For example, I use Preview as the default for jpg and png files and QuickTime X as the default for audio and video.įor instructions, see: How to Change the Default App that Opens Files on a Mac Open Only Select Files in Preview You can also apply these steps to change the default app that opens other file types, such as images or audio. You can always open a specific PDF file within Adobe Reader, if you’d prefer. (3) To change your default settings so that all PDFs automatically open in Preview when you double-click on them, click on the “Change All” button and confirm your change. (2) In the Get Info dialog box that opens, use the dropdown menu of applications under Open With to select Preview. (1) Find the file in your Finder and right-click (or control-click) on it to access the contextual menu. If Preview isn’t already the default PDF viewer on your Mac (meaning that it’s the app that launches if you double-click on a PDF file), follow these steps to make it the default. While many web sites direct you to download Adobe Reader to open PDFs, I recommend that you use Preview instead, as it’s faster and less clunky than Reader, and it has more user-friendly annotation tools. Preview is a PDF and image viewer made by Apple that comes installed with the Mac OS. 2 Change the Default for Other File Types.1 Change the Default PDF Reader to Preview.So for every file, she had to go into the Downloads folder, rename the PDF, and move it to where she wanted it stored. It basically picked an index code and used that as the file name. And instead of being able to Save As into the appropriate folder, Preview would only allow the Save function to save to the Downloads folder, and it wouldn't allow her to name the file. Instead of downloading the file, it opened in Preview (she's using a Mac). The PDF file downloads into whatever folder she's doing her organizational magic with.īut earlier this week, that changed. But it's always some variation of clicking on a link or right-clicking and selecting Save As. There is a little variation in the process, depending on how each site codes its download links. She has been doing this for as long as there have been online statements. She files those on our Bookkeeping Share on the Synology NAS, so we have them for taxes, reporting, or any other fiducially responsible need that crops up. This means that every week or so, she has to download a whole bunch of bank, credit card, and vendor statements. My wife does our little firm's bookkeeping.

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My mac will not open pdf files