and select VLC media player.
• To change the default action for MP3 files, right-click on an MP3 file, select Open with > Choose another app, scroll down and select VLC media player.
• In the VLC player, click on Tools > Preferences, click on Input / Codecs in the left-hand pane, scroll down to the Playlist section, and uncheck the box next to Play and exit.

References

• How to Set VLC as the Default Media Player in Windows 10