Want to change the default application your Mac uses to open a specific file type or format? You’ll be amazed to know that there are multiple ways to do this, and it’s pretty easy to change the default app for different file types on your system.
In most cases, you may have multiple software on your Mac doing the same thing. For example, you may have both Adobe Acrobat and PDF Element installed on your system, which can be used to open, read, and edit PDF files. In such cases, you may want to set a preferred reader to open all PDF files stored on your computer. By default, both image files and PDF files on macOS use the Preview app when you click it.
If you want complete control over which apps are used when you click a specific file stored on your Mac, read on to learn how to change a file type’s default app on macOS.
How to change a file type’s default app in macOS
Whether you’re using a MacBook, iMac, or Mac Mini, you can follow these steps to change the default app for a specific file format on your computer. The steps are the same for all recent versions of macOS, so let’s get started:
- First, launch the Finder app on your Mac.
- Next, locate the file you want to change the default app for and right-click or ctrl-click on it. Hover over “Open With” in the context menu to continue.
- Now you will find that macOS will suggest some apps that can be used to open the file. Click Other.
- This will open a new window on your screen. From here, select the application you want to use to open the file and check the box next to “Always open with” as shown below. If you don’t find this option, tap “Options” to bring it up.
- That’s one way to change the default app. Alternatively, you can Ctrl-click or right-click the file and select Get Info from the context menu.
- Once Get Info opens with the file information, you will find the option to change the default app for that particular file. Once you’ve selected a different app, make sure you click Change All. This will change the default app for all files with the same format.
Here we go. Now you’ve learned two different ways to change the default app used to launch a certain type of file on your Mac.
From now on, when you click on that specific file type, the app you selected via the context menu will be used to open the file. You can follow these steps to change the default app used to launch video files, image files, PDF files, ZIP files, etc.
This can also be useful if a newly installed app on your Mac has taken control of launching a certain file type and you want to reset it to its default settings. For example, if you install VLC Player on your Mac, it can take control of your video files and use it to launch videos. However, if you prefer QuickTime, you can change it using this procedure.
If you have multiple user accounts on your Mac, note that this change only applies to the current user account. This will not affect the default app settings for other accounts unless you manually log into those accounts and repeat these steps.
Hopefully you were able to use your favorite apps to launch different types of files stored on your macOS computer. Which of these two methods did you use to change the default app? Share your experiences and don’t hesitate to give your valuable opinions in the comments section below.
Related
