How to Add Custom Command in ‘Open With’ Dialog

gnomenautilus

In earlier versions of Ubuntu (10.10-) there was an option in the "open with" tab in the properties window, to add a custom command to open a file. However, this is no longer the case in Ubuntu 11.10. Is there any way that I can add these file type associations with a command of my choice rather than the applications detected by the system.

Best Answer

As aneeshep's answer explains, the key is creating an appropriate .desktop "launcher". But there's a simpler way than doing it by hand; in many cases, you may not even need to edit the .desktop file.

Solution: Use Ubuntu Tweak

  • Ubuntu Tweak is a utility, which among other things, allows you to associate file types to be opened with a custom command. Behind the scenes, it creates a .desktop file which you can edit further for your needs, e.g. if you are using a command-line editor or program to open, etc.

In this how-to, we look at how to set up Nautilus to open .php files in the free Komodo Edit GUI text editor, which comes with a shell-installer that installs it in your home directory by default; the program/command is then /home/user/Komodo-Edit-7/bin/komodo

1. Install Ubuntu Tweak

  • Add its PPA, update and install Ubuntu Tweak from the terminal with:

    sudo apt-add-repository ppa:tualatrix/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install ubuntu-tweak

    Update: Check this question for updated instructions for newer Ubuntu releases

2. Find the MIME description for your file extension

  • Before using Ubuntu Tweak, we need to find the MIME description for the file extension we're interested in.

  • Open Nautilus, find one of the files we want (here, .php), right-click on it and click on Properties:

    enter image description here

  • In the Properties window which comes up, note the text shown just after Type:; that's the MIME description we're looking for (here, "PHP Script"):

    enter image description here

3. Add a custom program to open your filetype

  • Start Ubuntu Tweak from the Dash, and click on the Admins tab on top; then click on the File Type Manager entry on the bottom:

    enter image description here

  • After the File Type Manager opens, click on All in the left sidebar, and uncheck the Only show filetypes... box at the bottom:

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  • Select any filetype on the right side, and begin typing the first few letters of the MIME description from Step 2 to automatically search and select your filetype:

    enter image description here

  • Double-click on your filetype, which is now selected, to edit its associated commands.

    • Click on Add, and in the Add Application window, expand the Custom Command option on the bottom
    • Type the command/program you want or use the Browse button to navigate to it and select it; here we have selected the Komodo-Edit editor from my home folder:

    enter image description here

    • Click on Add, so the new command is now the default, and then click Close:

    enter image description here

  • PHP files will now open in Komodo by default, as seen in the Properties below; press the Reset button to go back to the default for that filetype:

    enter image description here

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