Make VLC the default player (OS X)

October 25, 2005 7:27 PM

How do I set up VLC to become the default player in OS X Tiger? I've tried right clicking a file and selecting "VLC" then clicking "always use this program", but it seems to only make that association for the particular file, not for all of that type (.avi and .wmv, in this case). I know how to do this in Windows, but it seems to be trickier on a Mac. Or maybe I'm just stupid.
posted by rossination to computers & internet (4 comments total)

Right click, Get Info, Open With section, Change All button.

(And if you're really lucky, it won't be disabled.)
posted by smackfu at 7:36 PM on October 25, 2005 [1 favorite]

Thank you...
posted by rossination at 7:41 PM on October 25, 2005

File associations work differently on a mac than on windows. The association is stored in the document primarily. The "open all with" registry is only used in special circumstances (like when the file doesn't include an association, or .html files, or types for which you've hit open with->change all). This prevents applications from hijacking your associations (remember the mini media file war in the 90s between quicktime, wmp, and real player? Won't happen on the mac). More info.
posted by Popular Ethics at 8:45 PM on October 25, 2005

Oh, ok. That media file war was one of the things that made me switch to a freakin' mac in the first place. Thanks, Apple!
posted by rossination at 10:21 PM on October 25, 2005