Mac ChimeraX not registered to open PDB, mmCIF, MRC, ....

[goddard@…]

The following bug report has been submitted:
Platform:        Darwin-19.4.0-x86_64-i386-64bit
ChimeraX Version: 1.0 (2020-05-05)
Description
Opening a PDB file on macOS 10.15.4 (Catalina) by right clicking the PDB file icon in mac Finder and choosing menu entry "Open With" does not offer the choice of ChimeraX.  Same with ".cif" files.

Looking at the ChimeraX Info.plist it does not list these file types (but does list some other surprising ones like *.bmp, *.x3d, *.pyc, ....  We should at least list the file types that are often opened (*.pdb, *.cif, *.mrc, *.map) and possibly all files ChimeraX can read.

Choosing menu "Open With... / Other..." and choosing ChimeraX does not open the file.  No error is given or message logged by ChimeraX.

Log:
UCSF ChimeraX version: 1.0rc202005052350 (2020-05-05)  
© 2016-2020 Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.  
How to cite UCSF ChimeraX  




OpenGL version: 4.1 ATI-3.8.24
OpenGL renderer: AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 OpenGL Engine
OpenGL vendor: ATI Technologies Inc.Hardware:

    Hardware Overview:

      Model Name: MacBook Pro
      Model Identifier: MacBookPro15,3
      Processor Name: 8-Core Intel Core i9
      Processor Speed: 2.4 GHz
      Number of Processors: 1
      Total Number of Cores: 8
      L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB
      L3 Cache: 16 MB
      Hyper-Threading Technology: Enabled
      Memory: 32 GB
      Boot ROM Version: 1037.100.362.0.0 (iBridge: 17.16.14281.0.0,0)

Software:

    System Software Overview:

      System Version: macOS 10.15.4 (19E287)
      Kernel Version: Darwin 19.4.0
      Time since boot: 21 days 17:53

Graphics/Displays:

    Intel UHD Graphics 630:

      Chipset Model: Intel UHD Graphics 630
      Type: GPU
      Bus: Built-In
      VRAM (Dynamic, Max): 1536 MB
      Vendor: Intel
      Device ID: 0x3e9b
      Revision ID: 0x0002
      Automatic Graphics Switching: Supported
      gMux Version: 5.0.0
      Metal: Supported, feature set macOS GPUFamily2 v1

    Radeon Pro Vega 20:

      Chipset Model: Radeon Pro Vega 20
      Type: GPU
      Bus: PCIe
      PCIe Lane Width: x8
      VRAM (Total): 4 GB
      Vendor: AMD (0x1002)
      Device ID: 0x69af
      Revision ID: 0x00c0
      ROM Revision: 113-D2060I-087
      VBIOS Version: 113-D20601MA0T-016
      Option ROM Version: 113-D20601MA0T-016
      EFI Driver Version: 01.01.087
      Automatic Graphics Switching: Supported
      gMux Version: 5.0.0
      Metal: Supported, feature set macOS GPUFamily2 v1
      Displays:
        Color LCD:
          Display Type: Built-In Retina LCD
          Resolution: 2880 x 1800 Retina
          Framebuffer Depth: 24-Bit Color (ARGB8888)
          Main Display: Yes
          Mirror: Off
          Online: Yes
          Automatically Adjust Brightness: No
          Connection Type: Internal

[Greg Couch]

In src/apps/ChimeraX, does "make Info.plist" work for you? It's not working for me on Windows, and it used to. I also suspect with the data formats reorg that the mkinfo.py script will need to be rewritten.

[goddard@…]

The Info.plist in the daily builds has about 10 formats.  It is just missing the most commonly used ones.  I see in mkinfo.py it wants mime types and other info otherwise it excludes formats.  My guess is the omissions are caused by those exclusions.

[Greg Couch]

I was able to generate an Info.plist on the macOS build machine.

The Info.plist file is currently generated before the bundles are installed. The formats you're seeing must be "core" somehow still. The solution will be to regenerate the Info.plist after all of the bundles are installed.

[Greg Couch]

Add code to regenerate Info.plist after all of the bundles have been installed.

[Greg Couch]

Confirmed additional data formats are in the distributed application's plist.

[goddard@…]

I tested it in today's Mac daily build and ChimeraX is registered to open mmCIF (*.cif) and simply double clicking such a file opens it in ChimeraX.  Also tested .pdb, .map, .mrc, all worked.

[Eric Pettersen]

mkinfo.py is only working because I have not yet disabled the old method of format registration. Since I am most familiar with the new method, I will update mkinfo.py before nuking the old code.

[Eric Pettersen]

Updated to the new method. Unlike the old way, it doesn't (yet) register for types that aren't pre-installed (i.e. only on Toolshed). That is open as #3216, so closing this ticket.