Here is one other method of resolution that has worked for me in stubborn situations before (you may need I.T. assistance), but doesn't require quite so many edits to the registry. Again, always back up the registry before, just in case!
Open regedit, as that Windows User having the issue
Navigate to the "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT" registry node, then look for the ".sas" folder underneath it
Look at the Data value for the "(Default)" key
Make sure it is set to "SAS.Program.701" - instead of the incorrect value of "sas_auto_file"
Close regedit and go back out to your Windows Explorer
Right-Mouse click on any .SAS file, and choose the 'Open With' option
You should now see 'The SAS System for Windows' program (with the grey triangle) in the list Note: Select the checkbox option to "Always use this program"
Now - if the issue is with any other file type other than .sas - note the folder name underneath each file type on the left (expand the node) - there is a pattern in which the folder name equates to that Data Value for the "(Default)" Key.
So, for example instead of 'SAS.Program.701', for a .sas7bdat file, you would specify 'SAS.DataSet.701'.
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