Apple apps such as QuickTime Player, Photos, and Keynote work with many kinds of audio and video formats. Some apps prefer specific formats, but QuickTime movie files (.mov), most MPEG files (.mp4, .m4v, .m4a, .mp3, .mpg), some AVI and WAV files, and many other formats usually work in most apps without additional software.
Older or specialized media formats might not work in your app, because the format requires software designed to support it. If that happens, your app won't open the file or won't play back its audio or video.
How to search for an app that works with your file
You might already have an app that supports the format of your file. If you don't know which of your installed apps to try, your Mac might be able to suggest one:
Control-click (or right-click) the file in the Finder.
From the shortcut menu that opens, choose Open With. You should see a submenu listing all of the other installed apps that your Mac thinks might be able to open the file.
If none of your installed apps can open the file, search the Internet or Mac App Store for apps that can play or convert the file. Include these in your search:
Mac Set Default Program For File Type
Click 'Continue' and now all of the files that are the same file format (.PDF,.Doc, etc.) will open with the new default application you just assigned. Keep in mind that any single files you have set to open with an application other than the system default will still open with that application. Programs usually offer to become the default program for any file types they can handle during the installation process. This is often convenient – for example, when you install VLC it can become the default media player for every type of media file on your system.
The name of the media format. If you don't know the format, select the file and press Command-I to open an Info window. The format might appear after the label Kind, such as ”Kind: Matroska Video File.”
The filename extension, which is the letters shown at the end of the file's name, such as .avi,.wmv, or .mkv.
Related Articles
1 Resetting the Registered File Types for Excel
2 Change Settings to Open a PDF File
3 Set Windows Media Player as Default
4 Open a SolidWorks File
When you first install Microsoft Word 2010, it automatically sets itself as the default program for handling Word documents. This means anytime you double-click a Word document from File Explorer or launch it from an email attachment, the document opens automatically in Word. However, a subsequently installed program or a manual override could have changed these settings so that Word is no longer the default program. To recover these settings, you need to reconfigure the file associations within Windows 8.
1.
Type 'file associations' from the Windows 8 Start screen, click 'Settings' and select 'Make a File Type Always Open in a Specific Program' from the search results. If you're currently in Desktop mode, press the 'Windows' key to access the Start screen.
2.
Double-click '.Docx' from the list of file extensions.
3.
Click 'Microsoft Word' from the pop-up window to make it the default program.
4.
Repeat the 'Microsoft Word' selection for '.Doc,' '.Docm,' '.Dot,' '.Dotx' and '.Dotm,' which are other common Word file extensions.
References (1)
Mac Default Program For File Type
Cite this Article
Choose Citation Style
Taylor, C. 'How to Set Word as the Default to Open Word Documents.' Small Business - Chron.com, http://smallbusiness.chron.com/set-word-default-open-word-documents-61252.html. Accessed 06 September 2019.
Taylor, C. (n.d.). How to Set Word as the Default to Open Word Documents. Small Business - Chron.com. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/set-word-default-open-word-documents-61252.html
Taylor, C. 'How to Set Word as the Default to Open Word Documents' accessed September 06, 2019. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/set-word-default-open-word-documents-61252.html
Note: Depending on which text editor you're pasting into, you might have to add the italics to the site name.