Mac OS X forum: How do I edit the "open with" list in Snow Leopard?

choose the "Other" option and navigate to your Applications folder and choose the "Correct" Safari (or whatever)

I don't think that there is one single file that dictates which application opens which file, the may well be, but digging around in the guts of OS X is not recommended.

P

Thank you, Kevin. I used Coctail to do the rebuild. Then I googled "Launch Services" and picked up a lot of tidbits that mostly expand on items you mention: (1) will reset the "open with" menu, (2) May initiate warnings that "this is the first time you have opened this file", and (3) if you browse apps in backup drives, Time Machine, or other places, they may be automatically added to the LS list. Nicely, (2) didn't occur for me on this occasion.
I also found out there is a Terminal command you can run that does the same thing but it has parameters you can set to fine tune the process. The command is "lsregister" and its syntax can be found by googling various discussions boards. The path to this command seems to change between version of OS X so you may have to type "locate lsregister" in Terminal to locate it.

Personally I'm a bit wary of these programs. They are the sort that tend to encourage people to go tinkering with things they don't understand and won't have a clue how to fix later on when something goes wrong. I won't put them on the same level as snake oil scam programs like Windows registry cleaners, more like highly specialized tools, intended only for professionals to use in very specific situations, that a bunch of average people get hold of and start abusing.

The better solution here would have been to simply use the Other option and then pick the specific version of Safari, or whatever, to be used. Now you've opened a Pandora's Box which will almost certainly lead to some kind of trouble down the road.

On many occasions I withhold information for exactly that kind of reason. Giving that information to someone who hasn't managed to reach a point, on their own, where they could have discovered this info, and thus have the necessary understanding to use it properly... It can be a bit dangerous. Best case scenario is you just get a bunch of bad, but largely harmless, info floating around. Like all the bogus info out there on laptop batteries. More likely than that is either the OP or someone else who reads this thread will go on to think Onyx and/or Cocktail are some kind of cure-all, and can be used with reckless abandon.

Currently you are encouraging someone to mess with a core service of OS X. Something goes wrong with this particular program, and OS X will not boot. It will not be an easy thing to fix short of just reinstalling the entire OS, because it's a Unix level program. Most Mac users aren't even AWARE that there's a Unix layer under the Aqua GUI, let alone have any clue how to use it.

Part of providing support is managing expectations, and trying to discourage people from messing with things that will almost certainly lead to trouble if they don't show any signs of curiosity about learning how to fix the problems they will create.

Sorry, gave him the answer he was specifically looking for using a method that has proven to be completely reliable without issue. I'm not here to purposely withold information from people nor make assumptions about their ability when trying to assist them in the exact way they needed. Rebuilding LaunchServices is harmless and he was provided the information on what would happen to make the best decision for himself on how to proceed. He also apparently took that information and did further research on his own as well. I can't expect more than that. Your response didn't really address the issue as stated, an issue that I was familiar with in my own experience with seeing apps on backup drives. I didn't suggest he "tinker" with a plist or delve into something that could get him into trouble like using a command line option improperly. I pointed him in the direction of a commonly used GUI-based app that has shown itself to be reliable and the least likely to cause problems for the user. That's what those tools exist for in the first place. I could understand your concern if I had him start manually editing hidden files where one mistype could break the install, but that just wouldn't happen in this case. I think the horror stories you've seen in your tech support background have caused a little overreaction in this case. I don't shy away from finding solutions, nor sharing them with people that they can prove useful to, with a little education on what is going to happen if they should use that solution.

Thank you Jimmy. However, never mind the easier way. I really need the name of the file to modify if you have it. You see, the "open with" menu lists, for example, Safari, and it lists it just once. I have no way of knowing that it is going to open the wrong Safari until it is too late. If I already have the correct Safari open, then this opens a 2nd one and things can get confusing. So I want to edit the list to eliminate erroneous choices.