Having used Microsoft Windows until switching to the mac recently, I have been frustrated for the last 5 months at the fact that my Finder windows do not auto-arrange their contents. If I re-size the window or create new items in the window, the contents just sit there, as if mocking me. It's as if they are saying, "No, we don't just work; you have to right-click and then choose how you want us to behave". Sometimes I even imagine they get really smarmy and laugh to themselves; "Yeah we know you set up the defaults but that only works if, and here's the kicker, if you haven't already set preferences for any other sub-folder !"
So, auto-arrange isn't set up by default and unless someone has told you NOT to set up options for any other folder, setting those defaults won't work either, once you've discovered that option.
After 5 months of using a mac I have no idea how many blasted folders I've had to set (time after time) to get them to show files in any meaningful order, particularly after re-sizing a window.
I recently found out that each folder stores it's view settings in a hidden file named .DS_Store. If you want the auto-arrange feature that is default in MS Windows but have had your mac for more than 1 day, then you need to remove all of these .DS_Store files and set your view preferences from as high up the file system structure as possible. I chose to start from /, you may be happy just to do it from your home folder.
If you are not comfortable with copying and pasting or you are un-comfortable using Terminal, STOP RIGHT NOW.
The command we will use in Terminal will simply remove all instances of those hidden .DS_Store files on your system. In itself this poses no hazard or danger to OSX. If however you type/copy/paste the command incorrectly you can cause damage by removing files that you did not want removed.
Terminal Procedure
1. Open Terminal by going to Applications > Utilities > Terminal.
You will be presented with a screen with a $ prompt. The terminal is waiting for your commands.
2. Type/paste in the following command to get to the top level of the file system (Macintosh HD).
3. Type/paste in the following command to remove all instances of .DS_Store from your local hard disk and any attached network disks. This may take a minute or two depending on how many folders it has to search. When the removal task has finished you will see the $ prompt appear again on the next line.
Close the Terminal window.
Finder Procedure
Now let's set Finder up to show folders the way we prefer. We want to be able to see the top-most level in Finder.
1. Open up a Finder window and from the menu bar select Preferences.
2. Click on the Sidebar tab and put a tick in the box for Hard Disks. Close the Preferences Window.
3. In the Sidebar of your Finder window click on Macintosh HD. You are now in /, the top-most level of the file system. Any view settings that we set here will propagate down to all sub-folders, even those on your network drives, e.g a NAS.
4. Right-click on the white-space of the Finder window and select "Show View Options". You will get the View Options pop-up window appear.
5. Third item on the list in the pop-up window, click the button Arrange By and set it to None.
6. Fourth item on the list click the button Sort By and select Snap To Grid.
7. Third item on the list once again but this time select Arrange By Name. This will NOT affect how the special folder "All My Files" displays it's contents. The fourth item "Sort By" will grey itself out at this point, don't worry; it's taken the "Snap To Grid" setting we want.
8. Set any other options that you want to from this pop-up window such as text size, icon size, grid spacing etc.
9. At the bottom of the pop-up window click the button Use As defaults. Don't worry if it's greyed out since that simply means you have already set the defaults to display this way.
Now when you re-size your Finder windows they will auto-arrange the contents in alphabetical order and when you drag anything into any folder it will automatically align itself to the grid.
So, auto-arrange isn't set up by default and unless someone has told you NOT to set up options for any other folder, setting those defaults won't work either, once you've discovered that option.
After 5 months of using a mac I have no idea how many blasted folders I've had to set (time after time) to get them to show files in any meaningful order, particularly after re-sizing a window.
I recently found out that each folder stores it's view settings in a hidden file named .DS_Store. If you want the auto-arrange feature that is default in MS Windows but have had your mac for more than 1 day, then you need to remove all of these .DS_Store files and set your view preferences from as high up the file system structure as possible. I chose to start from /, you may be happy just to do it from your home folder.
If you are not comfortable with copying and pasting or you are un-comfortable using Terminal, STOP RIGHT NOW.
The command we will use in Terminal will simply remove all instances of those hidden .DS_Store files on your system. In itself this poses no hazard or danger to OSX. If however you type/copy/paste the command incorrectly you can cause damage by removing files that you did not want removed.
Terminal Procedure
1. Open Terminal by going to Applications > Utilities > Terminal.
You will be presented with a screen with a $ prompt. The terminal is waiting for your commands.
2. Type/paste in the following command to get to the top level of the file system (Macintosh HD).
Code:
cd /Volumes3. Type/paste in the following command to remove all instances of .DS_Store from your local hard disk and any attached network disks. This may take a minute or two depending on how many folders it has to search. When the removal task has finished you will see the $ prompt appear again on the next line.
Code:
find . -name .DS_Store -exec rm {} ';'Close the Terminal window.
Finder Procedure
Now let's set Finder up to show folders the way we prefer. We want to be able to see the top-most level in Finder.
1. Open up a Finder window and from the menu bar select Preferences.
2. Click on the Sidebar tab and put a tick in the box for Hard Disks. Close the Preferences Window.
3. In the Sidebar of your Finder window click on Macintosh HD. You are now in /, the top-most level of the file system. Any view settings that we set here will propagate down to all sub-folders, even those on your network drives, e.g a NAS.
4. Right-click on the white-space of the Finder window and select "Show View Options". You will get the View Options pop-up window appear.
5. Third item on the list in the pop-up window, click the button Arrange By and set it to None.
6. Fourth item on the list click the button Sort By and select Snap To Grid.
7. Third item on the list once again but this time select Arrange By Name. This will NOT affect how the special folder "All My Files" displays it's contents. The fourth item "Sort By" will grey itself out at this point, don't worry; it's taken the "Snap To Grid" setting we want.
8. Set any other options that you want to from this pop-up window such as text size, icon size, grid spacing etc.
9. At the bottom of the pop-up window click the button Use As defaults. Don't worry if it's greyed out since that simply means you have already set the defaults to display this way.
Now when you re-size your Finder windows they will auto-arrange the contents in alphabetical order and when you drag anything into any folder it will automatically align itself to the grid.
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