Comments on: Firefox as Default Browswer in Thunderbird?

Question: Firefox as Default Browswer in Thunderbird?

absalom — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 08:34:52 -0800

How do I get Firefox to be the browser of choice for Thunderbird in OS X?

I'm running OS X on my iBook, with Firefox 1.0 and Thunderbird 1.0. I've set Firefox to be the default browser in OS X for .html and .htm files. However, links in Thunderbird messages and RSS feeds open up in Opera anyway. I've asked some more Mac-savvy friends than I, and they're also stumped. This is *really* annoying - doubly so since I just set up RSS feeds - and I'd be real apprecative if someone could rid me of this bother.

By: dobbs

dobbs — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 08:36:03 -0800

Go ino Safari and change the default browser under "general".

By: Rothko

Rothko — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 08:40:00 -0800

Within Safari, pull down the application menu ("Safari") and select "Preferences..."

Click once on the "General" button in the toolbar and select "Firefox" from the Default Web Browser pull-down menu.

If it is not listed, choose "Select" within this pull-down menu and navigate to the Applications folder to select Firefox.

By: doctor_negative

doctor_negative — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 08:46:23 -0800

Not for this particular problem but for people who are looking for a convenient way to change mime type/application associations in OSX there's Misfox.

By: absalom

absalom — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 09:12:02 -0800

Don't I feel silly! I checked everyone *but* opera. Thanks!

By: kirkaracha

kirkaracha — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 09:50:37 -0800

You shouldn't feel silly; their putting the systemwide browser preference in a browser was a bad usability decision. (I was going to say dumb, and I think it's a dumb place to have the preference, but assuming their goal is to lock people into Safari, it's a smart, but shady, move.)

By: odinsdream

odinsdream — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 10:39:38 -0800

Thanks for that link doctor_negative! It'll come in handy.

I have a related question that perhaps someone in this thread would know about.

What's the Mac OSX equivalent to the File Type Association window in Windows Explorer? For instance, when I double-click a JPG copied from my digital camera, it opens in Preview. If I save this JPG in photoshop (still a JPG, not a PSD file), then the next time I click on it, it opens in Photoshop, instead of Preview.

What happened, and how do I fix it? I want to be able to control what program opens which files. I also want to better understand the mechanics behind this process.

By: filmgeek

filmgeek — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 11:17:09 -0800

get info on that item.

You'll see a choice called "open with"

Mine is set for Preview (for jpgs).

Change the drop down to the app you want (so you're saving THAT ONE)...and you have the ability to change all.

I like preview - it's very very fast.

By: Rothko

Rothko — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 11:18:35 -0800

Control-click on the file and select "Open With" to open a file with a different application that one instance.

You can also change system-wide associations by control-clicking on a file and selecting "Get Info".

Change the association within the "Open with" tab and click "Change all" to apply this association change across the system, i.e. to all files with this filtetype.

By: odinsdream

odinsdream — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 14:46:16 -0800

Thanks filmgeek and Rothko!