Retaining OmniWeb as the default browser

Apr 15, '01 04:34:17PM

Contributed by: robg

OS X lets you specify any browser you'd like to use as your default (the browser that's used when you click on a URL) in the Internet system prefs panel. I prefer OmniWeb, and have told OS X so on several occasions. Unfortunately, for many people (myself included), this setting is lost between restarts.

A workaround was snipped from Resexcellence and sent to me, but I can't find the original on Resexcellence, so I can't provide a direct reference. However, if you'd like to make it at least a bit easier to get OmniWeb back as the default, read the rest of this article for the how-to.

Here are the steps to put OmniWeb in a pop-up window with IE on the Internet prefs panel. As with all things related to editing parts of the system, MAKE A BACKUP first, and make sure you understand the steps before proceeding! With that disclaimer, here's how to do it.

  1. Open a terminal, and navigate to the following directory (shown on two lines to conserve space; it's one path, though!):
    /System/Library/Preferences/Internet.preference
      /Contents/Resources/English.lproj/
  2. Edit the file DefaultHelperApps.plist as root (sudo vi DefaultHelperApps.plist)

  3. Replace this section of code
    web = (
    {
    DisplayName = "Internet Explorer";
    Info = { BundleIdentifier = "com.microsoft.explorer"; };
    IsDefaultHandler = YES;
    }
    );
    with this section of code:
    web = (
    {
    DisplayName = "Internet Explorer";
    Info = { BundleIdentifier = "com.microsoft.explorer"; };
    },
    {
    DisplayName = "OmniWeb";
    Info = { BundleIdentifier = "com.omnigroup.OmniWeb"; };
    IsDefaultHandler = YES;
    }
    );
This may (or may not) prevent IE from becoming the default again, but it should at least give you a pop-up from which to re-select OmniWeb.

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Mac OS X Hints
http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20010415163417504