Clean up Finder "Open With" contextual menu in Yosemite

How do I clean up the Finder "Open With" contextual menu in Yosemite? I have several duplicate and obsolete entries in mine. There are several articles out there that show how to do this for previous versions of Mac OS X, but the instructions don't line up with what I see in Yosemite.
Also, the entries I have in the menu are from a version of Windows through a version of VMware Fusion, both of which versions I haven't used in a long while. I did a clean install of Yosemite this morning (on an erased disk) so I'm curious how the menu was populated. Did it somehow get inherited through the iCloud Keychain?
Thanks for any help!

As seen here: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=305627
*Mac OS X: Clearing the Finder "Open With" contextual menu*
Ever wondered how to "clear" the Finder's Open With... contextual menu choices of any extraneous or older applications? (This is the menu that appears when you control-click or "right-click" a document icon.)
If your Open With... menu is filled with too many choices to easily scroll through, you can remove the less-commonly used choices. These steps will clear the list except for the most current applications that can open your document.
From the Finder Go menu, choose Home.
Open the Library folder in the Home window.
Open the Preferences folder.
Find com.apple.LaunchServices.plist.
Rename "com.apple.LaunchServices", such as to "com.apple.LaunchServices.old", or move it to the Trash.
The next time you use the Open With.... contextual menu in the Finder, only current applications will be listed. Some items may return if the application that controls them adds itself back to the list.

Similar Messages

  • Clearing the Finder "Open With" contextual menu ?

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    As seen here: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=305627
    *Mac OS X: Clearing the Finder "Open With" contextual menu*
    Ever wondered how to "clear" the Finder's Open With... contextual menu choices of any extraneous or older applications? (This is the menu that appears when you control-click or "right-click" a document icon.)
    If your Open With... menu is filled with too many choices to easily scroll through, you can remove the less-commonly used choices. These steps will clear the list except for the most current applications that can open your document.
    From the Finder Go menu, choose Home.
    Open the Library folder in the Home window.
    Open the Preferences folder.
    Find com.apple.LaunchServices.plist.
    Rename "com.apple.LaunchServices", such as to "com.apple.LaunchServices.old", or move it to the Trash.
    The next time you use the Open With.... contextual menu in the Finder, only current applications will be listed. Some items may return if the application that controls them adds itself back to the list.

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    The free Expander shouldn't have installed any contextual menu items. Look in the "Contextual Menu Items" folders in your "Library" folder, and in the one in "Library" at the top level of your disk. If there are any files there, try moving them out, then logout, then login, and see if you still have problems.

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    Exactly - that's what I thought. Most of those seemed to have disappeared since I nervously uninstalled CS2 (I upgraded from 2 to 4), although I've heard that things can creep back as you use the apps again. I also renamed the plist file.
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    !http://dl.dropbox.com/u/312416/menu-dupe.png!
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  • TA24770 Clear Finder "Open With" menu with VMware Fusion 5

    Hi.
    I had same problem of duplicate Apps showing on Finder "Open With" contextual menu.
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    Great, post tip, thanks!

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  • Cannot create new folders on desktop. Cannot drag new items onto desktop. Desktop in Finder opens with Terminal. Not sure if this has anything to do with upgrading to Mavericks but I need help if anyone has ideas. Thank you.

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    Hi,
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    Do a search for details on cleaning up the "open with" dialog, it's been discussed before but I'm sorry I can't remember what the fixes are.
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    if I quit all running applications, it will be pretty hard to put anything in the Trash!
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  • Finder Open With Menu

    I'm trying to clean up a Parallels installation, I got tired of it locking up my system when shutting down the VM, any way it added a host of Windows Applications to the Open With Menu in Finder.
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    Thank yoiu

    rebuild your launch services database.
    run the following terminal command
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  • Removing Items Finder Open With Menu

    I'm looking for a way to delete items from the Open With menu in Finder/File/Open With. On my PowerBook there are over fifty items in this menu when selecting a JPEG file.
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