Mac System Preferences Default Apps

May 07, 2020  If you want to change the default apps on your Mac computer, the process is a little longer but still relatively simple. To change the default web browser on your Mac: Open System Preferences. Aug 07, 2014  Adjusting the Preferences and Settings of Mac apps is common and often a necessity to get things just right for you, particularly if you’re using an app for the first time, or setting up a new Mac. Rather than fish around in the menu items to find the Preferences or Settings menu option, you can almost always rely on a specific keyboard. Aug 05, 2019  If you want to stop multiple apps from opening on startup, using System Preferences will let you do it all in one place. First, open System Preferences by navigating to the Apple menu in the top left corner of your Mac. It will be the second option in the drop-down menu, and once you click it you’ll notice the program open in the dock and as. Apr 12, 2018  The default system web browser can be set from the “General” pane of System Preferences. Click the dropdown menu next to “Default web browser” and choose your desired default browser. As before, if you see any non-web browser apps in the list, just make sure not to select them.

Sep 03, 2019  Access your System Preferences. You have some super easy ways to access your System Preferences on Mac. So, use whichever one works best for you. Click the System Preferences button in your Dock. Click System Preferences in Launchpad. Click Apple icon System Preferences from your menu bar. Ask Siri to “Open System Preferences”. Apr 23, 2018  The Mac default apps that come with your new Mac are great for everyday functionality. They fulfill their core purpose elegantly and simply. But when it comes to preferences to adjust and knobs to twist, Mac default apps have never been the best choice.

How to access the preferences menu

  1. Click the Dropbox icon in the system tray or menu bar of your computer.
  2. Click your profile picture or initials and select Preferences from the menu.

Depending on your operating system (Linux, macOS, or Windows), you may see some or all of the options below in the preferences menu. On Linux, you can change some of these settings using commands.

Settings in the general tab

Start Dropbox on system startup

You can have Dropbox launch automatically whenever you start your computer. This option is recommended in order to keep your Dropbox folder synced online and to other computers at all times.

Language

To specify a different language from the default operating system settings, select it from this menu.

Dropbox Badge

Choose if Dropbox badge appears each time you open a Microsoft Office file, to see it only when others are viewing a file, or to never see the badge.

Open folders in

You can choose to open folders automatically in the Dropbox folder in Finder/File Explorer or the desktop app. Learn how to change that preference.

About Dropbox

This is the current version of your Dropbox installation. Reference this number in support cases or to see if you have the latest version of Dropbox.

Settings in the account tab

Personal and work accounts

If you have a personal and work account, you can choose which account's settings you want to change.

Space

See how much storage space is available in your account.

Account linking

The email address associated with your Dropbox account is shown here. You can unlink this Dropbox account from your computer. If you unlink, your Dropbox will stop syncing to your online account. An unlinked computer can be linked or relinked to any Dropbox account using the same button.

Dropbox Business users: If you've connected your personal and work Dropboxes, then both account settings will be listed on this tab. You can toggle back and forth between the two Dropboxes using the buttons at the top of the tab.

Mac system preferences default apps download

Settings in the backups tab

Devices

Devices configured for importing photos will show up here.

Photos

Choose if you want to enable camera uploads to automatically upload photos and videos from your phone, camera, SD card, or other devices whenever you connect to your computer.

Screenshots

Whenever you take a screenshot, Dropbox will automatically save it to your Dropbox and copy a link to your clipboard so you can share it instantly.

Settings in the bandwidth or network tab

To change bandwidth settings on a Mac computer, click Network, then click Change Settings... next to Bandwidth.

Download rate

  • Don't limit: Select this radio button if you want Dropbox to download files from the Dropbox server at the fastest available speed.
  • Limit to: Limit the rate of download by entering your own download rate in kilobytes per second. Entering '0' will tell Dropbox to download at the fastest speed available.

