Mac Default Apps Preference Pane

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Apr 23, 2018 The Mac default apps that come with your new Mac are great for everyday functionality. They fulfill their core purpose elegantly and simply. But when it comes to preferences to adjust and knobs to twist, Mac default apps have never been the best choice.

Sep 20, 2009  RCDefaultApp is a Mac OS X 10.2 or later preference pane that allows a user to set the default application used for various URL schemes, file extensions, file types, MIME types, and Uniform Type Identifiers (or UTIs; MacOS 10.4 only). MacOS X uses the extension and file type settings to choose the application when opening a file in Finder, while Safari and other applications use the URL. May 03, 2015  The System Preferences window in OS X contains most of the important settings and configuration options for your Mac, but not every user needs regular access to every preference pane. Here's how you can remove or hide preference panes in OS X System Preferences. Apr 29, 2020  2. Swift Default App: The effective Method. To set VLC as a default app for every video file type, we’d install a small utility app, Swift Default Apps. It’s a preference pane app that would let us set any app as default. Download the app from the Github page and install it on your system. The preferences pane for Mail will appear. Make sure you’re on the General tab, and click the dropdown menu next to Default email reader. Select the Default email reader option Choosing Your.

The Security & Privacy group of the System Preferences window on your MacBook are where you protect your MacBook from unwanted users or where you can choose to turn off your firewall protection (not advised!).

Settings here are divided into three tabs:

Mac Default Apps Preference Pane

  • General: To add an extra layer of password security for your MacBook, select the Require Password After Sleep or Screen Saver Begins check box. Mac OS X then requires that you enter your login password before the system returns from a sleep state or exits a screen saver.

    Click the pop-up delay menu to specify when the password requirement will kick in (it’s immediate by default). If you’re an admin-level user, you can set the global security features in the For All Accounts on This Computer section, which affect all user accounts.

    You can choose to do the following: disable the automatic login feature; force Mac OS X to require a login password each time that a System Preference pane is opened; automatically log off any user after a certain amount of inactivity; and display a message when the screen is locked.

    You can also specify whether Lion should update Safari’s safe download list automatically. (Safari uses this list to determine what files should be opened after downloading, which helps you prevent attacks by viruses and malware.)

    Don’t want small fingers accidentally controlling your MacBook with the Apple Remote? If you don’t need the Remote on a regular basis, click the Disable Remote Control Infrared Receiver check box to select it. (But don’t forget to turn your IR receiver back on for your next movie night!)

  • FileVault: These controls allow you to turn on FileVault hard drive encryption, which makes it virtually impossible for others to access files on your Mac. Click the Turn On FileVault button to enter the passwords for each user, because even if you’re using an Admin account, each user on your Mac must enter her password to enable her account for use with FileVault, which allows her access to data on the hard drive.

    Click Continue to display the recovery key — go ahead and write that key down and store it in a very safe place — and then click Continue to enable FileVault encryption for the user who’s currently logged in; the user’s Login password becomes his FileVault password as well.

    If you forget both your login password and the recovery key, not even the technical experts at Apple can retrieve your data!

  • Firewall: Mac OS X includes a built-in firewall, which you can enable from this pane.

    To turn the firewall off entirely, simply click the Stop button. This is the very definition of Not a Good Thing; any MacBook hooked up to a network or the Internet should have the system firewall turned on.

    (The only exception is if you’re using a network that you know to be secure and your access to the Internet is through a router or sharing device with its own built-in firewall.)

    When the firewall is enabled, click the Advanced button to set firewall options.

    • To turn the firewall on with only Mac OS X application exclusions, click Block All Incoming Connections — only the sharing services you select on the Sharing pane in System Preferences are allowed through your firewall.) This is a good choice for the most security-conscious MacBook owner, but your firewall will block third-party applications that try to access your network or the Internet.

    • To turn the firewall on with exclusions, click Automatically Allow Signed Software to Receive Incoming Connections. (Yep, this is the correct option for just about every MacBook owner.) Any connection to a service (such as Web Sharing) or an application (such as iChat) that isn’t listed is blocked, but you can enable access for third-party applications on an as-needed basis.

    In firewall-speak, these entries are rules because they determine what’s allowed to pass through to your MacBook.

    It’s easy to enable communications with a Mac OS X service: Just use the Sharing pane within System Preferences to turn on a service, and Lion automatically configures your firewall to allow communications. I describe the Sharing pane in detail later in this chapter.

    To add a third-party application, click the Advanced button at the bottom of the Firewall pane, then click the button with the plus sign. Navigate to the application that needs to communicate with the outside world. Click the application to select it and then click Add. To delete an application, select it in the list and click the button with the minus sign.

    Remember, you don’t have to add any of the applications provided by Apple with Lion, such as Apple Mail, iChat, or Safari; only third-party applications that you install yourself need a firewall rule.

    You can edit the rule for a specific service or application by clicking the rule at the right side of the entry. By default, the rule reads Allow Incoming Connections (including both your local network and the Internet); however, when you click the rule, you can also choose Block Incoming Connections to temporarily deny access to that application.

    For heightened security, click the Enable Stealth Mode check box, which prevents your Mac from responding to attempts to identify it across your network and the Internet.

    If you suddenly can’t connect to other computers or share files that you originally could share, review the rules that you’ve enabled from this pane. You can also verify that everything’s shipshape in the Sharing pane in System Preferences.

There are a lot of strong arguments in favor of macOS, it is beautiful, robust, well designed, and just works. While it is true, I hate the fact that the default Media Player on macOS is a Quick Time Player. I wanted to use VLC as my default media player for all the video files on my mac. That said, let’s set VLC as the default app.

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I use VLC simply because it is more intuitive than Quick Time Player, supports file types such as MKV, and gives you total control of the video playback from the keyboard.

Set VLC As Default App On Mac

1. Open With: The Easy Method

There is an option built into the macOS that lets you set any application as a default. To set VLC as default for a video file, Right-click the file> Click ‘Get Info’.

Also Read: VLC For Apple TV: Fixing 3 Common Problem

Under the ‘Open With‘ section, select VLC from the drop-down menu. Click the ‘Change All’ button. That’s all you need to do, the video file would open with VLC every time you double click it or press CMD+DOWN.

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However, the problem with this method is that you would have to repeat the process of setting VLC as a default app for every video file type. If you want a set it and forget it type fix then let’s check out the next method.

Mac Default Apps Preference Pane Windows

2. Swift Default App: The effective Method

To set VLC as a default app for every video file type, we’d install a small utility app, Swift Default Apps. It’s a preference pane app that would let us set any app as default. Download the app from the Github page and install it on your system.

Default Apps Windows 10

Once installed, you will find this app in System Preferences, Click SwiftDefaultApps icon.

Select Applications from the row of tabs, scroll down to find VLC and check all the media files that you want VLC to play. Now, simply close the System Preferences and that’s it. All of the video files have been set to VLC now.

Mac Default Apps Preference Pane 10

Read: How to Play MKV Files on Mac

Default Apps Mac

Set VLC as Default App on Mac

Mac Default Apps Preference Pane Download

These were two simple ways to set VLC as your default media player. I don’t mind using the first method but I consume a lot of video content and setting every format to play with VLC isn’t something I’d want to do. SwiftDefaultApps can do so much more than just setting VLC as the default app. What do you think of these methods, let me know in the comments below or reach out to me on Twitter?

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