Unassigning file type to application

I would like to find a safe way to restore the default assignments between file types and applications. For example, when trying to open a certain file type for the first time, I ask for "Get Info" on the file and it says open with <None>. Or if I double click the file, it asks what application I want to use.
Now assume I tell it an application to use. From then on the system will use that application for that file. Is there a way to "undo" that assignment without selecting a new application?
In other words, how can I get the system to go back to thinking there is no application assigned to that file or file type?

Have you ever tried this?
Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger and Leopard.) After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer. Now restart normally.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior (4.0 for Tiger, and 4.1 for Leopard) and/or TechTool Pro (4.6.1 for Leopard) to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
Then after the above download a utility such as TinkerTool System - VersionTracker or MacUpdate - and use it to clear user and system caches and old log archives. Then reboot the computer.

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File type to application association and plug ins.

Hello,
I'd like to find more technical information on the following related topics:
- First of all, how are file types identified: File extension? Unix magic numbers? Both?
- File type to application association information: Where is it stored? pfile? where?
- Link to file type to "quicklook" plug in (how does quicklook figure out which plugin to use?) Where is it stored? Is it dynamic (finder scans its QuickLook folder and builds on the fly associations?)
- Link to "preview" icon generation: how does the finder know how to generate a preview icon, and with which application/plugin depending on the file type.
I don't need "user guide" type of thing. I'd like to know for instance where "Open with..." menu item gets its list of application that can open a certain file type.
Is there a reference guide/document/tech note where Almighty Apple explains this.
Thank you very much for your input.

I've only done a little bit of poking around in QuickLook. I do know that the QuickLook generators, like applications, have an info.plist file in the bundle that declares the file types that are handled, but I doubt they actually do the heavy lifting of drawing the preview: they seem just too small to do it. Thus, the actual executable for the PDF generator is a mere 52kb. Whether the info.plist is polled, and if so when, and whether the information is then stored in a cache or database somewhere I don't know. It would seem logical that this is the case.
As for what is actually drawing the previews, I would guess that is done by QuickTime. The Finder has been able to present icon previews of many things since the first introduction of OS X. Indeed, before the advent of QuickLook the Finder was able to draw previews of jpegs, psd files, gifs, and so on. AFAIK, it could draw a preview for anything that QuickTime could open. My guess, and this is JUST a guess, is that QuickLook may indeed now also be involved, as well as QuickTime, and that the integration of three things--Finder, QuickTime and QuickLook--does not work as well as one would hope. I say this because Finder windows now render their contents rather more slowly than was the case prior to the introduction of QuickLook. Many people have commented on this, and I have noticed it too.
As to whether icons are "cached"--I've never reached a conclusion about this. I do know that pre-Leopard the Finder would display the contents of a window in icon view dang near instantaneously IF the files had their own custom thumbnails, but would take a noticeable amount of time to display things if they did not, so that it had to render the thumbs itself. It also seemed like once a window had been opened it rendered more quickly on subsequent openings. Maybe. It no longer renders ANYTHING instantaneously--if I open a folder with all Photoshop files, all having their own custom thumbs, it hesitates for a second or so before presenting the icons. This did not use to be the case. Opening the same folder again one does get the old behavior of instant icons. That sounds like a temporary cache is being created somewhere. I say temporary, because if you relaunch the Finder, then open the folder again, you once more have the one second pause before the icons appear.
If there is a cache it is not the .DS_Store file. That file does store information about window properties, such as which view is chosen for the window, what the size and position is, what options are checked for the display of the window, and, oddly enough, the Spotlight Comments for files that are present. The file just isn't big enough to be storing thumbs--the .DS_Store file for a folder having 61 jpegs, without custom thumbs, set to icon view is a mere 42kbs, and one for another folder with 81 jpegs without custom thumbnails set to icon view is a tiny 24kbs.
Francine
Francine
Schwieder

Associate file type with application BUG.

Associate file type with other application causes FileVault to prompt that said app 'can't be opened because it is from an unidentified developper'
This happens when I try to associate TIFF's with Adobe Photoshop, or PDF's with Acrobat Pro.
It does this through "get info > open with:" and when you let the app itself change the association (IE Acrobat Pro prompted me if i always want to open pdf's with it, after that, when i double click the file fileVault gives me the same message.
It's just plain annoying to have do drag each file onto the right icon in the dock.

