Finder now offers to search Mac App Store for unknown file types

If you try to open a file in the Finder and it doesn't recognize the extension, it will now offer to search the Mac App Store for applications that can open that file type. Before the Mac App Store's launch, the alert panel you see above would simply say, "There is no default application specified to open the document 'foo.bar' " and offered only "Cancel" or "Choose Application..." as choices.

Ideally, I wish the Finder would tell you if you already have any applications installed that could open those files, but this is a nice addition for people who might receive an unknown file and not know what to do with it.

In December, 9to5Mac spotted this dialog in a prerelease seed of 10.6.6, so it's nice to see that it made it into the final product.

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Source: http://www.apple.com/mac/app-store/

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Mac OS X

If you try to open a file in the Finder and it doesn't recognize the extension, it will now offer to search the Mac App Store for...

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"Ideally, I wish the Finder would tell you if you already have any applications installed that could open those files"

Doesn't "Choose Application" take you to your applications folder and basically do this? Anything that can open the file is selectable, anything that can't is grayed out.

January 07 2011 at 3:30 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Zactu

I don't see the point of deleting it. Delete the icon from the dock, sure. You can just leave the App Store entry under the Apple (logo) menu because the only change there is the words: 'OSX Software' has now changed to the 'App Store'.

January 07 2011 at 6:53 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

J. Smith

Does anyone know how to actually disable this completely, along with the App Store itself, preferably through a preference/defaults write command or something that's not going to break the system all to hell?

January 07 2011 at 1:28 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

2 replies to J. Smith's comment

Mike

Not possible, although theoretically you could just trash the App Store application. No telling what that would do, but I don't think anyone else wants to get rid of it that badly.

Anyway, that's really the only way. The App Store is here to stay, and is part of the OS. There would be no reason to add a preference to disable it.

January 07 2011 at 2:00 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

TJ Luoma

Presumably you could delete the App Store application from your Applications folder and then logout/reboot. Either that or move it from /Applications/ to your user folder (i.e. put it on your Desktop or somewhere no one else can access it).

You'll understand if I don't test that myself, right? Use with caution at your own risk, etc.

January 07 2011 at 2:00 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

So, you can find out if it is truly, 'beyond all recognition.'

January 07 2011 at 12:37 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply