[Pythonmac-SIG] Help: how to programmatically set "open with" app in OSX

[Dan Brotsky]

On Monday, December 30, 2002, at 12:04  PM, Jack Jansen wrote:
>> It's private LaunchServices API, unfortunately.  From doing 'nm
>> LaunchServices' it appears what you want is probably
>> _LSSetWeakBindingForType.

There's a great utility I use to do this kind of stuff called XRay 
<http://www.brockerhoff.net/xray> by Rainer Brockerhoff 
<rainer@brockerhoff.net>.  Doing nm of the XRay app also shows that it 
uses _LSSetWeakBindingForType (as well as the undocumented 
_LSGet/SetStrongBindingForRef); having looked at the XRay UI I suspect 
whoever suggested this is on the right track.  You might just ask 
Rainer if he'd be willing to send you the prototype he discovered for 
using it.

> Bah. And is there a way to send an AppleScript command to the finder 
> (or maybe something else? A preference panel? A shell interface?) to 
> accomplish this?

The Finder's GetInfo window seems to work based on type and creator 
using the old DT database; I don't think there's a way to set 
extension-based defaults there.

> Adobe Acrobat Reader does seem to have a way to do this. At least: 
> when you fire up a new Acrobat Reader for the first time it tells you 
> it isn't the default app for pdf files, and whether you want to change 
> that. Would they be using the private LS API, or would they have found 
> some other way of doing this?

I'm pretty sure Acrobat uses the DT database as well: whatever they do 
doesn't apply to files with a PDF extension but an unknown type/creator 
combo.  Also Acrobat is a PEF app, so I doubt it uses LaunchServices at 
all (except, of course, in its plst resource).

     dan