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macOS Open Sesame: what changed

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Title: macOS Open Sesame

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1+*(macOS only)*
2+
3+## Overview
4+
5+The macOS `/usr/bin/open` command line utility is a veritable Aladdin's cave of utility. The command opens a file (or a directory or URL), just as if you had double-clicked the file's icon. If no application name is specified, the default application as determined via LaunchServices is used to open the specified file. If the file is in the form of a URL, the file will be opened as a URL. See [[Executing External Programs]] to run the command from within your application.
6+
7+## Opening files
8+
9+Want to open a test.c file?
10+
11+``` bash
12+ open test.c
13+```
14+
15+Want to open your test.c file with TextEdit and not with Xcode?
16+
17+``` bash
18+ open -a TextEdit test.c
19+```
20+
21+or
22+
23+``` bash
24+ open -e test.c
25+```
26+
27+## Opening directories
28+
29+Want to open Finder at a particular directory, say the user's Documents directory?
30+
31+``` bash
32+ open ~/Documents
33+```
34+
35+## Opening URLS
36+
37+Open our favourite website:
38+
39+``` bash
40+ open https://wiki.freepascal.org
41+```
42+
43+Safari not your favourite? Use FireFox maybe:
44+
45+``` bash
46+ open -a FireFox https://wiki.freepascal.org
47+```
48+
49+## Opening applications
50+
51+Want to open another copy of a running application? Normally macOS would simply bring the already-running application to the foreground, but:
52+
53+``` bash
54+ open -n -a TextEdit
55+```
56+
57+Want the `open` command to wait until the application opened has exited?
58+
59+``` bash
60+ open -W -n -a TextEdit
61+```
62+
63+## Opening Preference Panes
64+
65+Want to open the Security Preferences Pane?
66+
67+``` bash
68+ open "x-apple.systempreferences:com.apple.preference.security"
69+```
70+
71+How about the Firewall tab of the Security Preferences pane?
72+
73+``` bash
74+ open "x-apple.systempreferences:com.apple.preference.security?Firewall"
75+```
76+
77+Note that this scheme was new in Yosemite (macOS 10.10) and that Apple subsequently restricted use of the URL scheme in El Capitan (macOS 10.11).
78+
79+## More options
80+
81+For the full gamut of open command options, open a Terminal and call up the Unix man page:
82+
83+``` bash
84+ man open
85+```
86+
87+## See also (cross-platform)
88+
89+- [[opendocument|OpenDocument]]
90+- [[OpenURL]]
91+
92+---
93+*From the Free Pascal wiki, page "macOS Open Sesame", as it stood on 2023-03-31 after a change by Trev, out of the wiki's dump of 2024-05-26. Copyright stays with the author who wrote it, according to the old wiki's [[Licensing]] page. If you have concerns about this material, [message the admin](/wiki-contact).*
94+Category: Lazarus
95+Category: macOS

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