Mac Changing File App Defaulst
Nov 11, 2019 If you are a new Mac user and not sure how to make it happen, here’s how to change a file type’s default app when you open it. Change the default app when opening. When you want to change the default app for a file you’re opening, you can do this in a couple of clicks. 1) Right-click or hold Control and click the file. Apr 12, 2018 Change Your Mac’s Default Image Viewer. This process will change the default application to open a specific type of image. It’s the same basic process to change the associated app for any file type. Locate an image file in Finder. Look for extensions like.jpg or.png. MORE: How to Force Quit an App in Mac OS X One of the nice things about the Mac is that when you double click on a file, it automatically opens in a default application. For example, double. Jan 21, 2014 This is a great software for changing the format a any file on Mac. It Is WONDERFUL. Mac OS X Tutorials and App reviews from HowTech 59,470 views. HOW TO OPEN ANY VIDEO FILE ON MAC.
Using the standard apps that come with macOS is great, but for some users, a third-party app performing the same job may be a better option. In this guide, AppleInsider shows you how to permanently change the apps used for common tasks as well as which apps are used to open certain file types.
Changing from the default apps to others acquired from the Mac App Store or elsewhere can be useful for those using macOS in a working capacity. For example, a web developer may want to open text files in Panic's Coda, while a photographer could prefer for images to open in Pixelmator or another tool instead of the standard Preview.
If you want to change your Mac's email client from the default Mail, the option is available within Apple's own app.
Open Mail, then select the Mail menu option, then Preferences to bring up a settings window.
Under the first General tab, the top item is a dropdown box labeled Default email reader. Open the dropdown and select your chosen email reader.
If it is not on the list, click Select and use the following window to find the app, then click Select.
Close the settings window and the Mail app.
By default, Safari is set as the browser that will open for web links, but unlike Mail, the setting is actually buried within System Preferences.
Click the Apple logo in the Menu then System Preferences. Select General, which is the top left-most icon in the System Preferences window.
Towards the lower half of the General window is a dropdown box labeled Default web browser. Click the dropdown box, select the browser you want to use instead of Safari, and closeBest mac software free. the window.
Note that, unlike changing the email client, there is no option to manually select the browser if it is not on this dropdown box list.
In macOS, you can change what app opens a specific file type from the file itself. Right-click a file that you want to change the default app that opens, and select Get Info.
In the Get Info window for the file, expand the Open With section by clicking the side arrow to bring up a dropdown box listing apps. Use this box to select the app you want to use.
If the app is not listed, select Other to bring up a new window to find the application manually. If the app isn't installed at all, there is the App Store option to download it from there, or you can download it from somewhere else online and start the process again.
Once satisfied with the alteration, select Change All. In the following window warning about the permanent change, select Continue, then close the Get Info window.
Changing the app for just one file.
If there is one specific file that needs to be regularly opened in a different app to the default, but all others don't need to be changed, this can be accomplished using a similar process.
Follow the instructions in the 'Apps that open files' section, but stop before selecting Change All. At this point, this file is set up to open using the alternative app, and the window can be closed without further changes.
It is worth remembering that it is possible to open alternative apps on an occasional basis without going through the trouble of changing defaults.
If you right-click a file and select Open With, a list of apps macOS thinks will work with it will be created, which can be used to open the alternative app for this particular instance. If the app isn't available, click Other to find the app you want to use.
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Any time a user installs a new application on a Mac, it becomes the default Mac app for that file type. For example, PDF files open by default in the Mac Preview app. However, if a user downloads and installs Adobe’s Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat DC, the default file type will change so that all PDF files will open with Adobe Acrobat. We’ll show users how to take control of what apps open when they double-click a certain file type. Changing the Default Mac app is a simple procedure that will save users some time and avoid annoyances.
Why Change Default Mac App for a File Type
Why would you want to change a default Mac app for a file type? Let’s say you want to open a video file using VLC Media player instead of Apple’s QuickTime Player. Maybe you want all JPG picture files to open in a photo editor instead of OS X Preview.
These and other file types open in a default program set by the operating system. The installation procedure of some apps will change the default. They’re not supposed to change the default Mac app for a file type without the user’s agreement. However, you may not see the dialog box that asks for permission. Likewise, the programmer may not ask for the permission in a way that makes it clear that the program’s changing your default app. Follow the steps below to fix this or change it.
How to Change Default Mac App for Any File Type
Find a file of the type you want to change the default mac app for by opening Finder. Some file types won’t show you the extension that identifies the type of file. The extension is the ending of the file. For example a picture file type known as JPEG has a file ending of JPG. So a file might carry the name photo0003.jpg. Notice the three letters after the period are JPG. Other common file types you may wish to change include …
- PDF – portable document format also called Acrobat files, which open in Preview by default
- GIF – another image format called Graphics Interchange Format which opens in Preview by default
- DOC – a document file often associated with Word or some other word processor
- DOCX – a proprietary Microsoft Word format
- MP3 – music files, which open in iTunes by default
- M4V – a video format
- MP4 – another video format
- MOV – movie files, which open in QuickTime by default
When a user opens Finder and looks at a file, they might not see these endings. To make sure you can see yours, open Finder and then, from the Finder menu at the top left select Preferences. You can also use the keyboard shortcut COMMAND + , (the comma).
Inside the ensuing dialog box open the Advanced tab by clicking Advanced in the top right corner of the box.
Click to put a check mark in Show all filename extensions in that dialog box. Exit the box by clicking the red button in the upper left corner. From now on you’ll see all the file extensions of every file in Finder.
Now search for a file with the extension you want to change. For example, you installed Acrobat and the installation procedure moved the default app from the OS X Preview app to Adobe Acrobat DC. You don’t want to open the Adobe Acrobat document creator program from Creative Cloud suite just to view a PDF file. Instead, you want to see all PDF files in Preview. Find a PDF file stored on your computer using Finder. If you can’t find one use the search box in Finder. It’s in the upper right corner (see below).
Mac Change Default App For File
Once you find a file, right-click on the file and choose Get Info from the menu that pops up.
A dialog box will open. Look for the Open With section. You’ll see a drop down box.
The drop down box will list all the OS X apps that can handle that file type. Choose the preferred program and it will instantly change the default Mac app for that file type.
The Change All button will change all file types for that app so that any other customizations will revert back to defaults. For example, all file types that normally open with Microsoft Word will change back to opening with Word. If you changed one of the types, like the DOC file format making it open in another word processor while keeping DOCX files assigned to Word, clicking Change All will change both back to Word. So pick it only when you know what you’re doing.
Mac Changing File App Default Browser
You may want to go back into Finder’s preferences to hide file extensions after you finish because all apps will start showing their .app file extension. If seeing the .app extension annoys you follow the steps above to hide the extensions in Finder Preferences.
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