When you download, copy, or transfer a file to your Mac, chances are the file you copy has an app associated with it. Your macOS has several apps that are set to default for common file types, be it an HTML webpage, a JPG photo file, or an MP4 video file. But some of you use third-party apps, apps like VLC music player, a photo viewer/editor, or a third-party browser like Google Chrome. In this guide, I will show you how you can set or change default apps for a file on your Mac.
While many users are good with the Safari, some of you use Chrome browser on Mac which is a third-party browser for Mac, but webpage files on the Mac are associated with default Safari app. Similarly, for music files, iTunes, and for photo files, Preview app.
The Mac opens data files (pics, sounds, docs) in applications automatically, but you can change which apps they use in a few simple steps.
These apps open the common file types by default, these are fine, and you’ll be happy enough using them. But in case you have installed another app that you think it’s better than the default apps, you can change these default apps on your Mac to something different to open the file type.
How To Set Or Change Default Apps On Mac
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- Right-click on the file you want to open and select Open With where you can choose the appropriate app.
For example, a file with extension .jpg opens in the built-in photo viewer app Preview by default, but at times you want to edit that photo in some photo editing apps such as Photoshop. You don’t often do edits on Photoshop which is why you don’t need to change the default app to Photoshop, you can choose the Open With menu to open the file in other apps temporarily.
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- Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac In iPadOS and iOS 13, you can kinda replace the stock Apple apps on your iPhone or iPad. For instance, anytime you tap the Mail icon, Spark could launch instead.
- Back in the pre-Mac OS X and macOS days, Apple’s System 9 and earlier relied on hidden metadata to associate files with apps. File extensions, those bits of text that follow a period at the end.
However, if you want to set or change the default apps for a particular file, here’s what you need to do.
- Right-click on a file that you want to change the app for and select Get Info.
- Click Open With if the section isn’t already expanded.
- Now click the dropdown and choose an app you want to open the file in by default.
- Click Change All & Continue when the Finder asks you if you’re sure.
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You know how when you double-click a PNG file it opens in Preview? What if you want it to open in Photoshop by default instead? This guide shows you how to to just that – change the default App that’s used when you open a file. Best app to make bootable backup of high sierra mac osx.
Some common “I’d rather use this App when I open this kind of file” scenarios are:
The process to switch default Apps is super-fast and easy to do, and easy to change again later any time you want.
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- For the sake of this guide we’re going to switch .M3U files (commonly used as playlists) from opening in iTunes to the media player VLC. That doesn’t mean you need to do the same, this process is the identical no matter what type of file you’re dealing with.Locate a file of the type you want to switch. Right-click the file (or hold down the control button on your keyboard and then click on the file) and select Get Info from the context menu.
- A window will appear with all kinds of info about that file. Locate the Open with: section and expand it (if necessary) by clicking the small ‘triangle’ icon. Click the ‘pull-down’ menu to open it.
- If the App you want to open this type of file with from now on is listed, select it. Congrats, you also get to skip down to step #7. If the App you want to open this file with is not listed – don’t worry, just click the Other… item from the menu.
- A pop-up window will appear allowing you to pick the program you want to open this type of file with. Find the App by first selecting Applications and then scroll through the list. When you find the App, select it by clicking on it once. Now skip down to step #6. If the App you want to use to open the file with is ‘greyed out’ and you can’t select it – no problem.
- Click the Enable: menu and select All Applications. Now the App you want to select will not be greyed out.
- Make sure that the Always Open With box is checked, and then click the Add
button. - Almost done! Click the Change All… button.
- You’ll be prompted for confirmation – click Continue.
- Now just make sure that the App you want to use is the one listed as the (default) in the Open with: section.
- Done! Repeat these steps for other file type associations you want to make.