Upload rate

  • Don't limit: Select this radio button if you want Dropbox to upload files to Dropbox at the fastest available speed.
  • Limit automatically: Select this radio button if you want Dropbox to determine the speed at which to upload your files when it is syncing.
  • Limit to: Choose your own upload rate here in kilobytes per second

LAN sync

LAN sync is a networking feature that allows you to save time and bandwidth by downloading files directly from other computers on your local network. Deselecting this option will force Dropbox to sync from Dropbox servers every time it detects a change in your Dropbox folder.

Settings in the proxies or network tab

To change proxies settings on a Mac computer, click Network, then click Change Settings... next to Proxies.

Mac System Preferences Profiles

Proxy settings

  • No proxy: Choose no proxy server to tell Dropbox if you don't use a proxy server. Choosing this option may bypass some issues that occur when Dropbox attempts to find a proxy server and fails
  • Auto-detect: This option will let Dropbox auto-detect your proxy settings. Select this option if you are unsure if your internet connection requires a proxy server
  • Manual: Select this radio button to allow you to enter your proxy settings manually. This option is typically for users or administrators who have a non-standard proxy server configuration

When Manual is selected, the following settings will be available for editing:

  • Proxy type: This pulldown will let you select your proxy server's protocol. Dropbox supports HTTP, SOCKS4, and SOCKS5.
  • Server: Enter the URL and port of your proxy server here.
  • Proxy server requires password: Select this checkbox if your proxy server requires a login. Once you do, the Username and Password fields will be editable.

Settings in the notifications tab

System Preferences Pc

Notify me about

You can set your notification preferences to choose what notifications to receive.

Do not disturb

On Mac computers, you can turn off notifications for a limited time. Choose how long notifications are turned off for.

Settings in the sync tab

Where Is Preferences On Mac

Selective sync

Selective sync lets you choose which folders from your Dropbox online account sync to the Dropbox folder on your computer. If you deselect a folder, it won't appear in your Dropbox folder, but it's still in your account on dropbox.com. We recommend you use selective sync for files you don't use very often.

Smart Sync

System preferences on mac

Smart Sync is only available to Dropbox Business, Plus, Family, and Professional users.

If you choose the Local setting, new files and folders that you add to your account on dropbox.com download to your computer's hard drive in the Dropbox folder.

If you choose the Online-only setting, new files and folders added to your account on dropbox.com display in your Dropbox folder on your computer, but are online-only.

Note: Smart Sync settings only apply to the top-level of folders inside your main Dropbox folder. All lower-level files and folders follow the setting of their parent folder, unless you change them individually.

Preferences

Select Let my admin manage this setting to use your team's default setting.

Sync setting FAQs

Why are my files downloading to my computer when my Smart Sync is set to online-only?

There are two reasons a file may download to your computer’s Dropbox folder even though your Smart Sync is set to online-only:

  • The file or folder was already on your computer when you added it to your Dropbox folder
    • In this case, the file or folder will continue to take up hard drive space unless you make it online-only
    • Note: You can also unsync it from your computer using selective sync
  • You’re using an application that needed to download files to function properly, including:
    • Backup services
    • Antivirus software
    • Recently used file lists
    • Third party applications that monitor files

Why, after using selective sync, are my folders online-only when my Smart Sync is set to local?

If you’re using Smart Sync (which is only available to Dropbox Business, Plus, Family and Professional users), you can still use selective sync to sync folders from dropbox.com to your computer’s Dropbox folder. Those folders sync to your computer as online-only regardless of your Smart Sync setting, but you can change them to local at anytime.

To change a folder from online-only to local:

  1. Right-click the folder.
  2. Hover over Smart Sync.
  3. Click Local.

Dropbox folder location

This option changes the location of your Dropbox folder. Typically your Dropbox folder is installed in your user folder (the folder named after your login). However, you can choose any location on your hard drive with this option.

Note: While you can choose the location of your Dropbox folder, you currently can't change the name of your Dropbox folder. No matter where you put it, it will be named Dropbox or Dropbox (Team name) for Business accounts and Dropbox (Personal) for connected personal accounts.

