How to Change Default Apps on a Mac (Browser, PDFs and More)

By default your Mac opens web links in Safari, PDFs in Preview and emails in Mail. If you prefer other apps, you can change all of these in a few clicks.

1. Open System Settings.
2. Click Desktop & Dock.
3. Find Default web browser and choose your browser from the menu, such as Chrome, Firefox, Edge or Brave.

The browser needs to be installed first. Most browsers will also ask whether you want to make them the default the first time you open them.

This is how you make PDFs open in Adobe Acrobat, or photos open in a different editor.

1. In Finder, select a file of the type you want to change (for example, any PDF).
2. Press Command + I (or right-click and choose Get Info).
3. Expand the Open with: section.
4. Choose the app you want from the menu.
5. Click Change All…, then Continue to confirm.

Every file of that type (every .pdf, for example) will now open in your chosen app.

Important: if you skip Change All…, only that single file changes.

Don't want to change the default? Right-click the file and choose Open With, then pick an app. This opens the file in that app one time only.

Tip: In the Open With menu, hold Option and Open With becomes Always Open With. That changes the default for just that one file.

The setting is inside the Mail app itself:

1. Open Mail. You may need to add an account temporarily to reach the settings.
2. Go to Mail > Settings (or press Command + ,).
3. On the General tab, change Default email reader to the app you want, such as Outlook.

Many other email apps, such as Outlook, also offer to become the default in their own settings.

• Default calendar app: open Calendar > Settings > General > Default calendar app.
• Default app for a link type (for example, Zoom or Teams meeting links): these apps usually register themselves when you install them.

Remember two places: System Settings > Desktop & Dock for your browser, and Get Info > Open with > Change All… for everything else.