Change File Associations in Mac OS X
It really drives me nuts that files of the same kind but different type open different apps, I want to open all my images in Preview and all my video files in VLC. You can make Mac OS X open every file of a certain type with a certain application by changing the file association from the Finder. Here’s how to change the file type association in Mac OS X so that you can set file kinds to open all in one application.
* Find the file type(s) that you want to change the application to open with
* Get Info about a file that is of that file type, say a .mov
* Click the ‘Open With’ arrow to expand an application list
* Choose the application you want all files of this type to open with (in this example we’ll use VLC to open all .mov files)
* Click “Change All” and then “Continue” when the confirmation dialog appears
Now all of the files of that type will open in the application you specified. You can do this with any file type to keep things consistent.
I find this particularly useful after you have installed a new app that tries to take control over certain related file types, for example Adobe Acrobat Reader will hijack PDF’s from Preview and FlipForMac will do the same with WMV’s when I want to use VLC for all my video needs. There’s countless reasons to change file associations and the apps that are launched with them, so now you know how!
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RCDefaultApp preference pane makes things a lot easier…
http://www.rubicode.com/Software/RCDefaultApp/
@Kevin – Great tip! Antoher OSX Must have added to my list!
Thanks a lot! QuickTime can’t use AVI files without help, but for some reason avi files had qt associated by default. Now I can use my favorite, mplayer osx extended, with just one click.
Thanks! Everytime I tried to open any .mp4 files, it tried to start up VMware Fusion and play it with Windows Media Player!!!! HA! Quite vexing I can tell you!
This works… I changed m4vs to launch QT, rather than VLC. But the new file icons are blank, i.e. no QT-type icon is displayed.
[...] default behavior of that specific file. If you click the “Change All” button you will change that file types association across Mac OS X, causing all instances of that file to open in the application you [...]
[...] Open With menu is fairly adjustable in its default behavior, you can also learn how to change a file types association across the board or on a per file basis for more specific [...]
great, thanks a lot. It solved my issue of switching bit torrent client.
Thanks – this has been driving me nuts as long as I’ve had my Mac, seem to always put up with it, but this morning I decided, no more!
OMG thanks so much this has been annoying me for months!! damn quicktime always associates itself with files it cant even play lol
I needed this and you were #1 on google. You’re a savior and deserve to be there
[...] in the pre-Lion way through the “Get Info” menu for a one time use or by hitting the “Change All” button in a files Get Info window, but the new option-right click method is much faster, easier to [...]
thanks, mate!! much appreciated!
nothing, rubicode included, seems to be able to re-associate .indd files with InDesign 5 after installing 5.5. after choosing InDesign 5, the pulldown menu simply reverts to 5.5.
Hey did you solve the INDD issue defaulting back to CS5.5.. I have the same issue!
[...] many users, not seeing filename extensions is probably fine, but I often set custom file associations, and knowing the extension will let you know what app is going to open with each file without [...]