Starting an application when you open a particular file type
Choosing a helper application

To start an application when you open a particular file type

1. From the Edit menu, choose Preferences.
2. Click the Helpers tab.
3. To specify which program to start when you open a file of a new file type, click Add.
4. To change the program that starts when you open a file of an existing type, click the type, and then click Edit.
5. Type a description.
6. Type the MIME type.
7. Type the suffixes.
8. Specify whether the file type uses Binary Data or Plain Text.
9. In the Handling drop-down choose one of the following:

   Option	Result
   Use Explorer as viewer	Opens the file in the browser window if the file type is supported by the browser.
   Use an SDI-enabled Helper	Controls file using the specified external application. The Helper is capable of controlling Internet Explorer. For example, a helper application can instruct the browser to open a new browser window or open a new web page.
   Use a Helper application	Opens the file using the specified external application. When you quit the the external application the downloaded file is deleted.
   Save as a file	Displays a dialog box that lets you choose where to save the file.
   Save and use a Helper	Opens a dialog box where you can specify where you want to save the file. Once the file is saved the helper application is launched.

   Related Topic
   Choosing a helper application or plug-in

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   To choose a helper application

   The table below lists common MIME types and provides suggested helper applications. Please read the Microsoft disclaimer before visiting the sites listed below.

   MIME Type	Description	Extensions	Suggested File Match
   application/pdf	Adobe Acrobat file	pdf	Adobe Acrobat Reader
   application/postscript	PostScript file	ai, eps, ps	Ghostscript
   application/rtf	Rich Text Format file	rtf	Most word-processor applications including Microsoft Word
   application/x-compress	UNIX compressed file	Z	StuffIt Expander 4.0.1 (with DropStuff 4.0)
   application/x-director	Macromedia Director animation file	dcr	Shockwave
   application/x-gzip	GNUzip compressed file	gz	StuffIt Expander 4.0.1 (with DropStuff 4.0)
   application/x-tar	TAR file archive	tar	StuffIt Expander 4.0.1 (with DropStuff 4.0)
   application/x-zip compressed	PKZIP compressed file	zip	StuffIt Expander 4.0.1 (with DropStuff 4.0)
   audio/basic	Sun/NeXT sound file	au, snd	Built-in Support
   audio/mp2	MPEG sound file	mp2	MPEG Audio for Macintosh
   audio/x-aiff	Apple (AIFF) sound file	aiff, aif, aifc	Built-in Support
   audio/x-pn-realaudio	RealAudio sound file	ra, ram, rar	RealAudio Player
   audio/x-wav	Windows sound file	wav	Built-in Support
   image/gif	GIF graphic	gif	Built-in Support
   image/jpeg	JPEG graphic	jpeg, jpg, jpe	Built-in Support
   image/tiff	TIFF graphic	tiff, tif	NIH Image
   text/html	HTML file	html	Built-in Support
   text/plain	Plain text file	txt	Built-in Support
   text/tab-separated-values	TSV graph	tsv	Built-in Support as plain-text or most popular spreadsheet applications including Microsoft Excel
   video/fli	Autodesk video	fli, flc	MacAnim Viewer
   video/mpeg	MPEG video	mpeg, mpg, mpe	Sparkle
   video/quicktime	QuickTime movie	qt, mov	Built-in Support
   video/x-msvideo	Windows movie	avi	Built-in Support

   Related Topic
   Starting an application when you open a particular type of file

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