How Can I Get Finder to Show Column View as Default?

[HappyDude20]

I love the Finder, but I hate that every single time that I open a finder window I always get the Icon view as opposed to my preferred Column view.

There has to be a way to set the column view as my default.

Furthermore, I want column view as my default view for not only my MacOS finder windows, but also for all of my Ex. SSD finder windows.

How can I go about making column view default for both my regular MacOS finder windows and also my Ex. SSD Finder windows?

 

[0128672]

With a Finder window open in column view, go to View > Show View Options > select Always open in column view.

Change how folders are displayed in the Finder on Mac

In the Finder on your Mac, change options such as label text, icon or thumbnail sizes and more for each view — Icon, List, Column and Gallery.

support.apple.com

 

[Gregg2]

If you've customized any Finder windows, the following will not work for those windows, but should take care of all others.

Open the highest level window, called Macintosh HD in my case. Change it to Column View, and make any other customizations you want. Then click on Use as Defaults. (we're in the Show View Options dialog of course) That should take effect in all sub-folders, except as described above.

You might have to repeat this for the SSD.

 

[Romahaaa]

If you've customized any Finder windows, the following will not work for those windows, but should take care of all others.

Open the highest level window, called Macintosh HD in my case. Change it to Column View, and make any other customizations you want. Then click on Use as Defaults. (we're in the Show View Options dialog of course) That should take effect in all sub-folders, except as described above.

You might have to repeat this for the SSD.

That's how I remember I did it on my old Intel Macbook, but for some reason it doesn't work at all on new Silicon...
Nothing helps, each time I open any subfolder from "Show in Finder" option from any app, it open me in column view but ungrouped and sorted by default....

 

[Ben J.]

That's how I remember I did it on my old Intel Macbook, but for some reason it doesn't work at all on new Silicon...
Nothing helps, each time I open any subfolder from "Show in Finder" option from any app, it open me in column view but ungrouped and sorted by default....

I can remember struggling with this - and giving up - many times over the years, and seeing other people complain about it, and I never saw any kind of solution. People say Windows is better in this regard(!). I have two external drives connected. One of them insists on opening in symbols view. Nothing I can do to change it. The other two drives I can set, it seems.

There must be someway to use terminal or edit plists to set these things at system level. Any guru's out there?