Make a file open with the application you want it to — every time.
Yesterday, I explained how to use the Open With submenu. Today, I’ll take this topic a step further by explaining how to permanently change the default application that a document opens in.
It’s all done with the document’s Info window:
- Select the icon for the document you want to change the default application for.
- Choose File > Get Info or press Command-I.
- In the Info window that appears, if necessary, click the disclosure triangle to display the Open with options.
Choose a different application from the pop-up menu (shown here). If you choose Other, you can use a standard Open dialog to choose another installed application.- To change the default application for all documents of that type (as I have done with all .jpg files on my computer, changing them to open with Photoshop instead of Preview), click the Change All button. Then click Continue in the confirmation dialog that appears.
- Click the Info window’s close button to dismiss it.
When following these instructions, be sure to choose an application that can open that type of document. Otherwise, you’ll get an error message when you double-click the document to open it. If that happens, just follow these instructions again to change the application to a more appropriate one.
Page References
You can learn more this topic in Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard: Visual QuickStart Guide on the following pages:
- The Info Window, pages 143-145.
- Using Applications & Creating Documents, pages 188-190.
Hey thanks Maria. I’ve been struggling with this for a few days? Seems that check box under the “Open With” that states “Always open with” doesn’t seem to do anything – I’m glad there’s another way! Cheers
Great tip Maria, I’ve been struggling for a while with old tips that seemed to work only on previous versions.
Thanks!
Flavio
Flavios last blog post..ORA-00942 and ORA-06512 at SYS.XMLTYPE
Great tip Maria. I just tried this for one of my .jpg photos and it worked fine; but I was wonder if there is a way to assign a default application for ALL files of a specific type. For example, when I click on ANY .jpg image, I would like to have the photo open in my Adobe Photo Elements program.