Expert’s Rating
Our Verdict
As Mac users , we ’re golden to have a across-the-board variety of Web internet browser to choose from . Heck , many people even employ multiple browsers regularly . For deterrent example , some sites work well in unlike browsers ; if you rise internet sites , you desire to test your workplace in dissimilar browsers ; or perhaps you like to keep your personal and work - related browsing disjoined .
One of the hassles of using multiple browsers is OS X ’s default - web browser scene , set in Safari ’s preferences or using a third - political party public utility company such as RCDefaultApp or More cyberspace . Once you ’ve chosen your default web browser app , every Web URL you press outside of a Web browser app — for model , in an email message , in a word - processing written document , or in an hypertext markup language file you ’re editing — will open in your choose web browser app . If you require to open a special connection in adifferentbrowser than the default , you have to simulate the URL and paste it into that other web internet browser .
latterly , however , a couple utilities have issue to make it easier to choose a web internet browser for each link you tap . Today I look atHighbrow ; subsequently this hebdomad , I ’ll coverChoosy .
Highbrow sits in your bill of fare bar , providing a handy menu listing all your installed web browser ; choosing a web web browser from the list sets it as your default ( preferred ) web web browser while Highbrow is running . By choose Highbrow ’s Use My Preferred Web internet browser scope , Highbrow simply work as a warm - accession way to change your preferred internet browser .
( The first time you launch Highbrow , it inhabit its computer menu with any programme that claim — via documentation within each program itself — they can handle connection URLs ; these may include political platform such as Movie Player and VLC , as well as Web browsers present on your Mac that you never practice . If you do n’t want these programs to appear in the menu , you may remove them via the Manage web browser List submenu . Removed programme always remain in this hierarchical menu so you’re able to sum them back to the chief menu , if desired . )
If this was all Highbrow did , it would be a commodious utility . But Highbrow can instead be localise to intercept all World Wide Web universal resource locator actions and direct them , on the fly , to the browser app of your choosing . ( Note that when you get across on a linkwithina internet browser , that link will always be open in the current web internet browser . Highbrow intercepts link you open fromoutsideof World Wide Web browsers . )
Opt for Use The Most Recently Used Web browser app , and clicking on a URL outside of a Web browser app open that universal resource locator in whichever browser app you used most recently , regardless of your nonpayment - web browser app setting . I was impressed by how well this selection worked in my examination : Highbrow always right opened Web uniform resource locator in the web web browser that was most - recently frontmost .
The other choice , just as utile , is Ask Me Which internet browser To Use . After choosing this setting , clicking on a WWW URL pops up a semitransparent window listing the same browser app present in the Highbrow menu . Choose one using the mouse or keyboard and the URL opens in that web internet browser . I chance this selection to be specially utile when trying to figure out how a particular entanglement site or page looks in various browsers .
Although the Highbrow carte lists keyboard cutoff for each internet browser and for each of the three Highbrow behaviour , none of these shortcuts worked for me . Hopefully this will be limit in a succeeding interpretation . I also experienced , on two occasions , an issue where the pop - up browser app selector was n’t visible ; quitting Highbrow and relaunching it fixed the trouble . And there ’s no style to manually add a program to the Highbrow menu if it does n’t show up there automatically . Although I did n’t have a need for such a feature during my testing , I can imagine situation in which I might , so it would be a overnice capability to have .
Finally , Highbrow work by changing OS X ’s default - web internet browser place setting to Highbrow itself — that ’s how the program intercepts Web universal resource locator actions . However , this means that when you discontinue Highbrow , clicking on a universal resource locator outside of a WWW browser app causes Highbrow to relaunch . Highbrow should either restore the default - browser app setting to its premature time value , or set it to the browser app you ’ve take within Highbrow .
