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UI Application for Alternatives Configuration - Galternatives

update-alternatives creates, removes, maintains and  displays  information  about  the symbolic links comprising the Debian/Ubuntu alternatives system.

It is possible for several programs  fulfilling  the  same  or  similar functions  to  be  installed  on a single system at the same time.  For example, many systems have several  text  editors  installed  at  once. This gives choice to the users of a system, allowing each to use a different editor, if desired, but makes it difficult for a program to make a  good  choice for an editor to invoke if the user has not specified a particular preference.

Debian's alternatives system aims to solve  this  problem. A  generic name in the filesystem is shared by all files providing interchangeable functionality. The alternatives system and  the  system  administrator together  determine  which  actual  file  is referenced by this generic name. 

For example, if the browsers like Chrome, Firefox and Opera are installed on the system, the alternatives system will cause the generic name /usr/bin/x-www-browser to refer to /usr/bin/google-chrome by  default.  The  system administrator  can  override  this and cause it to refer to /usr/bin/firefox instead, and the alternatives system will not alter this setting  until explicitly requested to do so.

From terminal you can change the alternatives system using command:
sudo update-alternatives --config x-www-browser

update-alternatives is a powerful program, but it's difficult to remember the all the generic name for the applications.  So to solve this there is an application call Galternatives also known as Alternatives Configurator

Galternatives Installation:
Galternatives is available in Ubuntu repositories , you can install it in Ubuntu from Ubuntu Software Center or by running the following commands in the terminal.
sudo apt-get install galternatives
After sucessful installation, type the following command to open the  Galternatives
gksudo galternatives
You should see the following screen here you can choose which applications you want to use default

To change your default browser from something than the selected default, simply click the radio button and you’re set.




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