Open a document with a specific application

Question

I am trying to launch an app, and open a specific document with it.

For example, to launch Sublime Text, I can do it using the following call

[[NSWorkspace sharedWorkspace] launchAppWithBundleIdentifier:@"com.sublimetext.3" options:(0) additionalEventParamDescriptor:nil

launchIdentifier:nil];

How do I pass a url of a document to the app, to make Sublime Text open this document after launch? I believe this can be done using additionalEventParamDescriptor, but I can't find an example anywhere on how to build a correct NSAppleEventDescriptor for an "open document" event.

Thanks!

XPC

562

Posted by

O.W.Grant

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Answer 1

I use the following:

    [[NSWorkspace sharedWorkspace]
      openFile: /path/to/document
      withApplication: /path/to/app];

You can use "absolutePathForAppBundleWithIdentifier" to convert a bundle ID to an absolute path.

Note that the above works even from the sandbox and even when your document path is not sandbox-friendly. Also, /path/to/app is not Catalina-friendly. If you are running on Catalina and trying to open a system app, you must provide the "/System" prefix.

It looks like both of these methods are deprecated in 10.15. You should probably use "openURLs:withApplicationAtURL:configuration:completionHandler:" and "URLForApplicationWithBundleIdentifier:" for new apps that don't need compatibility with 10.14 or earlier.

Posted by

john daniel

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Answer 2

I use the following:

    [[NSWorkspace sharedWorkspace]
      openFile: /path/to/document
      withApplication: /path/to/app];

You can use "absolutePathForAppBundleWithIdentifier" to convert a bundle ID to an absolute path.

Note that the above works even from the sandbox and even when your document path is not sandbox-friendly. Also, /path/to/app is not Catalina-friendly. If you are running on Catalina and trying to open a system app, you must provide the "/System" prefix.

It looks like both of these methods are deprecated in 10.15. You should probably use "openURLs:withApplicationAtURL:configuration:completionHandler:" and "URLForApplicationWithBundleIdentifier:" for new apps that don't need compatibility with 10.14 or earlier.

Posted by

john daniel

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Answer 3

Thanks for the elaborate answer John. That works.

Posted by

O.W.Grant

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Open a document with a specific application

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