<page xmlns="http://projectmallard.org/1.0/"
      type="topic" style="task"
      id="files-open">

  <info>
    <link type="guide" xref="files" group="more"/>

    <revision pkgversion="3.6.0" version="0.2" date="2012-09-30" status="review"/>
    <revision pkgversion="3.13.92" date="2014-09-20" status="review"/>

    <credit type="author">
      <name>Cristopher Thomas</name>
      <email>crisnoh@gmail.com</email>
    </credit>
    <credit type="author">
      <name>Shaun McCance</name>
      <email>shaunm@gnome.org</email>
    </credit>

    <include href="legal.xml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude"/>

    <desc>Open files using an application that isn't the default one for that
    type of file. You can change the default too.</desc>
  </info>

<title>Open files with other applications</title>

<p>When you double-click a file in the file manager, it will be opened with
the default application for that file type. You can open it in a different
application, search online for applications, or set the default application
for all files of the same type.</p>

<p>To open a file with an application other than the default, right-click
the file and select the application you want from the top of the menu. If
you do not see the application you want, select <gui>Open With</gui>. By
default, the file manager only shows applications it knows can handle the file.
To look through all the applications on your computer, click <gui>Other
Application…</gui>.</p>

<p>If you still cannot find the application you want, you can search for
more applications by clicking <gui>Find New Applications</gui>. The
file manager will search online for packages containing applications
that are known to handle files of that type.</p>

<section id="default">
  <title>Change the default application</title>
  <p>You can change the default application that is used to open files of a
  given type. This will allow you to open your preferred application when you
  double-click to open a file. For example, you might want your favorite music
  player to open when you double-click an MP3 file.</p>

  <steps>
    <item><p>Select a file of the type whose default application you want to
    change. For example, to change which application is used to open MP3 files,
    select a <file>.mp3</file> file.</p></item>
    <item><p>Right-click the file and select <gui>Properties</gui>.</p></item>
    <item><p>Select the <gui>Open With</gui> tab.</p></item>
    <item><p>Select the application you want and click
    <gui>Set as default</gui>.  By default, the file manager only shows
    applications it knows can handle the file. To look through all the
    applications on your computer, click <gui>Show
    other applications</gui>.</p>
    <p>If <gui>Other Applications</gui> contains an application you sometimes
    want to use, but do not want to make the default, select that application
    and click <gui>Add</gui>. This will add it to <gui>Recommended
    Applications</gui>. You will then be able to use this application by
    right-clicking the file and selecting it from the list.</p></item>
  </steps>

  <p>This changes the default application not just for the selected file,
  but for all files with the same type.</p>

</section>

</page>
