[Off-Topic] Where Can I get Help with macOS Sierra Issues?

Questions & Suggestions
#1

I enjoy what Keyboard Maestro can do very much and I have always gotten great assistance with problem solving here on this forum. What I am looking for are suggestions as to what other forums might be a good place to get intermediate to advanced macOS Sierra questions answered? I ask this because of the following problem;

Just now I am seeing that, although my default browser is set to Firefox and has been for some time now, when I drag a bookmark URL to my desktop from my browser it saves as a Safari bookmark. When I open it, the file opens in Safari. It appears that my preferred browser settings which are still showing Firefox in General/System Preferences, are getting ignored. Or at least, the intent of it is being ignored. A URL is still going to open in Firefox as default. But if my system forces any dragged file from any browser to save as a Safari bookmark, hello Safari - again.

I was also searching old bookmarked URL files and, same thing. The easy solution should be to show info, “choose open with”, select Firefox, and then, make all files like this the same. But doing this (unlocking it of course) leaves the “open with safari“ menu in the “show info” dialog grayed out so I cannot touch it.

If some one has a suggestion as to how I can fix this using Keyboard Maestro, then, great. That is why I am asking about other forums and where I can get this sort of question answered. In case it helps, this is the file info for the URL that I dragged from a Firefox browser to my desktop. The file that now has become a Safari bookmark (without asking);

Content Type com.apple.web-internet-location
Content Type Tree public.item
Content Type Tree com.apple.internet-location
Content Type Tree com.apple.web-internet-location
Content Type Tree public.stored-url
Content Type Tree public.data

Filename NeoFinder Review - en - YouTube.webloc
Kind Web internet location

#2

I think that is a great question!
I hope you don’t mind that I revised your topic title to better reflect your question and topic content.

Sierra issues and Keyboard Maestro are definitely related.
@peternlewis is generally very tolerant about allowing these type of “off-topic” posts. I’ve made a few myself. :wink:

We have some very experienced and knowledgeable members of this forum, so I expect some of them to pop in here with some suggestions.

You probably have already done this, but I generally start my research with a google search, something along the lines of:
mac sierra safari default browser
in this case.

Change the search keywords as needed/desired.

You might try the official Apple Community for Sierra:
https://discussions.apple.com/community/mac_os/sierra

Finally, feel free to post in the KM Forum any Sierra issues you have, even if they don’t seem to be directly related to Keyboard Maestro. Chances are others here will also be interested. Just start a new topic for each issue, and tag the topic with “sierra”.

Good hunting, and let us know how it goes!

#3

Check into RCDefaultApp. This is a System Preferences add-in. It hasn’t been updated in nearly 8 years, but it works fine with Sierra. With Default App you can change lots of file associations, “open with” issues, etc., that cannot be modified with normal OS X tools.

BTW, over here, on 10.12.3, if I control-click a .webloc and choose Open With, I get offered Firefox and every other app that told OS X it was a web browser. This is the same list Default App works with, so you can use it to change the default:

Default App screenshot

1 Like
#4

[quote=“korm, post:3, topic:6497”]
Check into RCDefaultApp. This is a System Preferences add-in. It hasn’t been updated in nearly 8 years, but it works fine with Sierra. With Default App you can change lots of file associations, “open with” issues, etc., that cannot be modified with normal OS X tools.[/quote]
Thanks for the tip. I just tried to download this App and I got a dialog when trying to save the download that, caution, this ends in (dot)x, would I like to change it to (dot)dmg instead - before I download it? Not sure if that is a problem or not as I am not aware of (dot)x. I assume that as you suggested it and this is some system level file adjuster it should be alright - but it is worth asking.

UPDATE: I have now downloaded it but my system doesn’t know what to open it with? Going to need an idea on that one (thanks).

[quote=“JMichaelTX, post:2, topic:6497”]
I think that is a great question!I hope you don’t mind that I revised your topic title to better reflect your question and topic content.

Sierra issues and Keyboard Maestro are definitely related.@peternlewis is generally very tolerant about allowing these type of “off-topic” posts. I’ve made a few myself. :wink:

We have some very experienced and knowledgeable members of this forum, so I expect some of them to pop in here with some suggestions.[/quote]
I have done some googling on the subject and I will continue to do so. But the real use of networking is to just ask. Especially when I have found such a knowledgeable and helpful community as I have here. :wink: If I find something I will pass it on here too.

When I built my first hackintosh I found communities that sympathized with solving that type of problem. Here, Keyboard Maestro is such an amazingly powerful yet completely accessible program I feel comfortable asking questions - even off topic ones on occasion. But so far I have not found an Apple system oriented place to ask such a question. I think you are right that Apples main discussion boards are a good place. I think I just got into the habit of avoiding those types of forums as I was a hackintosh guy. I am currently using a stock iMac and will build another hackintosh eventually. But at east for today I know that any system problems I have are not going to be self inflicted (hackintosh related) :wink:

#5

Not sure. I just now went to Rubicode, clicked to download on this page, and the dmg named RCDefaultApp-2.1.X.dmg was saved to Downloads. (I’m using Safari, not Firefox, FWIW) I could see why some OS’s might be confused by a file name with multiple periods it it, but Sierra understood the name. Anyway, try the download again using Safari. Make sure it completes. If the download does not end in .dmg you can certainly add it and try to open it. It it still doesn’t work, then ignore my advice.

