Snow Leopard error: “no default application specified to open the document Growl.prefPane”

Question

Why would this error occur when attempting to install Growl? And what should I do to get past this issue?

There is no default application specified to open the document Growl.prefPane

First, I tried upgrading Growl and received that message. I then uninstalled Growl, tried doing a fresh install, and still received it.

I also tried running the following (resetting Launch Services) in the terminal, then installing Growl, with the same result:

/System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Frameworks/LaunchServices.framework/Support/lsregister -kill -r -domain local -domain system -domain user /

Answer 1

I am a bit surprised that rebuilding your Launch Services database did not fix the problem. Maybe there is another application (besides System Preferences) that is trying to claim the prefPane extension.

If you could install preference panes, I would suggest the use of RCDefaultApp to check and/or reset the association between the prefPane extension and the System Preferences application.

You might try dragging your prefPane file (bundle, really) onto the dock icon of (an already running instance of) System Preferences instead of just opening it through Finder.

The “manual” installation method would be to just copy the prefPane bundle to ~/Library/PreferencePanes/ or /Library/PreferencePanes/. This may work to install it, but it will not fix your association problem.

Answer 2

Have you tried restarting after resetting your Launch Services? (What the Terminal command you posted did)

This does not fix your issue but as a workaround:

Preference Panes can be installed in ~/Library/PreferencePanes/ or /Library/PreferencePanes.

Does open -a "/Applications/System Preferences.app" /PATH/TO/Growl.prefPane work?