File associations keep changing.

T

Travis86

Registered
I changed a .py file to open with another application for about the millionth time today. It seems like nothing opens with the right program, and I am constantly changing it. For one thing, OS X associates files in a different way from Windows. It goes by the "kind" instead of the extention. The "kind" depends greatly on what program created it, what program touched it last, and so forth. But still, all of the text files keep wanting to be opened with TextEdit. I don't understand it. Why won't they stay the same?

Also, if I create a JPG with Photoshop, it opens with Photoshop. I can see how this might be useful, but I really want all JPG's it to open with Firefox. Is there a way to do this?

When I change the file, I go to "Get Info" select the program from the applications, and select "Change all".

Thanks.
 
You are absolutely correct that Apple is different from Windows, or Unix, in the way it chooses the application associated with a particular file. In fact it was only with OS X that the ubiquitous three character extensions became one of the primary identifiers. The first level identifiers were and are the embedded Type and Creator codes and if those are not present then the extensions are used.

So if you select a file with a given extension, Control+Click to get to the context menu, ignore the Open With on the context menu and instead choose the Get Info, then in the Get Info window select Open With, choose the application and finally click the Change All button -- then and only then will all of the files with that Type and Creator code as well as that extension will be associated with the chosen application. However, another file with the same extension but a different Type and Creator code will not be associated with the newly chosen application and you have to go through the whole routine again for that Type and Creator code.

If you use the Open With on the context menu, that changes the default application for that file only.

Type and Creator codes are a mystery to Windows and Unix/Linux users, but they offer far more flexibility, selectivity, and utility than is possible with the three character extensions. Long live Type and Creator codes!
 
As perfessor said, when you hit "Change All," the changes are made to all current files only. If you download or receive any new files after the fact, then the new files are unaffected by the previous "Change All" routine. You'll have to do the whole "Change All" thing again.
 
ElDiabloConCaca said:
As perfessor said, when you hit "Change All," the changes are made to all current files only. If you download or receive any new files after the fact, then the new files are unaffected by the previous "Change All" routine. You'll have to do the whole "Change All" thing again.
Click to expand...
That is not what I said, or at least not what I meant to say. I did mistate something. When you use Open With in the Context menu it opens with the chosen application that one time. There is no Change All button when you choose "Open with" in the Context Menu. The change all button only appears in "Open with" in the Get Info window and if you do not click that button only that particular file will open with the changed application. Clicking the Change All button changes the application associated with the creator code and the extension for all files on the system with that particular creator code or extension as well as all new files that are placed on the system having the same Creator Code and/or extension.
 
Right... maybe we're misunderstanding what we're trying to say, though.

I have PDF files set to open with Preview, and I've done so by clicking various .pdf files and using the method mentioned above via "Get Info" ("Change All"). Still, any PDF file I download from Adobe is set to open in Acrobat. I never know what program will be associated with a .pdf file until I've downloaded it... some site's PDF files open in Preview, some in Acrobat.

If I select the PDF that opens in Acrobat and do the "Change All" procedure, any other PDF that wants to open in Acrobat will open with Preview.

It seems, at least on my system, that the "Change All" command works for local, current files only, and must be repeated if new files that don't conform to my previous command are downloaded.

Maybe there's something awry in my system -- is this not the case on all OS X systems?

My apologies if I misquoted or misunderstood what you were saying.
 
Yeah. That's what my problem is. I set a type of file to open with one program, and a little later, it's opening with another.
 
ElDiabloConCaca said:
I have PDF files set to open with Preview, and I've done so by clicking various .pdf files and using the method mentioned above via "Get Info" ("Change All"). Still, any PDF file I download from Adobe is set to open in Acrobat. I never know what program will be associated with a .pdf file until I've downloaded it... some site's PDF files open in Preview, some in Acrobat.
Click to expand...
AH HA! Now we are communicating!

Yes that does happen and no, there is nothing wrong with your system. Remember that you can set the default application for any individual file by doing the Get Info > Open With routine and not clicking Change All. This has the effect of overriding the system default application for that one file but all other files with the same extension and/or Creator code will still be opened by your default application, in this case Preview. You can "Change All" all you want to, but until you change the override application in that one file it will always open with the override application.

If a file is set to be opened with a specific override application that unique and specific association follows the file when it is moved to another computer, although I am not clear on the specific mechanism used. I have see this in one or two cases with other applications, but often with PDFs and mostly, or maybe always, PDFs from Adobe. Since the file has been specifically associated with an application, in this case Adobe Reader, each of these files individual association must be specifically and uniquely reset using Get Info > Open With.

Annoying isn't it?

By-the-way ElDiabloConCaca, no apologies are necessary, I just wanted to be certain that I was not misunderstood, and in fact you brought it to my attention that I had mis-stated some facts. Thanks.
 
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