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Files and Programs

Note: this is a "vintage" tip for older computers and/or systems.

Often you will want to tell Mac OS X which program to use to open a particular type of file. For example, you might want to use Preview instead of Acrobat to open PDF files. The following describes how to do it. Note that the procedure differs slightly for different versions of Mac OS X so this is just a guide.

Find a file of the type you want to associate with a program. Click on the file once. Choose Get Info from the File menu. Click on the "Open With" section (click the tab, triangle, etc). Choose the program you want to use from the pop-up list. Click the Change All button, and click Continue when you are asked to confirm the change.

Note that, because Mac OS X has multiple methods of identifying the file type, you may have to choose a number of files and repeat this before all are covered. Specifically the file suffix ".pdf" and internal signatures might mean the system identifies what seem to be the same type of file differently.





I usually write a blog post about once a week. The latest post can be viewed here: Think for Yourself: In the end, everything is just an opinion. Be skeptical, and think for yourself! (posted 2026-04-25 at 21:12:02). Or go to the Home Page of My Blog to choose a post to view.

I do podcasts too! You can listen to my latest podcast, here: OJB's Podcast 2026-04-14 How Far is that Star?: How would we really know how big the universe is? Or subscribe to my podcast RSS feed, on my RSS Feeds page.

If you're not sure what to view from the thousands of pages on my site, here are some suggestions: My Latest Airshow Report (photos and movies from Warbirds Over Wanaka, 2026), My Favourite Wines and Beers (tasting notes for some of my favourites), An Interesting Astronomical Observation (learn a bit about astronomy from these observing notes), See Some Photos (A short rail journey through the Taieri Gorge), Read Some Mac Tips (Learn about how to use your Mac, and fix some problems).


Latest Site News and Notifications (Desktop): You are currently viewing OJB's web site, version 2.4 which has some major changes, and possibly errors! Please report any problems to ojb@mac.com.

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