It looks like both approaches are similar and will both work.
Persistent Handlers are probably overkill. They will do what you need and more, but are a more complicated. I would recommend sticking with the two approaches discussed if you simply want to run your application with a default program.
Although some CVI users may have done this in the past, you may have more luck posting on the MSDN forums or a 3rd party programming forum.
National Instruments
Product Support Engineer

How to change file type to application mapping

I switched from OpenOffice to iWork. Now when I double click a file with an extension .doc or .xls, still OpenOffice opens by default. I would rather have the defaults set to iWork, but without completely removing OpenOffice (yet). How can I accomplish this?
Tanks! Sturzi

Select a .doc file in the Finder, choose File -> Get Info (or hit command-i), then look in the Open With section of the info window and change the pop-up to read Pages. Then click the Change All button... from then on, all .doc files will be opened by Pages. Do the same with your Excel files.

ZXP file type

I am getting reports from users that the ZXP files I have available for download becomes a zip file when downloaded by Internet Explorer.
I think this issue is limited to IE, but I'm not positive. My guess is that I have not set the file type correctly.
I have set the file type to application/octet-stream in my .htaccess file. What is the correct file type for zxp files that will cause IE to recognize them as such?
Thanks!
Harbs

I believe you will only see this on earlier versions of IE (IE6 if memory serves). The root problem is that the browser is being clever and examining the contents of what you are downloading (and a zxp is essentially a zip), and 'correcting' the file type.
I've seen something similar before, where this mechansim could be used for malicious injection of JavaScript (or other executable content) and I believe that's why you won't see it with later versions of IE or other browsers.
See http://www.h-online.com/security/features/Risky-MIME-sniffing-in-Internet-Explorer-746229. html for more.
Of course I could be mistaken, and there could be another factor at play...
James

I don't have pdf documents listed as a file type in the applications drop down menu so I cannot manage the handling of these file types. How do I get the pdf file recognised?

I don't have pdf documents listed as a file type in the drop down applications menu, so cannot handle these. How do I add a file type?

After a little Googling, it looks like B.Media is a content management system from Wave Corporation used for making catalogs. Doubtful you'd be able to license it at less than an enterprise level.

I have Windows 7 for PC if I view a jpg file I gat the following message - Some of the file types associated with QuickTime applications are currently associated with otherapplications. Should I restore these file type associations to Quicktime. Yes or No

After viewing a jpg file on my Windows 7 PC I get the following message and I don't know how to answer it "Some of thw file types associated with QuickTime applications are currently associated with other applications. Should I restore these file type associations to QuickTime?" Options are " Yes, No or Do not ask to perform yhis check again. QuickTime Control Panel can be used to make subsequent changes."
What shoul I do about this message?

Select no.

Using X11 application as default for file type?

Hello,
I wanted to know if it's possible to set an X11 application as default application to open a certain file type.
I tried the "open with" option on a file type, but the X11 application I wanted to associate to was unavailable (impossible to select) in the file explorer window.
Thanks.
-- Paolo

Unix executables are not usually "visible." "Standard" OS X applications use the ".app" extension, but Unix executables do not. I suspect that's why you are having the problem. Making the association through OS X may not be possible.

No option to save files, content/file type missing from Applications list

I want to be able to click a link to a file and have the option to Open the file with a specified application.
When clicking on the file I want to Open with a specified application, I only get a Save or Cancel option.
When I look in Preferences > Applications, the file type is missing from the list.
This was working. It is not working anymore. It is not a problem with the website. I need to know where in the FF settings I can change this.
FF 30.0
Kubuntu 13.10
Thanks

''Tahl [[#answer-693773|said]]''
<blockquote>
OP, did you ever get a solution to this problem? It's driving me nuts having to specify a download destination then go into a program to open the file I just downloaded!! Have tried deleting file types .rdf and no success either!
</blockquote>
I'm not sure of the solution on Windows. But this worked for me on Linux.
I needed to edit mimeTypes.rdf
See the links below for details. The first one was someone having a problem with Transmission. I was having a problem with ktorrent, so I just adapted that. If you're having a problem with a different file type, then you'll need to adapt it differently. But the general idea is the same.
http://askubuntu.com/questions/384375/how-can-i-get-firefox-to-open-torrent-files-with-transmission
http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1706945
Also, I suspect that FlashGot or some similar download manger plugin was responsible for screwing this up. I haven't confirmed it yet, but I've seen some things that make me suspect it.

How do you make console apps the default application for a file type?

I have a console movie player, mplayer, that I like a lot. I've compiled it from source on my intel core2 macbook pro and it works fine. There is no gui, but to play movie files you open up a terminal and type the command mplayer /path/to/file. I would like mplayer to play a movie file automatically when I double click on the file, but I can't seem to figure out how to do it. I tried setting it in the file info dialogue, but when I go to the path of the binary I want, it is not selected. How can I set a console app as my default application for my file type?

there is a GUI mplayer for OS X. why don't you use it instead of the command line one?
if you insist on using the command line mplayer then the only way to do this is to put a GUI wrapper on it. this can be done with automator or apple script for example. but really, why don't you just use the GUI mplayer?

