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Remove Duplicates from “Open With” Right-Click Menu in Mac

In this guide, we will show you various methods to remove duplicate entries from the Open With right-click menu on your Mac. There have been a few instances wherein the OS tends to display numerous entries from the same app in the context menu. This unnecessary addition tends to clutter the entire menu and makes it quite a tough task to find the actual application.

Remove Duplicates from Open With Right-Click Menu in Mac

Fortunately, there exist some handy workarounds using which you can remove the additional entries from the menu and bring it back to its original glory. So without any further ado, let’s check them out.

Remove Duplicates from “Open With” Right-Click Menu in Mac

Remove Duplicates from Open With Right-Click Menu in Mac

It is recommended that you try out each of the below-mentioned workarounds and then see which one spells out success. So with that in mind, let’s get started.

FIX 1: Using Commands

  1. Open Terminal from Launchpad > Others and execute the below command:
    /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Frameworks/LaunchServices.framework/Support/lsregister -kill -r -domain local -domain system -domain user
  2. Now restart Finder via the below command and check out the results:
    killall Finder

FIX 2: Via Allow in the Background Tweak

According to some of the affected users, they were able to rectify this issue by keeping the “Microsoft Corporation” item enabled listed in the “Allow in the Background” section inside the Login Item settings. So do give it a try and check out the results.

FIX 3: [Again] Via Commands

  1. Search Terminal from the Spotlight and launch it. Then type in the below command:
    /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/LaunchServices.framework/Versions/A/Support/lsregister -kill -r -domain local -domain user;killall Finder;echo "Open With has been rebuilt, Finder will relaunch"
  2. OR You can also use the below commands [a single command has been broken into three lines via backward slash]:
    /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/\
    
    LaunchServices.framework/Versions/A/Support/\
    
    lsregister -kill -r -domain local -domain user
  3. Now restart Finder via the below command and check out the results:
    killall Finder

FIX 4: Using Alias

If you are facing this issue at regular intervals, then a better approach will be to create a simple bash alias for the entire command sequence and then run it. Here’s how it can be done:

  1. Open .bash_profile using any text editor of your choice. Let’s use nano for example:
    nano .bash_profile
  2. Now paste the below alias:
    alias fixow='/System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/LaunchServices.framework/Versions/A/Support/lsregister -kill -r -domain local -domain user;killall Finder;echo "Open With has been rebuilt, Finder will relaunch"'
  3. Then hit Control+O to save and Control+X to exit the nano
  4. You may verify the alias using the below command as well:
    fixow
  5. If you get the below output, then the issue has been rectified.
    Open With menu has been rebuilt, Finder will relaunch

That’s it. These were the various methods to remove duplicate entries from the Open With right-click menu on your Mac. If you have any queries concerning the aforementioned steps, do let us know in the comments. We will get back to you with a solution as soon as possible.


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