#6

Yes that did it. Firefox didn’t read it correctly and Safari did. It was just a preference file and, it installed just fine. Seems to be working. Thanks for the tip.

#7

Some ideas (replace the * with your search query):

  • Apple StackExchange (aka Ask Different):
  • http://apple.stackexchange.com/search?q=*
  • Apple Discussions:
  • https://discussions.apple.com/search.jspa?q=*
  • Apple Developer:
  • https://developer.apple.com/search/?q=*
  • Apple Developer Forums:
  • https://forums.developer.apple.com/search.jspa?q=*
  • MacRumors Forum (different subforums):
  • https://forums.macrumors.com/search/
#8

Thanks. I was aware of the Apple forums (thanks for suggesting them though). But you are saying the Macrumors forums have knowledgeable people in them? Good to know then. Thanks.

#9

The first link is not an Apple forum.

In this case, not so much :wink:

Searching for webloc default browser on MacRumors leads you to a topic where a user confirms that changing the “Open with” of a webloc file doesn’t work the usual way. Well, better than nothing.

(Whereas the same search on the ordinary discussions.apple.com forum leads you directly to a solution with RCDefaultApp.)

#10

@korm, thanks for sharing this. It looks like a great tool.

I was able to download and install it fine, except when I open it in System Preferences I get this warning:

This is somewhat normal for unsigned apps, but the name "DoNothing.app" gave me pause. Is this normal for this app?

Running macOS 10.11.6.

Thanks.

#11

This looks strange indeed. I have the PrefPane already installed, but with a fresh file downloaded from here I get this window, which seems correct:

#12

Hmmm. Sierra is complicated.

First, as the Rubicode FAQ says:

Q: What does disabling an entry do?
As mentioned in the README, “disabling” an entry actually assigns it to a dummy application contained within RCDefaultApp.prefPane called DoNothing.app. This application will launch for a few seconds in the background, and then exit. This is done because LaunchServices does not allow an entry to be truly disabled.

DoNothing is located here

~/Library/PreferencePanes/RCDefaultApp.prefPane/Contents/Resources/DoNothing.app

and it doesn’t launch on 10.12.3 :frowning2: (Sierra says “doesn’t work on this version of macOS”).

So, over here I’ve been running RCDefaultApp on six successive versions of OS X / macOS and continues to run on Sierra. It seems to have been “grandfathered” in my case and maybe @Tom’s too?

But, it looks like it has met the bitter end when it comes to new installs.

Sorry guys, I don’t know how to fix this yet :hushed:

#13

Yes, my install is from pre-Sierra, too. Will try it later to re-install it from scratch.

Edit:

The app is not code signed, and Sierra has removed the “Allow apps downloaded from anywhere” from the Security PrefPane.

To get it back, use: sudo spctl --master-disable

(To remove it again: sudo spctl --master-enable)

#14

But @JMichaelTX is running 10.11.

#15

I saw this somewhere when I was researching it. Not sure where but the idea was posited in another post somewhere that, the donothing is something that was put into the file to circumvent Apples rule that something had to be launched. The donothing was intended to launch, do nothing and quit which apparently it will do in a couple seconds. If I find more on this I will post it here.

OK, found it. From a Macupdate thread:

Krioni, Jul 08, 2015

This has been a useful utility for a long time. Glad it still works. Oh, and if you get worried about the included “DoNothing.app” security warning, there’s an easy fix. Go to (either your user or the top-level Library, depending on whether you chose All Users or just This User when installing): /Library/PreferencePanes/RCDefaultApp.app
Right-click on it and choose Show Package Contents, then go into Contents/Resources/DoNothing.app. Right-click on that to choose Open - that will ask you to confirm that it is OK to be opened.

Here’s an explanation of what it is for, from the FAQ, in case you missed it:
“As mentioned in the README, “disabling” an entry actually assigns it to a dummy application contained within RCDefaultApp.prefPane called DoNothing.app. This application will launch for a few seconds in the background, and then exit. This is done because LaunchServices does not allow an entry to be truly disabled.”

Macupdate thread

2 Likes
#16

Thanks @levelbest. That fixed it! :+1:

#17

Happy to have actually contributed. Normally the help is all flowing my way. :slight_smile:

#19

I just wanted to emphasize the above point.
The quick reply and solutions provided in this topic clearly illustrate what a great group of members we have here!

Here's to our awesome members! :+1:

Making-a-Toast-Beer-AN.gif848Ă—478 4.74 MB

#20

@levelbest, I think @Tom’s suggestion is excellent.
Here’s an example, which, BTW, I found by google:

Disable Services in OSX (services.msc)

#21

I agree with @Tom and @JMichaelTX – Ask DIfferent is excellent – in fact, Stack Exchange’s communities are usually all of good quality – and there are a LOT of Stack Exchange communities on technical topic (Vim, anyone?). The Stack Exchange / Stack Overflow community is frequently helpful for AppleScript and other Mac automation questions – of interest to Keyboard Macro users, too. E.g., in Stack Overflow there are now 163,000+ questions on “regex” alone.