ArcReader .pmf does not open with double-click

The file association handling for ArcReader .pmf files is broken in v10 SP4 (and possibly other versions).

Problem: double-clicking on .pmf file in Windows Explorer opens the ArcReader application but does not load the .pmf.

This used to work. We relied on it heavily when instructing our non-GIS users how to quickly open and browse a map. Our standard operating environment mirrored to all new machines includes links to the most common .pmf files directly, as opposed to the application and then they have to open, and navigate to, the map themselves.

Temporary workaround: change file association so ArcReader is called directly instead of ArcGISFileHandler. From an elevated command prompt:

Show existing association:

d:\>ftype ArcReader
ArcReader="C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\ArcGIS\bin\ArcGISFileHandler.exe" /dde

Change the association:

d:\>ftype ArcReader="C:\ArcGIS\Reader\ArcReader10.0\bin\ArcReader.exe" "%1"
ArcReader="C:\ArcGIS\Reader\ArcReader10.0\bin\ArcReader.exe" "%1"

After this the .pmf will open directly from a 2x-click, though there is an error message from Windows: “There was a problem sending the command to the program.”. The message is annoying and arouses needless concern, but ArcReader seems to function just fine after this point regardless.