macOS Sierra, the latest iteration of Apple’s desktop operating systems, comes with a plethora of stock apps. Apps that can perform various functions on your Mac and do them well. However, not every stock Mac app is the best, and you may want to replace the default app for various reasons, such as extra functionality, faster load times, and more. So if you want to switch from using the default Mac apps (like the default Mail client), Here’s how to change default apps in macOS Sierra:
Change Default Apps on Mac
For the most part, the default Mac apps work well enough. However, you may want to use a third-party app that provides extra functionality or just works better for you. How to change default apps in macOS Sierra, same for almost any file type you use. For illustration purposes, I will change the default application to GIMP to open Images (Preview). Here’s how to do this:
1. First choose a picture Open the file in Finder and then click “command + me“. You can also right-click on the file and click “Obtain information“.
2. This will open the Info dialog for the file. Under “open with“, click the drop-down menu and choose app you want to use. I choose GIMP.
3. When done, click on “change all” to ensure that every file of the same file type opens in GIMP.
You can now close the Info dialog and when you double-click a JPG file, it will open in GIMP by default.
note: This method changes the default application only for files of the file type you are changing. If you used this method in a JPG file, all JPG files will open in GIMP, but PNGs, GIFs, etc. It continues to open in Preview. You will need to repeat this process for each file type for which you want to change the default application.
You can use this method on any file. So, if you want to open PDFs in a third-party PDF app like PDF Expert for Mac (download), instead of preview. You can apply this method by clicking on any PDF file and changing the default application it opens. After that all PDF files will be opened in PDF Expert.
Change Default Web Browser in macOS Sierra
While the method mentioned above works fine for files on your Mac, how about changing your default web browser? Most people don’t like Safari, at least not so much that they would rather use Google Chrome. So, if you have downloaded Google Chrome and want to set it as your default web browser on Mac, here is how you can do it:
1. Start System Preferencesand go”General“.
2. Here, you will find an option for “.Default Web Browser“. Just click the drop-down menu and “Google Chrome” (or the browser you want to use).
You can now exit System Preferences and the default web browser on your Mac will switch to Google Chrome (or the app of your choice).
Change Default Email Client in macOS Sierra
While the default Mail app on Mac has been greatly improved in macOS Sierra, there’s a good chance you have a preferred third-party email app that you’ve been using for a long time. However, changing the default email client on a Mac is not as easy as changing the default image viewer or even changing the default web browser. If you want to change the default email client in macOS Sierra, just follow these steps:
one. Launch the Mail app on your Mac andcommand + ,“. Moreover “Mail -> Preferences“.
2. In the Preferences window, click “GeneralIn the ” tab, “Default email reader” to your preferred app. I am using Spark.
SEE ALSO: 7 Useful Built-in Mac Apps You Probably Didn’t Know
Easily Change Default Apps in macOS Sierra
With these methods, you can easily change the default apps on Mac to any third-party app you prefer to use. Changing the default apps in macOS Sierra can help you automatically open files and documents in the app of your choice. There are a number of very powerful third-party apps for Mac.
As always, we would like to hear your opinion on changing default apps on Mac. Also let us know about your favorite third-party apps; and if you know other methods to change default apps on macOs Sierra, let us know in the comments section below.
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