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How to Select Which Program Opens Which Types of Files

Posted on December 9, 2010 by Ben Stevens Posted in How Do I ...?, Mac OS X 2 Comments
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Has this ever happened to you?  You click on a PDF file, wanting it to open in Preview, only to have it open in Acrobat instead (or vice versa).  Fear not.  The solution is quick and easy — of course, because you’re using a Mac.

  1. Select a PDF file
  2. Right click & select "Get Info"
  3. Under "Open with:" select Preview
  4. Click the "Change All…" button
  5. You’re done 

The next time you click to open any PDF file, it will open using Preview.  This process works with other programs too.  For instance, if you want to open Microsoft Word files with Pages by default, you simply right click on a *.doc file, then select Pages as the "open with" option, and click change all.

Addendum:  As shown below in the Comments, one of my readers pointed out a shortcut to do this: Right click on the file, while the popup menu is open press the Option key, and watch the "Open with" become "Always open with". Select the App from the list (or a new one if not in the list) and it will always open with that App. (Thanks to Warp for this tip)

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2 thoughts on “How to Select Which Program Opens Which Types of Files”

  1. Kevin Camden says:
    December 9, 2010 at 10:56 pm

    Thanks Ben! I take comfort in being your inspiration.

    Reply
  2. Warp says:
    December 10, 2010 at 4:05 am

    There’s an easier way:
    Right click on the file, while the popup menu is open press the Option key and watch the “Open with” become “Always open with”. Select the App from the list (or a new one if not in the list) and it will always open with that App.

    Reply

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