# macOS defining a file association
**URL:** https://discourse.cmake.org/t/macos-defining-a-file-association/14063
**Category:** Code
**Created:** [May 8, 2025, 4:40pm UTC](https://discourse.cmake.org/t/macos-defining-a-file-association/14063 "2025-05-08T16:40:30Z")
**Posts on this page:** 3
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@perdrix](https://discourse.cmake.org/u/perdrix)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2025, 4:40pm UTC](https://discourse.cmake.org/t/macos-defining-a-file-association/14063/1 "2025-05-08T16:40:30Z")
I believe that I need to have something in the Info.plist for my application that may look rather like this:
```auto
UTExportedTypeDeclarations
UTTypeIdentifier
com.github.deepskystacker-dssfilelist
UTTypeConformsTo
public.plaintext
UTTypeDescription
DeepSkyStacker file-list file
UTTypeIconFile
DSS_filelist.icns
UTTypeTagSpecification
public.filename-extension
dssfilelist
public.mime-type
text/dssfilelist
```
Is that correct?
If I were to put that content into a file called `DSS-Info.plist`, would this code in my Cmake file do the necessary?
```auto
if(APPLE)
set_target_properties(DeepSkyStacker PROPERTIES
MACOSX_BUNDLE ON
MACOSX_BUNDLE_BUNDLE_NAME "DeepSkyStacker"
MACOSX_BUNDLE_ICON_FILE "DeepSkyStacker.icns"
MACOSX_BUNDLE_GUI_IDENTIFIER "com.github.deepskystacker"
MACOSX_BUNDLE_COPYRIGHT "Copyright © 2018-2025, David C. Partridge; Copyright © 2006-2019, Luc Coiffier "
XCODE_ATTRIBUTE_GENERATE_INFOPLIST_FILE YES
XCODE_ATTRIBUTE_INFOPLIST_FILE "DSS-Info.plist"
XCODE_ATTRIBUTE_INFOPLIST_KEY_LSApplicationCategoryType "public.app-category.astronomy"
XCODE_ATTRIBUTE_INFOPLIST_KEY_NSPrincipalClass "NSApplication"
INSTALL_RPATH "@executable_path/../Frameworks"
)
endif()
```
Also, if DSS\_filelist.icns is in the Icon sub-dir of my current source directory, how should I get that file correctly installed into the bundle so that it will be used by the above file association code?
Huge thanks
David
---
### Author:  [@perdrix](https://discourse.cmake.org/u/perdrix)
#### Post date: [May 9, 2025, 8:35am UTC](https://discourse.cmake.org/t/macos-defining-a-file-association/14063/2 "2025-05-09T08:35:23Z")
I tried using that CMake code, but the Info.plist in the bundle only contained what was generated by qt and CMake …
```auto
CFBundleDevelopmentRegion
en
CFBundleExecutable
DeepSkyStacker
CFBundleIconFile
DeepSkyStacker.icns
CFBundleIdentifier
com.github.deepskystacker
CFBundleInfoDictionaryVersion
6.0
CFBundleLocalizations
ca
cs
de
es
fr
it
ja_JP
nl
pt_BR
ro
ru
tr
zh_CN
zh_TW
CFBundleName
DeepSkyStacker
CFBundlePackageType
APPL
CFBundleShortVersionString
6.1
CFBundleVersion
6.1.0
LSMinimumSystemVersion
13.4
NSHumanReadableCopyright
Copyright © 2018-2025, David C. Partridge; Copyright © 2006-2019, Luc Coiffier
NSPrincipalClass
NSApplication
NSSupportsAutomaticGraphicsSwitching
```
None of the UTI stuff got copied into it :(, and neither did this:
```
XCODE_ATTRIBUTE_INFOPLIST_KEY_LSApplicationCategoryType "public.app-category.astronomy"
```
David
---
### Author:  [@perdrix](https://discourse.cmake.org/u/perdrix)
#### Post date: [May 9, 2025, 9:33am UTC](https://discourse.cmake.org/t/macos-defining-a-file-association/14063/3 "2025-05-09T09:33:50Z")
I tried copying the MacOSXBundle.plist.in file, and added my UTI stuff to it and changed my CMake file to read:
```auto
if(APPLE)
set_target_properties(DeepSkyStacker PROPERTIES
MACOSX_BUNDLE ON
MACOSX_BUNDLE_BUNDLE_NAME "DeepSkyStacker"
MACOSX_BUNDLE_ICON_FILE "DeepSkyStacker.icns"
MACOSX_BUNDLE_GUI_IDENTIFIER "com.github.deepskystacker"
MACOSX_BUNDLE_COPYRIGHT "Copyright © 2018-2025, David C. Partridge; Copyright © 2006-2019, Luc Coiffier"
MACOSX_BUNDLE_INFO_PLIST "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/MacOSXBundleInfo.plist.in"
XCODE_ATTRIBUTE_GENERATE_INFOPLIST_FILE YES
XCODE_ATTRIBUTE_INFOPLIST_KEY_LSApplicationCategoryType "public.app-category.astronomy"
XCODE_ATTRIBUTE_INFOPLIST_KEY_NSPrincipalClass "NSApplication"
INSTALL_RPATH "@executable_path/../Frameworks"
)
endif()
```
Which “sort of” appeared to work as the output bundle’s plist looked like this:
But the dssfilelist files neither pick up the Icon that I specified even though it is in the Resources section on the installed bundle after copying it to Applications, nor are they associated with my application:
```auto
amonra@Saturn NGC 457 Owl Cluster % mdls NGC457.dssfilelist
_kMDItemDisplayNameWithExtensions = "NGC457.dssfilelist"
kMDItemContentCreationDate = 2022-11-13 23:29:47 +0000
kMDItemContentCreationDate_Ranking = 2025-02-20 00:00:00 +0000
kMDItemContentModificationDate = 2024-12-04 11:18:27 +0000
kMDItemContentType = "dyn.ah62d4rv4ge80k65xq3y023pqrf31k"
kMDItemContentTypeTree = (
"public.item",
"dyn.ah62d4rv4ge80k65xq3y023pqrf31k",
"public.data"
)
kMDItemDateAdded = 2025-02-20 18:14:16 +0000
kMDItemDisplayName = "NGC457.dssfilelist"
kMDItemDocumentIdentifier = 0
kMDItemFSContentChangeDate = 2024-12-04 11:18:27 +0000
kMDItemFSCreationDate = 2022-11-13 23:29:47 +0000
kMDItemFSCreatorCode = ""
kMDItemFSFinderFlags = 0
kMDItemFSHasCustomIcon = (null)
kMDItemFSInvisible = 0
kMDItemFSIsExtensionHidden = 0
kMDItemFSIsStationery = (null)
kMDItemFSLabel = 0
kMDItemFSName = "NGC457.dssfilelist"
kMDItemFSNodeCount = (null)
kMDItemFSOwnerGroupID = 20
kMDItemFSOwnerUserID = 501
kMDItemFSSize = 3148
kMDItemFSTypeCode = ""
kMDItemInterestingDate_Ranking = 2024-12-04 00:00:00 +0000
kMDItemKind = "Document"
kMDItemLogicalSize = 3148
kMDItemPhysicalSize = 4096
amonra@Saturn NGC 457 Owl Cluster %
```
Clearly I am part of the way there as XCode doesn’t complain about the Info.plist (well only a little bit), but clearly there’s stuff I still need …
D.