To change the default app or program on a Chromebook, right-click the file and choose Open with > Change default.

That is the short version. Want me to show you how to do this? Read on.

What is a default app?

Let’s imagine that you downloaded a picture from the web. You double-click the file to open it.

You don’t tell your Chromebook to use a specific program to open the file. It knows which app to use for an image.

That, is the default app.

For example, Microsoft Word could be the default app for .doc files. Chrome could be your default browser and even the PDF viewer.

You can change the default app

Let’s assume that the built-in Media app is your default app for .png files. Now, you want to open a file using a newly installed Android app.

If you want to do this only occasionally, (for example, open a photo and edit it using the Snapspeed app.) you can right-click and choose Open with.

You can choose from the list of available apps.

Now, this is for one-time use. What if you want this new app to open all your .png files, without you going to the Open with menu.

That’s when you should change the default app. To do this:

1. Right-click the file and choose Open with.
2. From the list, choose Change default.
3. From the pop-up screen, choose the new default app.

This changes your default app for that file type. You must repeat these steps to change the default app/program for other file types.

Questions? Let us know in the comments section below.