Resolved Default Application Change doesn't change preview icon

[Jekel]

Hi there,

So immediately I appologise because I know someone will comment and say this is in the wrong forum. I've read through and this is my best guess where to put it, but honestly I'm very unfamiliar with the site so I've probably done something wrong. Please feel free to tell me where to repost this properly.

Recently I let a program change what the default program to open video files with. After I noticed that this had happened, it obviously changed all of the preview icons on video files to this new programs icon. So I changed the default application back to VLC but the preview icon stays as the other app. I'm super confused as to why I can't get it to change back.

If I "get info" on a video file, in the top left, the icon is VLC's media player. But the "Preview Image" is of the other program. If I select the icon in the info panel, copy and paste it, the preview goes to VLC. But it only changes that single files preview, and any new video files I download or create automatically have this other program's preview picture, even though they all open with VLC by default. I have tried restarting and the problem persists.

Any help on how I can fix this issue?

iMac 14,1 (21.5-inch, Late 2013)
OS X El Capitan
10.11.6
2.7 GHz Intel Core i5
8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
Intel Iris Pro 1536 MB

 

[CoastalOR]

To change the default application to open all files of that type:
Select the file type, Get Info, got to the "Open with:" section, select the desired app from the drop down, and finally click the "Change All..." button.

 

[Jekel]

To change the default application to open all files of that type:
Select the file type, Get Info, got to the "Open with:" section, select the desired app from the drop down, and finally click the "Change All..." button.
View attachment 687114

Thanks Coastal, the problem is that after the default application has been set, the preview icon does not change.

 

[CoastalOR]

Sorry, I misunderstood since I did not read carefully enough. Unfortunately I do not have a solution for you. Hopefully someone else can help.

 

[997440]

If you haven't yet, try rebooting.

If it's still happening, try booting into safe mode, then normal mode.

[...]

• Verifies your startup disk and attempts to repair directory issues, if needed
• Loads only required kernel extensions
• Prevents Startup Items and Login Items from opening automatically
• Disables user-installed fonts
• Deletes font caches, kernel cache, and other system cache files

[...]

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201262

 

[BrianBaughn]

This has been an issue for years now and the solution seems to change with the OS version.

Try rshrugged suggestion first as it is completely harmless to do so.

Other solutions involve Terminal commands to reset or delete the icon cache. I hesitate to recommend anything like that as I haven't verified the safety or validity of any that I've seen. Perhaps someone can point to one that they have used successfully and without any damage to their system.

 

[Jekel]

If you haven't yet, try rebooting.

If it's still happening, try booting into safe mode, then normal mode.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201262

This fixed the problem!

Thank you very much!!

 

[CarlosRoberts]

If you haven't yet, try rebooting.

If it's still happening, try booting into safe mode, then normal mode.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201262

Thank you very much rshrugged!!!

To boot into Safe Mode:

1. Restart the Macintosh. Press and hold the Shift key immediately after you hear the startup tone.
2. Release the Shift key when the Apple logo appears. Safe Boot appears on the Mac OS X startup screen.

Now boot as you normally do.