Apple's App Store is a great place to download and install apps for your Mac OS but it isn't the only place. You can download many apps from third-party developers which are quite useful for many people. However, Mac OS X implements some great security measures to prevent you from accidentally running malicious apps that might or might not damage your computer. But in some cases, it also prevents you from installing legitimate apps from running on your Macbook. We have two methods using which you can allow apps from unidentified developers on Mac OS X.
Cannot Be Opened Unidentified Developer
Jul 07, 2019 Open an app from an unidentified developer on your Mac Macs are very secure computers, partially because opening a third-party app is less difficult for the apple user. In this tutorial, we show you how to open an app from an unknown developer on Mac.
There are many third-party developers who develop apps for Mac OS but some of them are unidentified developers. Mac allows apps only from the App Store and some recognized developers. So, if you're trying to install software from unknown developers, you'll get the below error.
Apple has introduced a security feature called the Gatekeeper from OS X Mountain Lion. The Gatekeeper analyzes an app when you run it and determines whether it is authorized to run on your computer. If it fails to meet the requirements, the app won't be allowed to run on your computer. So, below are the two workarounds to open apps from unidentified developers in Mac OS X Yosemite and above.
There are 2 ways you can allow apps from unidentified developers on Mac OS X and below, we'll discuss both.
Method 1: Temporarily Run an App from Unidentified Developer
- Open the location where you have placed the downloaded app/disk image file on your Mac.
- Press and hold the Ctrl key while right-clicking on the app/file to open the drop-down menu.
- Click on Open. Now, you'll see a pop-up asking if you'd like to open this file. Press Open again to launch the file.
Method 2: Change the Gatekeeper Settings
This method will allow all the apps/files from unidentified developers to run on your Mac without limitation. However, it is not recommended for starters to use this method as you may run some malware from unrecognized sources which might harm your computer. So, proceed with this method only if you're sure of what you're doing.
- Open System Preferences. To do this, either click on the System Preferences icon in the Dock or from Apple Menu > System Preferences.
- Open the Security & Privacy settings by clicking Security & Privacy in the System Preferences window.
- In the General tab, click the lock icon labeled Click the lock to make changes at the bottom of the window.
- Now it may ask for your credentials to authenticate the action. So, provide your login credentials and click Unlock.
- Under the section labeled Allow applications downloaded from:, select Anywhere.
- You'll get a prompt to confirm again. Click Allow From Anywhere to change the settings.
- Close the settings window once you're done.
That's it. Now you can simply install apps/files from unidentified developers on your Mac. Let us know if you have any queries in the comments section.
Read Next: 8 Best WordPress Blogging App for Mac
Here's the situation:
I have Mac OS X 10.10.1
I have the Gatekeeper set to only open applications from the App Store and from identified developers.
Preview is my default application for opening pdf-files.
I have downloaded some pdf's which I want to open in another app, (PDFpen, Safari, ...)
(By double clicking on these files they open in Preview without any problems).
- Open the location where you have placed the downloaded app/disk image file on your Mac.
- Press and hold the Ctrl key while right-clicking on the app/file to open the drop-down menu.
- Click on Open. Now, you'll see a pop-up asking if you'd like to open this file. Press Open again to launch the file.
Method 2: Change the Gatekeeper Settings
This method will allow all the apps/files from unidentified developers to run on your Mac without limitation. However, it is not recommended for starters to use this method as you may run some malware from unrecognized sources which might harm your computer. So, proceed with this method only if you're sure of what you're doing.
- Open System Preferences. To do this, either click on the System Preferences icon in the Dock or from Apple Menu > System Preferences.
- Open the Security & Privacy settings by clicking Security & Privacy in the System Preferences window.
- In the General tab, click the lock icon labeled Click the lock to make changes at the bottom of the window.
- Now it may ask for your credentials to authenticate the action. So, provide your login credentials and click Unlock.
- Under the section labeled Allow applications downloaded from:, select Anywhere.
- You'll get a prompt to confirm again. Click Allow From Anywhere to change the settings.
- Close the settings window once you're done.
That's it. Now you can simply install apps/files from unidentified developers on your Mac. Let us know if you have any queries in the comments section.
Read Next: 8 Best WordPress Blogging App for Mac
Here's the situation:
I have Mac OS X 10.10.1
I have the Gatekeeper set to only open applications from the App Store and from identified developers.
Preview is my default application for opening pdf-files.
I have downloaded some pdf's which I want to open in another app, (PDFpen, Safari, ...)
(By double clicking on these files they open in Preview without any problems).
I then select the files and use the Finders Show Inspector (or Get Info)-command to change the 'Open with'-app to PDFpen (or Safari or...)
Open Program From Unidentified Developer (mac)
When I then double click on one of the pdf-files I get a warning message: 'filename.pdf' can't be opened because it is from an unidentified developer. (See attached image).
Can't Be Opened Unidentified Developer Mac
I then right-click on the file and choose Open With (PDFpen, Safari, ...), and get a new warning message, but now with an option to open the file, which I then do.
After opening the file just once, there is no more problems, I can open the file by double clicking, and it opens in the app I have chosen for that file. BUT this only applies to that particular file. Each separate pdf-file requires the same procedure...
I have seen the same problem on 3 different mac's running Yosemite.
If I export a Pages- or Numbers-document, the created pdf-file behaves in the save manner, but a pdf created by export from MS Word (ver 14.2.5) can be opened in any desired application by double-clicking.
Unidentified Developer Mac Os
iMac (27-inch Late 2009), OS X Yosemite (10.10.1)
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