How to Change Default Applications in Ubuntu

Do you want to know how to Change Default Applications in Ubuntu? On Ubuntu, apps are already set up for different file types and tasks, like sending emails and editing text. You can easily change these default settings to fit your needs and use the apps you want, though. Like Windows and Mac, Ubuntu lets us control and manage the default programs that come with our system. So, we can control the programs that run our web browser, our email program, our calendar, our music program, our video program, or our image viewer. We will talk about two ways to change the apps that come with Ubuntu. These methods will help you control how your system handles files and make your Ubuntu computer better fit your needs.

We all have our own ideas about which program we want to use to open and work with a certain file type. For example, whenever We start using a new version of an operating system, We install and switch to the VLC media player to play music and videos. By following the simple steps to Change Default Applications in Ubuntu in this tutorial, you can change the default apps on Ubuntu both through the command line and the graphical user interface. We did the commands and steps in this tutorial on the most recent version of Ubuntu.

How to Change Default Apps Through Ubuntu Settings

1. Open the Activities Overview by clicking on the Activities button or pressing the Super key (Windows key).
2. Type “Settings” in the search bar and click on the Settings icon to open the Settings application.
3. In the Settings window, scroll down and click on the Details option.
4. In the Details settings, click on the Default Applications option located in the left sidebar.
5. You will see various categories of default applications such as Web, Email, Music, Video, etc.
6. Click on the category for which you want to change the default app. For example, if you want to change the default web browser, click on the Web category.
7. A list of available applications in that category will be displayed.
8. Click on the application you want to set as the default for that category. For instance, if you want to set Mozilla Firefox as the default web browser, click on the Firefox icon.
9. The selected application will be set as the new default app for that category.

How to Change Default App Using Ubuntu Context Menu

1. Locate a file of the type you want to associate with a different default app. For example, if you want to change the default app for opening images, find an image file on your system.
2. Right-click on the file to open the context menu.
3. Hover your cursor over the “Open With” option in the context menu. A submenu will appear.
4. In the submenu, you will see a list of applications associated with opening files of that type. The default app will have a checkmark next to it.
5. Move your cursor to the application you want to set as the new default for that file type.
6. Left-click on the desired application. The file will open with the selected application, and the new app will be set as the default for that file type.

What is Ubuntu?

Ubuntu is a version of Linux that is free and has open source code. It is an operating system that helps Open Stack work in the cloud. Ubuntu is made by the Canonical Community, and anyone can use it for free. Canonical Ltd. is also responsible for the money that goes to Ubuntu. In 2004, a British company called Canonical brought Ubuntu to the world.

It was based on Debian, which was a popular distribution at the time but was hard to set up. So, Ubuntu was suggested as a better alternative that was easier to use. As the company in charge of Ubuntu, Canonical is in charge of putting out a new version of Ubuntu every six months. Canonical also hosts servers for Ubuntu Community, which lets people from all over the world help test software bugs, answer questions, and offer free technical support.

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