Not to worry.
- File associations is what Windoze use to tie specific file endings - for example
.vlog - to a specific application - for example VASSAL.
- These associations are stored in the Windows registry - which is a dumping ground for all sorts of things on Windows (MacOS has a
plist database).
- File associations are typically made when an application is installed. E.g., VASSAL says to Windows "I want to be the application to handle all
.vmod, .vlog, and .vsav files.
- When you double-click a file with an ending - say
.vlog - then Windows consults it’s registry to see which application should handle the file - say VASSAL. If there’s no file association, then Windoze will flash a dialog saying it does not know how to handle that file type.
See this and this for how to manipulate file associations on Windows.
Note, opening an attachment to an email via a file association is an inherent security vulnerability, and one reason that may not work for you anymore is because Micro$**t has finally realised that. It may work for “trusted” applications such as Worse, or unExcel - which are arguably larger security risks than VASSAL - but not for “untrusted” - read, paid Micro$**t a ton of money to get on the “good side” - applications such as VASSAL.
Perhaps, just try to download the .vlog file and then double-click that file in the exploder. If that works, then it’s because Micro$**t has changed it’s secuirty settings - perhaps simply by removing exceptions you previously made. If it doesn’t, then most likely the file association has disappeared. You can try to follow the guides cited above, or do as Joel says and
- Open the module in VASSAL,
- then, when prompted, select the downloaded
.vlog file
Very unlikely. Windoze has no idea about VASSAL modules, logs, saves, or the like - not to mention that it has no idea about the versioning of modules. It is far more likely that your Windows installation has started to treat .vlog files as hostile after your “upgrade”.
I concur. You and your opponent should use the same exact version of the module. That it has worked OK for you so far is mainly luck Just how reasonable that luck was, depend very much on the differences between the two module version.
- If the definitions of pieces has not changed, then your chance of luck increases
- If no new definitions was added, your chance of luck increases
- If the module does not do a lot - i.e., you have pieces you move around on a board, with no initial positioning, no piece actions, and so on, then your chance of luck increases even more.
Ideally, we would have an agreed-upon versioning scheme of modules - e.g., modules are versioned as major.minor.release, and
- major is incremented every time major changes has been made - e.g., new graphics, more actions, rules checks, and so on.
- minor is incremented when ever a non-backward compatible change is made - e.g.,
- traits added or removed from pieces or prototypes,
- pieces added or removed,
- starting positions of pieces are change,
- Board coordinates are changed by for example a higher resolution picture, changes to the grid, and similar.
- release is incremented for backward-compatible changes which can be
- Change of piece graphics
- New/removed global hot keys
- Added tutorial (
vlog), set-up (vsav), help, etc.
- and similar
Then, as long as players are using the same major.minor version of a module, they should be good.
Rant
As you may have gathered, I have very little patience for Windows. Associating files to applications by the name of a file - e.g., .pdf is to be opened by Acrobat Reader - is inherently a bad design and a security flaw. Other OSs - read GNU/Linux - actually looks at the content of a file to determine what to do with it, and the file names are treated as contingent - as they truly are. For example, Windows will only “run” files named something like .exe, .com, or .application, while Unx-like systems truly doesn’t care what you call your application. On Unx-like systems, the file content - via so called file magick is what determines the file mime-type and the mime-type is then mapped to applications.
End rant
Again, my 2¢ worth
Yours,
Christian
