Mac Open With?

Poseidon

Is there an easy way to reduce the number of options in the "Open With" after right click? Say when I right clock a picture, I would like a list with

PS
iPhoto
Preview

and maybe a few others... DPP or whatever...

The list I have now is HUGE!

Andy

Poseidon wrote:

Is there an easy way to reduce the number of options in the "Open With" after right click? Say when I right clock a picture, I would like a list with

PS
iPhoto
Preview

and maybe a few others... DPP or whatever...

The list I have now is HUGE!

right click on a file, choose get info, and then select the open with app

silica

Poseidon wrote:

Is there an easy way to reduce the number of options in the "Open With" after right click? Say when I right clock a picture, I would like a list with

PS
iPhoto
Preview

and maybe a few others... DPP or whatever...

The list I have now is HUGE!

Here is a technique for doing what you want:

http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20030730161311391

DJ-S1

silica wrote:

Here is a technique for doing what you want:

http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20030730161311391

Hmmm, Microsoft would get killed for those instructions...

Not trolling for a fight, I'm just couldn't help pointing it out... it's a character flaw of mine.

cabbey

DJ-S1 wrote:

Hmmm, Microsoft would get killed for those instructions...

Not trolling for a fight, I'm just couldn't help pointing it out... it's a character flaw of mine.

Yep. But in this case, it's a user not apple. This is no different than telling a user to go do a bunch of registry editing to achieve the same change under windows.

Zeus1

Not so fast!

What is happening is that the "launch services database" is getting corrupted over time. There are 2 ways of remedying this:
- using Onyx, a freeware utility available from versiontracker or macupdate. You have to look for the Maintenance>Reset tabs and then the LaunchServices database check mark. Run this command, restart Your mac and then the open with submenu will be pristine.
- Open the Terminal application and paste in the following command:
/System/Library/Frameworks/ApplicationServices.framework/Frameworks/LaunchServices.framework/Support/lsregister -kill - r -f -v -domain local -domain system -domain user
Again, restart the Mac.

Keep these instructions handy, because over time the problem will recur.

PS resetting this LaunchServices database will lead to pop-up windows like "You're opening this application for the first time". Just acccept and start working as usual.

Poseidon

Thanks!

My list has always been this long, I have only had a Mac for a few months now. I will try Zeus' suggestion when I get home, and back on the Mac!

cabbey

Zeus1 wrote:

What is happening is that the "launch services database" is getting corrupted over time. There are 2 ways of remedying this:

How did we leap from a bunch of applications registering their ability to handle a given file type... to the LSD getting corrupted?

I mean I guess it depends on what the exact list contains... but I'd assume if the entries were totally bogus that Poseidon would have mentioned if they were bizarro wrong, and not just too many of them. I mean I've got 20+ entries for jpeg files... yeah that's more than I want, but they're all legitimate entries, and the LSD isn't corrupt.

Zeus1

In order to answer "cabbey": if I control-click on a .jpg file on my computer and choose "open with", my computer stalls for 30-45 secs and then gives me and endlessly long menu with choices: 5 copies of EasyCrop, 4 of EasyFrame, 6 of GraphicConverter, idem Imagewell, idem Lightzone etc etc etc.
Yes, all these applications reside on my hard disk, all the apps work flawlessly. But I repeat, as in my case, the launch services database has become corrupted over time, and with the terminal command given earlier, I can repair it....for some time...until the problem recurs by heavy use of the computer.

cabbey

Zeus1, sounds like you have something that's making a mess of your LSD alright, but that's not what Poseiden described. Your opening:

zeus1 wrote:

Not so fast!
What is happening is that the "launch services database" is getting corrupted over time.

strongly implies that your experiences were the same as Poseiden's and thus that was the problem he was having. A truly corrupt LSD is fairly rare, and a sign of a deeper problem. Are you seeing this type of list for *all* filetypes? or is it only a subset of file types that demonstrate this behavior? An abused LSD, such as the one you describe, is most commonly caused by a software bug in one or more applications you have installed choosing to fight over a given file type. Usually the broken application's logic goes like this:

if my application is the first item in the list for handling this file type, then all is well, do nothing, otherwise, add my association so that I'm first.

The problem with this is that file types can have multiple associated applications, and if you have two such broken applications then they will lead to this same behaviour that you have seen of repeatedly adding them selves to the list every time they check, which could be every time they start, once a day/week/month, once a boot, whenever they upgrade to a new version... etc.

Another code bug, that I hope wouldn't have survived this long, comes from programs that obtain the entire registered list, add themselves, or move themselves to the front, and then re-register the entire list. There used to be APIs in OS9 and prior that required this type of logic, but I don't think any survived into OSX.