“There is no application to open the document...”
There are two likely reasons why this is happening. First, you may not actually have an application that can read that file. If someone sent you an Excel spreadsheet, but you never installed Excel on your computer, then you won’t be able to open the file.
OS X 10.5 Leopard is actually quite good about opening some standard files, even if you don’t have the proper software. For example, Text Edit can read Microsoft Word files, and Preview can open Photoshop files. Quick Look (accessed by pressing the space bar in the Finder, or with the “Quick Look” button in Mail) can show you PowerPoint and Excel documents.
Here are few inexpensive applications that can open multiple file types.
- Stuffit Expander can uncompress a slew of obscure file types you may download online (free).
- Open Office or NeoOffice can open and edit Word/Excel/PowerPoint files, including the new 2007 file formats (donation requested).
- GIMP can open and edit many types of graphics files (several versions are available, cost varies).
- Perian is a QuickTime plugin that lets you view most video formats (free).
The other situation is that you do have the application, but your computer hasn’t yet found out that your document can be opened by it. Mac OS X figures out document associations in part by their filename extensions, which is the part of their name after the last period. For example, the file readme.txt has an extension of “txt”. You can show extensions in the Finder. Choose Preferences from the Finder menu, click the Advanced icon, and select the checkbox labeled “Show all file extensions.” (That’s the first option we check on any new system and we recommend you do the same.)
If you have a missing or incorrect extension on one of your documents, your Mac may have trouble with it. You can try to fix it or add the extension. (Likewise, if you change the extension of a working document, it may stop working.) Extensions are important not only on Mac OS X, but also if you send documents to Windows users.
Here are a few common extensions. If you don’t see your file type below, try searching for it on www.filext.com.
| Extension | Indicates |
|---|---|
| ai | Adobe Illustrator |
| com, scr, pif | Windows application; likely a virus that is impotent on a Mac |
| dmg | Disk Image |
| doc | Word (2006 versions and earlier) |
| docx* | Word (2007 versions and later) |
| indd | Adobe InDesign |
| exe | Windows application, or perhaps a compressed archive. |
| jpg | JPEG photo |
| Gif, | GIF graphic |
| mov, mp4, m4v | QuickTime movie |
| mp3 | MP3 music |
| m4p, m4a | MPEG-4 Audio (from the iTunes Music Store) |
| Acrobat PDF | |
| ppt, pps | PowerPoint (2006 versions and earlier) |
| pptx* | PowerPoint (2007 versions and later) |
| psd | Adobe Photoshop |
| qxd | QuarkXPress |
| rtf | Rich Text Formatted (word processing) |
| sitx, sit, rar, tar | Compressed files, use Stuffit Expander to open |
| tif, tiff | TIFF photo |
| txt | Text |
| xls | Excel spreadsheet (2006 versions and earlier) |
| xlsx* | Excel spreadsheet (2007 versions and later) |
| vcf | Address Book Card (vCard) |
| zip | Compressed “archive” file |
* If you have Office 2004 or Office v. X for Mac, you should download the Open XML File Format Converter for Mac. It will allow you to edit documents created in Office 2008 for Mac or Office 2007 for Windows.
Published March 24, 2009 12:00 PM
Last modified on June 16, 2009 5:30 PM
Related Links
How do I modify a bunch of files at once?I can't play a video file.
Files open in the wrong application.
I can’t save files anywhere but in the Documents (or Desktop) folder.
When I try to save a file someplace outside my Documents folder, I get a file error.
How do I create compatible documents that I can send out to others (especially Windows users)?
How do I share files with Windows users?
How can I use an external hard drive with Mac & Windows computers?
< Return to Mac FAQ Home