{"id":1465,"date":"2014-04-10T08:00:18","date_gmt":"2014-04-10T13:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesweetsetup.com\/?p=1465"},"modified":"2014-04-10T10:39:00","modified_gmt":"2014-04-10T15:39:00","slug":"quick-tip-remove-duplicates-os-xs-open-menu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesweetsetup.com\/quick-tip-remove-duplicates-os-xs-open-menu\/","title":{"rendered":"Quick tip: Remove duplicates from OS X\u2019s \u201cOpen With\u201d menu"},"content":{"rendered":"

Opening a file in OS X is as simple as double-clicking it, but most files can be opened by any number of applications present on a system. For example, a simple .jpg can be opened from within Preview, Photoshop, Acorn and more.<\/p>\n

Additionally, files can be opened in various applications via a single right-click in Finder. If you\u2019ve used OS X\u2019s \u201cOpen With\u201d contextual menu at all, you\u2019ve probably seen it act up, creating duplicate entries for applications that can be used to open the file in question:<\/p>\n

\"Open
\nImage courtesy of Dr. Drang\u2019s much more complicated post<\/a> on the subject<\/em><\/p>\n

While not a serious issue, this particular bug can be rather annoying. Thankfully, it\u2019s easy to fix with a quick trip to the Terminal.<\/p>\n

(It\u2019s important to remember that the command line is a powerful tool. While we\u2019re nice guys here at The Sweet Setup,<\/em> blindly pasting commands into Terminal from the Internet can go badly at times.)<\/p>\n

Open Terminal from Spotlight or the Utilities folder in Finder and paste this command<\/a> in:<\/p>\n


\n \/System\/Library\/Frameworks\/CoreServices.framework\\
\n\/Versions\/A\/Frameworks\/\\
\nLaunchServices.framework\/Versions\/A\/Support\/\\
\nlsregister -kill -r -domain local -domain user<\/code><\/p>\n

\"Terminal\"<\/p>\n

This command clears and re-builds the Launch Services database where OS X keeps track of what file types can be opened with what applications.<\/p>\n

The command may take a few moments to run, but Terminal will return you to a command prompt once it is complete:<\/p>\n

\"terminal-done\"
\nFor the fix to be complete, run the killall Finder<\/code> command, or simply log out and log back in to your Mac.<\/p>\n

While a dirty Open With menu isn\u2019t a real problem, I sleep better at night knowing things are tidy with my system. Until OS X gets better at managing its own Launch Services database, it\u2019s nice to know how to clear things up manually.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Get rid of duplicate Application entries in the OS X “Open With” menu.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1465","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-quick-tip"],"yoast_head":"\nQuick tip: Remove duplicates from OS X\u2019s \u201cOpen With\u201d menu – The Sweet Setup<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thesweetsetup.com\/quick-tip-remove-duplicates-os-xs-open-menu\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Quick tip: Remove duplicates from OS X\u2019s \u201cOpen With\u201d menu – The Sweet Setup\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Get rid of duplicate Application entries in the OS X "Open With" menu.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/thesweetsetup.com\/quick-tip-remove-duplicates-os-xs-open-menu\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Sweet Setup\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-04-10T13:00:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-04-10T15:39:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/thesweetsetup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/open-with.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Stephen Hackett\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Stephen Hackett\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesweetsetup.com\/quick-tip-remove-duplicates-os-xs-open-menu\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thesweetsetup.com\/quick-tip-remove-duplicates-os-xs-open-menu\/\",\"name\":\"Quick tip: Remove duplicates from OS X\u2019s \u201cOpen With\u201d menu – The Sweet Setup\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesweetsetup.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesweetsetup.com\/quick-tip-remove-duplicates-os-xs-open-menu\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesweetsetup.com\/quick-tip-remove-duplicates-os-xs-open-menu\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/thesweetsetup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/open-with.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-04-10T13:00:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-04-10T15:39:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesweetsetup.com\/#\/schema\/person\/51e972f8dba5a72db3790bc8a072cec5\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/thesweetsetup.com\/quick-tip-remove-duplicates-os-xs-open-menu\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesweetsetup.com\/quick-tip-remove-duplicates-os-xs-open-menu\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thesweetsetup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/open-with.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/thesweetsetup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/open-with.jpg\",\"width\":575,\"height\":635},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesweetsetup.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thesweetsetup.com\/\",\"name\":\"The Sweet Setup\",\"description\":\"The best apps and workflows for your iPhone, iPad, and Mac\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/thesweetsetup.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesweetsetup.com\/#\/schema\/person\/51e972f8dba5a72db3790bc8a072cec5\",\"name\":\"Stephen Hackett\",\"description\":\"Stephen Hackett is the co-founder of the Relay FM podcast network. 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