I'm using the CNF & the IDE-Plugin in a RCP application to build an explorer
view. Everything works fine with the CNF, I just want to let files always open
with the external editor instead of the in-place editor (per default). Can I do
this without changing the IDE sources?

I tried:
PlatformUI.getWorkbench().getEditorRegistry().setDefaultEditor("*.pdf",
IEditorRegistry.SYSTEM_EXTERNAL_EDITOR_ID);

... but with no success.

I looked into the IDE class and it's #getEditorDescriptor method. The sequence
for figuring out the proper editor seems:
1) Is there a specific editor for THIS file resource (marked per PersistentProperty)
2) Can we find an In-Place editor?
3) Can we find an External editor?
4) Opens the file in a text editor

I can't see a way to prefer the external editor (3) over the in-place editor (2).

PS: I'm using Eclipse 3.2 ... but in 3.3 it seems to be the same, cause when I
just copy a *.doc file into the resource navigator and double click on it, an
OLE editor opens (in-place).

Regards, Alex