I'd like to annouce the availability of Default App 1.0.1, a control panel that allows you to open documents matching certain file/creator types with the applications *you* specify, instead of the applications that created those documents.
WHAT IT DOES
Default App can be configured so that when you double-click a SimpleText document in the Finder, it gets opened in a more powerful styled text editor, like Style or Tex-Edit Plus. Or you can have Script Editor compiled scripts opened with Script Debugger. Or Sherlock search sites (.src files) opened with BBEdit. Well, you get the idea.
WHAT'S NEW IN THIS VERSION
Version 1.0.1 is a minor update to the original version released in April 1998 which addresses an issue with "generic" mappings and adds more PowerPC native code.
HOW IT WORKS (TECHIES ONLY)
It would seem that to provide the kind of functionality made possible by Default App, you would need to "patch traps" or otherwise interfere with the system software in ways that might jeopardize the stability of the system. In fact, Default App exploits a *documented* (if little known) "hook" in the Finder that was implemented by the Finder team specifically for the purpose of intercepting double clicks on documents. As a result, Default App is remarkably stable and doesn't even need a reboot in order to start working.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Default App requires Mac OS 8.0 or newer. It has been tested with all final versions of the system software from 8.0 to 8.6.