How to Disable the “Look for an app in the Microsoft Store” Prompt for Unknown Files

When you attempt to open a file with an unknown or unregistered file extension in Windows 11, the operating system interrupts you with a pop-up window. It asks if you want to “Look for an app in the Microsoft Store” to open the file.

If you are a developer, a power user, or simply someone who frequently handles obscure file types, this prompt is incredibly annoying. Nine times out of ten, the Microsoft Store will not have a specific app to read your niche file. The Store is often completely useless for finding tools for obscure extensions.

Instead of manually clicking “More apps” every single time to choose a program installed on your PC, you can use a quick Registry tweak to disable the Microsoft Store prompt permanently.

How to Disable the Store Search Prompt via Registry

You must edit the Windows Registry to change this behaviour. As always, be careful not to delete any unrelated keys when working in the Registry Editor.

1. Click the Start button, type regedit, and press Enter to open the Registry Editor. Click “Yes” if the User Account Control prompt appears.
2. Copy and paste the following path into the address bar at the top of the Registry Editor and press Enter: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer (Note: If the “Explorer” key does not exist under the “Windows” folder, right-click on the “Windows” folder, select New > Key, and name it Explorer).
3. With the Explorer key selected on the left, right-click in the empty space on the right side of the window.
4. Select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
5. Name this new value NoUseStoreOpenWith.
6. Double-click on your newly created NoUseStoreOpenWith value.
7. Change the “Value data” box from 0 to 1.
8. Click OK.

You can now close the Registry Editor. The change takes effect immediately.

The next time you double-click an unrecognised file, Windows 11 will entirely skip the Microsoft Store suggestion. Instead, it will instantly present you with a list of the applications currently installed on your computer, allowing you to choose the correct program immediately.