MacOS already comes with some well-thought-of pre-installed apps that are designed to be used for different functions and services. These apps let you use your Mac straight out of the box. However, even though macOS’s exclusive apps are by far some of the most reliable ones to date, each of us tends to have personal preferences. For instance, you might favor using Chrome over Safari for web browsing. In this article, we’ll share with you how to change default apps in Mac to your preferred ones.

What Are Default Mac Apps?

Default apps are the programs that automatically launch when you perform an action on your Mac. For example, if you haven’t installed and set up a different browser yet, any web link you click will open on Safari, Apple’s proprietary web browser. To give you an idea, here are some of the most basic pre-installed apps you may find on your Mac:

  • App Store
  • Automator
  • Calculator
  • Calendar
  • Contacts
  • Dashboard
  • FaceTime
  • DVD Player
  • Game Center
  • iBooks
  • iMovie
  • iTunes
  • Launchpad
  • Mail
  • Maps
  • Photos
  • QuickTime Player
  • Safari
  • Time Machine

Some of these apps are indispensable, such as Automator and Time Machine. On the other hand, some are plainly extras that you can live without, such as Game Center and Launchpad. Meanwhile, there are those apps that are actually quite useful, but can be substituted by other apps that may do the job better. These include iBooks, QuickTime Player, Mail, Maps, and as exampled earlier, Safari. If you want to use another app in place of the default apps in Mac, you have two options: temporarily use a different app or permanently change the default app for specific functions.

Temporarily Using Another App To Perform A Task

It is straightforward and won’t require you to tinker with your Mac’s settings in any way. To try doing this, do the following steps:

  • Download the app you want to use. For instance, VLC Player for playing movies and other video files. If you already have it, go to the next step.
  • Open Finder. Look for the file you want to play. Right-click on it. On the menu, select Open With. The list of usable apps relevant to the file will appear. You will see the default app at the top of the list.
  • Select the alternative app you want to use. The file will now open in that app.

System Preferences On Mac

How To Change The Mac Default App Settings

If you think you’re going to use alternative apps for a long time, it’s better to just set them up as default apps instead of doing the method above every single time. However, keep in mind that you can’t change default app settings in one go. But, don’t worry. Switching default apps shouldn’t take long. What’s good about this is you can always change your default apps.

Changing Default Browser

Safari is the default browser for all Apple devices. If you have installed other browsers, such as Chrome, Firefox, or Opera, you probably got a message asking to make them your default browser. If you ignored that request before, you could make any of them your default browser now.

  • Go to System Preferences > General.
  • Locate Default Web Browser.
  • Click the drop-down menu to see the available browsers that can be set as default.
  • Click on your browser of choice to set it as default.

Changing Default Email App

Apple’s Mail app is pretty straightforward and easy to use. However, for some, it can be too honest that it lacks some cool features that other email apps have. To switch from Mail to another email app you’ve downloaded and installed, do these:

  • Open the Mail app. Go to Mail > Preferences.
  • Find Default Email Reader. Click it to open the list of other email clients on your mac.
  • Select the email app you want to use.

Changing Default Apps For Various Types Of Files

You can also change the default app or program to open certain file types, such as photos and videos. Here’s how:

Mac System Preferences Default Apps Download

  • Open Finder. Right-click on the file you want to open a different app.
  • On the menu, click Get Info.
  • A box will appear. Find “Open with:” Click it.
  • Click the drop-down menu to choose a new default app.
  • Click Choose All. Now, all files of that type will open on your newly set default app.

On a final note, no matter what apps you set as default, it’s essential that you keep your Mac in tip-top condition. Tweakbit MacRepair can help you with that. By taking care of your Mac’s storage space, RAM, and battery, you are sure to enjoy using your Mac better and longer.

DOWNLOAD NOW!

If you’re running into errors and your system is suspiciously slow, your computer needs some maintenance work. Download Outbyte PC Repair for Windows, Outbyte Antivirus for Windows, or Outbyte MacRepair for macOS to resolve common computer performance issues. Fix computer troubles by downloading the compatible tool for your device.