How to change apps that open specific file types

Asya Karapetyan
Content marketer, who specializes in Mac how-to guides
October 2, 2023
7 minutes to read

App Cleaner & Uninstaller is special software to completely uninstall programs and their service files, remove extensions, manage startup programs and change default apps that automatically open different types of files on your Mac.

In this article, we will explain how to use the “Open with” feature in App Cleaner & Uninstaller, preview all files of specific extensions, and select applications for opening different file types.

Follow these steps to set which app to use by default for each type of file extension:

  1. Launch App Cleaner & Uninstaller.
  2. Switch to the Open With section.
  3. Select a file from the left column.
  4. Choose the application from the right list.
  5. Click Set as Default.

App Cleaner Uninstaller showing the Open With section

How to see the list of all files of selected types with App Cleaner & Uninstaller

If you need to preview all files of a selected extension for which you want to change a default app, click the Magnifier icon next to the file type.
a program to open files with by default

It will open the list of all the files of the selected type in Finder.

Important Note!
If you can’t open the list of files of the selected type in Finder, you may not have the permission. In this case, you will get such a notification:

notification to grant access to Finder

Here is how to troubleshoot this issue:

  1. Open System Settings.
  2. Go to the Privacy & Security section → Automation.
  3. Find App Cleaner & Uninstaller in the list of apps in right panel and enable Finder access for it.
  4. System Settings window showing how to allow App Cleaner Uninstaller access Finder

Now you can open the list of all files of selected types by clicking the Arrow icon in App Cleaner & Uninstaller.

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