"Open with" can not change default

Try this out:

1) click once on the file in Finder
2) choose File -> Get info (or Apple+I)
3) select the application you want to open that file under "Open with"
4) click on "Change All..." to apply this globally

I've been having a problem, since installing Snow Leopard, with one app (VectorWorks 2009) refusing to set default app to the current version. I keep 3 versions installed for backward compatibility.

Thanks—your terminal command fixed this problem.

I've reported this problem since OS 10.4. No help ever out here. The problem went away with Snow Leopard. I installed Parallels and now the problem is back. I can change each file, but the problem is the OS magically changed the default on hundreds of my files!

It sounds like LaunchServices to me also. These are only cache files but can get corrupted. V.K. gave you the local file but this command will also rebuild the system level file.
Launch /Utilities/Terminal and copy & paste this at the command line to rebuild LaunchServices:


Then press return. Wait until terminal returns to the command line. Quit Terminal. After that, log out and back in or restart. Let us know



-mj

The suggested terminal command did not appear to have any effect. In my case some types of files can have their default applications changed, others cannot. One program that opens 3 different types of files, can be set as the default for one of these file types. Individual files of the other two filetypes can be set to opened by the application in Get Info. But if I click on "Change all", the default specification immediately returns to its previous setting. It would take months to change the "open with setting" for each file, one at a time.

I had this problem in Snow Leopard when trying to change the default application for Word .docx files. The Get Info/Open With wouldn't let me select Pages for 'Change All'. I fixed it by first selecting Textedit.app then pressing 'Change All' (which was accepted) then selecting Pages.app which this time was accepted when clicking 'Change All'

I have the same problem for a few users.

.eps will always open in preview even if i do Get info > Open With Illustrator CS3 > When i click change all it turns back to preview...

i have full access to the files.

How cant i change them, its getting annoying

macjack wrote:
It sounds like LaunchServices to me also. These are only cache files but can get corrupted. V.K. gave you the local file but this command will also rebuild the system level file.
Launch /Utilities/Terminal and copy & paste this at the command line to rebuild LaunchServices:

Code:

<pre class="alt2" style="margin:0px; padding:3px; border:1px inset; width:640px; height:34px; overflow:auto">

/System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/LaunchSe rvices.framework/Versions/A/Support/lsregister -kill -r -domain local -domain system -domain user

</pre>

Then press return. Wait until terminal returns to the command line. Quit Terminal. After
that, log out and back in or restart. Let us know

I only had to do the above command in the terminal window to solve my problem. I didn't need to log in or out or anything. I'm not sure what lsregister does, but it fixed it. Thanks!

My problem was with XML files, which were locked into having Dashcode as the default application from the moment I had Xcode installed on Snow Leopard.

It works now with my favourite XML editor.

This only worked for about a week, the problem is back now. The defaults for opening files like XML or TXT have all reverted back to Xcode tools, even while I haven't used it over the last week, and again when do Get Info on for example a XML file and I change the application to open it with, and then click on "Change All", it immediately reverts back to the Xcode defaults.

This is very annoying.

I'm going to try the lsregister solution again, but if it means I need to do that every week, I'll get mighty annoyed.

Just for the record, I'm having the same problem with Excel files. I would like to use Excel 2004 as my default for all .xls files, but it will not make the change. I tried all the fixes mentioned above and none of them worked for even one try.

Got the exact same fault in Snow Lepoard. We have Quark files that have no file extensions on them, but they have been stored this way for many moons and work fine both on the designers macs and the in house one (running older versions of mac os). The new mac associates the files with terminal and will not change the default setting to quark for all files.

Just get the following error:

An error occurred while changing the application that opens “FILENAME” because not enough information is available.

Do you want to open “FILENAME” with “Terminal”?

Now the obvious answer is no i don't want to open it with flaming terminal, i've just told you ten times to open it with quark, but yet again you jump back to terminal like a defiant five year old.

I've tried all the things suggested here as well as a few apps to try and make it change but still no joy.

Maybe the answer is to roll the OS back to an earlier version that ACTUALLY WORKS

I have the same problem with .bas files. They can be opened with a Mac program and a Windows XP program running under Parallels. There is no way to change all to the Mac program; opening the file it launches Parallels and Windows XP.
The problem does not exist with other type of files.

The Terminal code didn't work (was it for 10.5/10.6 only?) I'm on 10.4.11 and received a 'no such file or directory' response. I'm having the same problem with photoshop CS3 which is on an external backup, I want to change the default app to CS2. It works if I remove the backup drive but then reverts back again when I plug it back in. Anyone else have any thoughts?

thanks! this worked for me...

1- in ~/Library/Preferences, i deleted both
-com.apple.LaunchServices.plist
-com.apple.LaunchServices.QuarantineEvents

2- ran the command you posted in terminal.

3- logged out then back in.

my icons and default program for .pdf changed from acrobat back to preview, which is my preferred application... in my case, for some reason all pdf files where being opened in acrobat since i transferred my files to my new macPro last summer. the same files on my MBPro don't do this.

i'd tried OnyX.app to reset launch services, but it didn't help. in my case, the .plist was regenerated, but the quarantineEvents still had the creation date from last summer... so running the programs or running the script in terminal was not clearing quarantineEvents file. hopefully, this will fix will be permanent.

i don't like the "finder -> get info -> change default app" option because it changes the modification dates on ALL affected files. i sync certain directories between multiple macs and this make the syncing program recopy all the files. also, i use the modification dates when searching for files to know what version i'm looking at or to find a particular version in spotlight. when all files have the same modification date, searching become useless and i can never tell what file was the last version from a certain period. in my case of 24 years of macs, i have files from all the different decades, and i sometimes am looking for something from the 1980's or 1990s...

anyway, thanks for the clues about how to fix this-
jeffery