open-external

Open files and directories in external programs. Useful for files that cannot be viewed in Pulsar or require specialized applications.

Features

• External open: Launch files with system default programs.
• Show in folder: Reveal files in system file manager.
• Service: Register custom handlers for file types.

Installation

To install open-external search for open-external in the Install pane of the Pulsar settings or run ppm install open-external. Alternatively, you can run ppm install asiloisad/pulsar-open-external to install a package directly from the GitHub repository.

Commands

Commands available in atom-workspace:

• open-external:toggle: (Alt+U) quick switch.

Commands available in atom-text-editor:not([mini]), .image-view, .image-editor, .pdf-viewer:

• open-external:open: (Alt+F12) open active file in external program,
• open-external:show: (Ctrl+F12) show active file in file manager.

Commands available in .tree-view:

• open-external:open: (Alt+F12) open selected items in external programs,
• open-external:show: (Ctrl+F12) show selected items in file manager.

Service

The package provides a open-external service for other packages. This enables packages to:

• Override the default file opening behavior for specific file types
• Implement custom file viewers or launchers
• Integrate with specialized applications

API

service.registerHandler(handler)  // Returns Disposable
service.openExternal(filePath)    // Opens file externally
service.showInFolder(filePath)    // Shows file in file manager

Handler object

{
  priority: 10,                    // Required: higher = called first
  openExternal(filePath) { ... },  // Optional: return null to pass to next handler
  showInFolder(filePath) { ... },  // Optional: return null to pass to next handler
}

Example

In your package's package.json:

{
  "consumedServices": {
    "open-external": {
      "versions": {
        "^1.0.0": "consumeOpenExternalService"
      }
    }
  }
}

In your package's main file:

module.exports = {
  consumeOpenExternalService(service) {
    return service.registerHandler({
      priority: 10,

      openExternal(filePath) {
        if (!filePath.endsWith('.myext')) return null;
        // Custom opening logic
        console.log('Opening', filePath);
        return true;
      }
    });
  }
}

Contributing

Got ideas to make this package better, found a bug, or want to help add new features? Just drop your thoughts on GitHub — any feedback's welcome!