Re: File extensions and application associations ?

JF Mezei <jfmezei.spamnot@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On OS-X (I am with Tiger), is there some editable configuration file
that describes possible applications for each file extension/type ?

There is a database maintained by the system which keeps track of the
user's preferences for which applications will be used to open
individual files and/or all files which match certain a certain
combination of extension, filetype and creator.

(The filetype and creator are more commonly used with older Mac
applications and are usually unspecified for downloaded files. They are
both hidden from the user unless you use special tools.)

It is very easy to change the settings for a particular document type.
No special utilities are required.

If I am developping postscript code, I would like to be able to invoke a
text editor when I double click on a .PS file for instance. Can this be
managed with some sort of utility ?

The easiest way to set this is to use Finder. Locate a document you are
interested in, click it once to select the icon, then use Get Info under
the File menu (keyboard shortcut is Cmd-I).

Under the "Open With" subheading, it shows which application will
currently open that document. You can select a different application,
which will only apply to opening that specific file, and then you can
click the Change All button so that all similar documents (same
extension, filetype and creator) will be opened with the same
application.

If you choose an application which is unable to open that particular
type of file, this won't be very helpful, but you can just change it to
a different application which does support that file.

Similarly, I might want to permanently add some applications in the menu
that pops up when you right click on a file and choose the "Open With"
option. Can this be done too ? (for instance, add a text editor for all
file extensions).

That's different. Each application tells the system what types of
documents it can open. This information is buried inside all
applications, and you can't change this without modifying the
application (which isn't a good idea).

The system does collect all of this information together so it can
access it quickly and generate the "Open With" list in the contextual
menu, but I'm not aware of a method of modifying that cached list.
(There may be a tool - I've just never needed one.) You can manually
choose an unlisted application, but it isn't retained for subsequent
uses of the Open With contextual menu.

A possible solution is the use of aliases, dock icons or third party
docks like DragThing to keep frequently used applications easily
accessible, so you can drag and drop document icons onto a specific
application. I use this method (with DragThing) to open a document with
the non-default application.

(So I could double click on a .PS to invoke Preview, but easily open it
with a text editor with the "Open With" without having to traverse a
whole file selection dialogue to find TextEditor for instance).

You can save a little time by typing the name of the application once
you have the file selection dialog open, e.g. just type "te" and you
will probably be on TextEdit.

(When working on a remote foreign system, the mac will be asked to open
files with file extenstions it doesn't know about and it would be nice
to be able to configure the mac to know how to handle such files).

That's covered by the Finder Get Info window method.

--
David Empson
dempson@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
.

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