New computer ff install not listing all file types under tools-options-applications

New windows installation on another with the same version of ff (10.0.2). Clicking local .pls files in this machine gives option to launch VLC media player but on other computer just text appears.
The extension appears in the applications tab after clicking tools and options on this computer, but the list is far shorter on the other machine and does not include this extension. Is this rectified by installing a plugin? If so which one?

The issue isn't that VLC isn't playing the files- it is... but linking to the files saved on my system does not launch VLC from Firefox on the other computer like it does on this one. I've actually been able to add to the applications list. Technically I can run the same apps and associations on both machines except that Firefox isn't handling the ".pls" files at all with the other machine
I've saved a directory structure with .pls files to different streaming radio stations and the directory is linked to from Firefox on both computers... identical directories and files stored. When I bring up one of the folders in this machine and click on the file, I first get the same dialog as you attached- I launch VLC by selecting "Open with" then clicking OK. The radio station plays. I've set it to change stations when I click within the iframe without having to go to VLC and use the open media feature- it does the trick with a single click from Firefox,
The other machine when I click the file the iframe in which the directory was displayed shows text information (urls and other arcane digital nonsense) as though the file were a text file. Both machines have similar installations.... I do not want to overload on the other machine- it's my communications backup but I would like this arrangement to work as it does on this computer.
Again, the biggest hint I see is the absence of the ".pls" file type in the list under the "applications" tab after clicking "Tools"-"Options" in Firefox on the machine in question.
Can something be done either by transplanting missing files from one machine to the next or from about:config to induce the desirable result from the other machine in Firefox?
.

How to define the application to use for opening each file type (pdf, jpg,...)

I installed an external application, and this new application has been configured by defect that it will be used to open all files with extensions like jpg, pdf, etc...
I want to revert this situation and define again the proper application I want to use for opening each file type. How can I do this in Lion?
Thanks,
Azaldier

Pick a representative file.
Get info. (Command-i)
There you will see a place "Open with" where you can select the application for that file.
Hit the "Change all..." button to do this for all files of this type.
charlie

Changing what applications are used to open different file types

hello all...
it seems i am going to be in here quite a lot when getting used to my new mac lol but anyway i have a file type i want vlc player to always use .mp4 and some other file types.. so my problem is when i have these files and i press open with vlc and always use this it seems to only apply it to one mp4 not all mp4 i put on the macbook pro. its not like windows where i would select an application then all files with the extension mp4 or whatever will use vlc.. how can i do this with my mac please?
Message was edited by: paliome

Get Info window is where you can change things:
Right click (Control click) on the file icon using the Finder.
Take a look at the Open with: part of the Get Info window to set the app for that file extension. Click the Change All button so all of these file types open using your preferred application.

Getting path to application associated with file type

Hello,
I'm looking for a platform-independent way to get path to application associated with given file type. Desktop API introduced in JSE 1.6 seems to do this, but it only lanuches the app.
Any suggestions will be apprecieted

Okay then, how can I open the file in it's associated
application AND get the Process object of app's
instance?If it doesn't bother you that the app will only work on windoze, then you can use the shell "start" command on the file.
Process proc = Runtime.getRuntime().exec(new String[]{"cmd", "/C","start",filePath});However waitFor() will only wait for the process to be launched, not completed. Since your program doesn't know what Windoze will choose to launch, this makes sense.

I want to edit the application associated with pdf files, but the pdf file type is not available on the Applications tab under edit preferences. How do I add file types?

I am running Firefox 5.0 (Mozilla Firefox for Ubuntu canonical - 1.0) under Kubuntu 11.04.

Thanks jscher2000, I tried your suggestion, but no joy (as expected). None of the extensions were .bin, and in fact, I can't find a single listing for handling the .bin extension in the entire (unfiltered) list.
That's why I'm so confused. Where is Firefox getting the name "VLC.bin (default)" from in the first place?
cor-el, I checked out the link that you posted.
I don't have an entry for "browser.download.pluginOverrideTypes" and the entry "plugin.disable_full_page_plugin_for_types" was empty (default setting).
My bad, but I forgot to mention in my first post that I had also tried renaming the mimetypes.rdf file in my "Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\xxx.default\" to .old to no avail.
Firefox created a new, almost empty file, but it didn't change the behavior for .bin files. I removed the new file and put the old file back in place after determining that clearing the file did not help, since I am otherwise happy with my current file-type options.
However, since the option to "Always perform this action" is grayed-out, I am looking into the possibility that the website is sending a misconfigured MIME type or is assigning "Content-Disposition: attachment" to the download. What's odd, though, is that I've never had problems getting binary files from the site in the past, and the problem started when the VLC player was installed.
I'll post back after I check into the server header data.

Unassigning file type to application

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