All the things about OS X that bug switchers

[GGJstudios]

Can you elaborate more? I love Finder, and after switching, I can't stand WE.

A few of the things that Windows Explorer can do that Finder can't:

1. Double-click line between column titles to auto-resize column to fit contents.
2. Display subfolders on left panel to allow simple drag-and-drop copy or move
3. 45 file attributes vs 7 view options in Finder.
4. File attributes available on search results.
5. File path visible for each file in search results.

As you can see, the file attributes come in handy for finding and sorting music, photos, etc.

 

[richard.mac]

1. in Column View double click the bar below the arrows where the two lines are¹
2. this is why Finder has drag and drop and is best used with column view and the sidebar
3. good point TIP: you can search for many many attributes in Finder search by choosing "Other…".
4. good point. Name, kind and last opened are shown in List View
5. choose "Show Path Bar" from Finder's View menu.² TIP: mouse over the long folder names to expand them.

¹

²

i agree that Finder lacks features that Explorer has had for ages but Finder also has some very good features. they are both equal in my mind.

i think Explorer in XP should always show the sidebar instad of clicking the "Folders" button or always openning windows in Explorer like in Vista and Finder has had since the early versions of OS X.

 

[cherry su]

Wow. I just googled an image of the American keyboard and it actually says control, option and command!

On the Britsh keyboards we get ctrl, alt and cmd. So when a beginner looks for advice on Apple's website and it says "press the option key", it just confuses them.

American:
<snip>

International (although there is cmd instead of the apple symbol now):
<snip>

What on earth is the logic of not properly naming the keys on international keyboards?

at least the international keyboards provide the "option" symbol; most US people will be wondering wtf is ⌥ when they see it in the menu!

 

[GGJstudios]

1. in Column View double click the bar below the arrows where the two lines are

1. 
   That's not the same. I'm talking about auto-resizing the "Name", "Kind", "Last Opened" columns in List View, which Finder won't do.
   

   [*]this is why Finder has drag and drop and is best used with column view and the sidebar

   Won't work if the folders you're dragging from/to are in different paths.
   

   [*]good point TIP: you can search for many many attributes in Finder search by choosing "Other…".

   Search, yes, but not display or sort.
   

   [*]good point. Name, kind and last opened are shown in List View
   [*]choose "Show Path Bar" from Finder's View menu.² TIP: mouse over the long folder names to expand them.

   Show path bar doesn't reveal paths for every item in search results, so you can know where each file is.

i agree that Finder lacks features that Explorer has had for ages but Finder also has some very good features. they are both equal in my mind.

i think Explorer in XP should always show the sidebar instad of clicking the "Folders" button or always openning windows in Explorer like in Vista and Finder has had since the early versions of OS X.

 

[ProwlingTiger]

A few of the things that Windows Explorer can do that Finder can't:

1. Double-click line between column titles to auto-resize column to fit contents.
2. Display subfolders on left panel to allow simple drag-and-drop copy or move
3. 45 file attributes vs 7 view options in Finder.
4. File attributes available on search results.
5. File path visible for each file in search results.

As you can see, the file attributes come in handy for finding and sorting music, photos, etc.

May I suggest number 6?

6. Freeze up. Unfreeze. Crash.

 

[GGJstudios]

May I suggest number 6?

6. Freeze up. Unfreeze. Crash.

Sure you can suggest it, but I've never had such problems on either Windows Explorer or Finder.

 

[richard.mac]

… Won't work if the folders you're dragging from/to are in different paths. …

yeh it does. just drag the file/folder to the sidebar e.g. Macintosh HD or your home folder then drag to the folders, then the next etc. etc. (unless im misunderstanding you). works best in column view as the folders dont open into a new window.

… Search, yes, but not display or sort. …

yeh doesnt unfort. you might be interested in Path Finder.

… Show path bar doesn't reveal paths for every item in search results, so you can know where each file is.

a few arent shown like history and bookmarks… but why would you need to know where they are? which files arent showing their paths? TIP: add a "System files - include" to search for files in /System, /Library and ~/Library.

 

[GGJstudios]

are few arent shown like history and bookmarks… but why would you need to know where they are? which files arent showing their paths?.

This is especially helpful for locating and dealing with duplicate files. If I search for a filename that appears in multiple locations, the resulting list doesn't show a path name for each. I have to click on each file individually to see the path for that file, rather than have it appear in a sortable column, as is possible in WE.

 

[richard.mac]

^ workaround: click "Filename" to narrow down the results and just arrow through the files and workout which ones are duplicates from the path. also if you know where the files are open that folder, search, then click the folder name in the search bar.

 

[GGJstudios]

Maybe this will make it clearer. If I want to know where each of these files are, there is no way to add a "file path" column... or any other column.... to these search results. I'd have to click each file to see its path, rather than seeing them all at once.

