Filed under: Software
MisFox gives you control of helper apps
If you remember the good old days of OS 9... well, maybe they weren't all that good, but at least it was easy (via the Internet control panel) to set all your helper applications, which would launch whenever you hit a mailto: or ftp: link. Nowadays you've got to dig into Mail.app just to change your default email application, and that's just a pain in the neck. What can solve this sticky situation? MisFox can.
Just revised to a Universal Binary, system preference panel-savvy, version 2-iy version 2, MisFox lets you set your default helpers and file mappings for all sorts of URLs, extensions and protocols. I've used it since way back and there's nothing handier for getting your auto-launching ducks in a row. And free? Such a deal.
Update: For those who asked about setting Google Reader as the default handler for RSS feeds (as indicated in the alluring yet somewhat misleading screenshot above), see here.
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Alan said 1:29PM on 7-17-2007
Just last night I downloaded something like it, another .prefpane. Now what was it called? *google searches*
Oh yeah, it was RCDefaultApp. Ugly name, but it works.
http://www.rubicode.com/Software/RCDefaultApp/
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guerro said 1:36PM on 7-17-2007
Anything like this available for XP ?
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Michael Rose said 1:40PM on 7-17-2007
#2 -- wrong blog, you want http://downloadsquad.com
:-)
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Aaron said 2:12PM on 7-17-2007
Anyone know how to set a Java app as a URL protocol handler (e.g. Azureus for magnet:// links)? I've had no luck, presumably due to Java apps' lack of a creator codes.
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tom said 2:14PM on 7-17-2007
So News Readers and RSS Readers aren't the same deal? 0_0
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noza said 2:47PM on 7-17-2007
Great idea, stupid name.
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Jimbo said 2:56PM on 7-17-2007
What is Google Reader.app? I'm searching on macupdate for it and can find nothing...
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Matt said 2:58PM on 7-17-2007
How do you make it select Google Reader as your default RSS reader? My only choice is Safari.
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muzo said 4:38PM on 7-17-2007
how did you get google reader.app on there?
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Eliot said 4:48PM on 7-17-2007
I used More Internet to fix my aim: links
http://www.monkeyfood.com/software/moreInternet/
so it would open iChat instead of Adium. I know I found it the first time via TUAW, but these helper apps are hard as hell to properly Google.
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Michael Rose said 5:54PM on 7-17-2007
#7-9: I'm running an older version of this:
http://www.tuaw.com/2006/10/30/google-reader-notifier-for-mac-os-x/
It's since been renamed to "Reader Notifier" to avoid confusion. Note that the screenshot is somewhat misleading -- although Reader Notifier will show in the helper list, you can't actually set it to your default feed reader. :-(
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Paul said 11:23PM on 7-17-2007
The screenshot is somewhat misleading? Are you kidding me? The only reason I bothered to download and install this thing is because I thought I could set Google Reader with it.
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Michael Rose said 11:14AM on 7-18-2007
Paul, Jimbo, Matt, muzo -- you CAN set Google Reader as your default feed reader by using Reader Notifier:
http://www.tuaw.com/2007/07/18/tuaw-tip-setting-google-reader-as-your-default-rss-handler/
Sorry for getting everyone all riled up.
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Josh said 6:44PM on 11-24-2007
Whenever I try to set the magnet protocol to Azureus, it doesn't work. More Internet says "there was an error adding that handler," MisFox lets me pick Azureus, but when I click Choose it shows the handler as blank... hell, RCDefaultApps won't even allow me to ADD a protocol at all. This is weird and confounding.
Anybody had similar experiences, or have any ideas? Thanks!
:-j
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