MacOS – Why does File:/// crash the app

bugcrashmacos

Whenever I type File:/// into the URL bar in Chrome, into Text Edit, and more, it crashes the app. I found out about this after reading this blog post.

How can I avoid this crash and make it impossible for apps that get this string whether it's typed, pasted or arrives in a file, message or download?

Best Answer

It's a bug in 10.8.1 and 10.8.2 only.

The workaround for this pesky bug is to disable two items in Language & Text Preference Pane in System Preferences on affected versions of Mountain Lion:

  • Select (click) on Text in the middle towards the top of the window
  • deselect (uncheck) "Correct spelling automatically"
  • deselect (uncheck) "Use symbol and text substitution"

Credit for this workaround goes to user shess on the open radar web site.

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