Change the Program that Opens a File

In this tutorial we are going to look at how to open a file with a specific program. This is a quick little MacOS X (10.2) tip that may come in handy some day.

Sometimes I would edit a picture in Photoshop but would want to be able to view it quickly with the MacOS X Preview software. The Preview Application loads much quicker than Photoshop and is a lot less obtrusive (no floating tools, etc). This can be done in a few short steps.

1. Find the file that you are going to change (In my example, the file is called 'FinderScreenSnapz001.psd')
   
2. Control Click on the file and select Get Info.
   
3. When the Get Info box pops up, you will see a series of menus (below). You will click on the Open With arrow. This will bring up the Open With Menu.
   
4. Next, you will see the Open With drop down menu (image below). Here you will choose which application will open the file you are working with. In the image below, Preview is the default application for opening this document.
   
5. Now click on the down arrow and scroll through the list until you see the application that you are looking for. In my case it was Adobe Photoshop 7.
   
6. You can then choose whether to change all files like this one. By clicking on the Change All... button.