 

[richard.mac]

^ yeh Finder doesnt do this. i think Path Finder does though.

 

[patrickmacrumor]

Maybe this will make it clearer. If I want to know where each of these files are, there is no way to add a "file path" column... or any other column.... to these search results. I'd have to click each file to see its path, rather than seeing them all at once.

File path has never been a strong point of OS X. There is no way to know where each file is at a glance. In Leopard, I think file path should have been put on top of the files rather than at the bottom.

Being able to quickly see where files are is very handy, especially when using Spotlight. After all, if I doing a search, more often than not, I would also want to know where the files I am looking for are saved.

 

[HLdan]

I'm not a fan of the no background in Photoshop and Illustrator because I find myself constantly clicking out of the program.

I don't know about Illustrator but Photoshop CS has always been able to show full screen canvas, it's just not on by default like in the Windows version. That's Adobe's design, not Apple's. PSE 6 has full screen canvas on by default.

 

[Dmac77]

There is nothing like the "Remove Applications" Menu. Which is actually true, and it bugs me a lot. Some apps do come with a uninstaller. And yes I know that with a lot of Apps you can just drag to the trash, but some apps put files into your library.

Don

 

[HLdan]

There is nothing like the "Remove Applications" Menu. Which is actually true, and it bugs me a lot. Some apps do come with a uninstaller. And yes I know that with a lot of Apps you can just drag to the trash, but some apps put files into your library.

Don

That's laughable, too bad the Remove Applications program doesn't remove enough of the application from the Registry. The Registry gets clogged up so fast because how retarded the Remove Apps program is. Sorry, no a good part of Windows to defend.

 

[Trajectory]

Maybe this will make it clearer. If I want to know where each of these files are, there is no way to add a "file path" column... or any other column.... to these search results.

Wouldn't that require a very wide column to see the full path of each file in a list view?

 

[wrldwzrd89]

Wouldn't that require a very wide column to see the full path of each file in a list view?

Depends. For something like C:\Windows\System32\blah.ext not necessarily. If the number of directories is more than 2 then yes, a wider column will be needed.

 

[Sonicjay]

..I don't like how when you hit Home on the keyboard the cursor doesn't go the beginning of the line, and viceversa with End..

CMD + Left arrow, CMD + right arrow

 

[richard.mac]

I'm not a fan of the no background in Photoshop and Illustrator because I find myself constantly clicking out of the program. …

press the F key to cycle between view options.

 

[ProwlingTiger]

Sure you can suggest it, but I've never had such problems on either Windows Explorer or Finder.

Really? WE takes forever to load on some, even newer, machines. Finder never crashes for me, no problems whatsoever. WE is just another Microsoft product built on old and unstable code resulting in...well general bugginess.


Finder was a godsend for me.

 

[Bad Paper]

Absolutely my biggest 'hate' in os x though is only being able to resize from the bottom right corner. having drag handles on all four sides and corners in M$ land is much friendlier. I can't believe Apple have kept this bit of os pedantry.

I came in here to say this.

 

[redpandadev]

One of the various differences between the two OS is clicking on the X button won't completely close the application, except for a few. To completely close the application, use the Quit command.

I have never understood why iPhoto behaves differently. I mean clicking on the X button will close iPhoto completely, unlike iTunes or Mail.app for example.

The difference is that Apps that potentially perform tasks in the background (iTunes: plays music without the window being open, Mail: checks for new mail) do not completely quit when you click on the Red X button. Apps that perform no background tasks close completely when you click the Red X.

Exception (sort-of): Technically iPhoto does perform background tasks (syncing Photo Stream for example), but those syncing tasks are handled by background daemons as part of iCloud, therefore separate from iPhoto.

Edit: The above is true if we are talking about single window applications. Document-based applications will almost always stay open.

 

[GGJstudios]

The difference is that Apps that potentially perform tasks in the background (iTunes: plays music without the window being open, Mail: checks for new mail) do not completely quit when you click on the Red X button. Apps that perform no background tasks close completely when you click the Red X.

Exception (sort-of): Technically iPhoto does perform background tasks (syncing Photo Stream for example), but those syncing tasks are handled by background daemons as part of iCloud, therefore separate from iPhoto.

Edit: The above is true if we are talking about single window applications. Document-based applications will almost always stay open.

You do realize you've revived a 7 year old thread to post a redundant reply to a poster who hasn't been on the site for over 5 years, right?

 

[redpandadev]

You do realize you've revived a 7 year old thread to post a redundant reply to a poster who hasn't been on the site for over 5 years, right?

LOL no, actually I didn't. I don't even know how I found this thread! Let's revive it though... everything I read here seems to still be relevant today. LOL again, whoops.

 

[dukebound85]

You do realize you've revived a 7 year old thread to post a redundant reply to a poster who hasn't been on the site for over 5 years, right?

Would you rather he not search and create a new thread, at which point members would tell him he should have searched first?