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Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard Finder
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Along with Stacks, Quicklook seems like a feature that will really change my computing experience greatly
You know, it just occurred to me, Quicklook is activated by the space bar, right? Well, what if I'm trying to use keyboard navigation and I start to type the name of a file that is "Letter to Grandma". If it's in a list of files that include "Letter to Abe", "Letter to Frank" and "Letter to Tom", then I'd need to type "Letter to G" before the right file would be selected with keyboard navigation. But that would mean that I'd have hit the spacebar twice. Wouldn't that invoke Quicklook on that note to Abe? Or do you have to do something more to invoke Quicklook, like, maybe, holding down the spacebar?
I'm looking forward to Quicklook, but if it breaks keyboard navigation, I'm going to be REALLY pissed....
I wouldn't worry abouy keyboard navigation being broken. Apple's good about those usability details. My guess: when you start typing a name, the QuickLook spacebar is ignored, only to return after you've stopped typing for a short time.
The new Finder is my sole reason for upgrading to Leopard. I got to use it in the 9a466 build, and I absolutely loved it.
But, eh.. what's wrong with the Finder icon? I always thought it has that nostalgic thing to it.
But, eh.. what's wrong with the Finder icon? I always thought it has that nostalgic thing to it.
Finder Still A Dud
Can I please create a view and options of a Finder window and then apply those settings to all folder? This is a very basic feature missing.
Can you please tell me the size of the file I have selected at the bottom of a Finder window instead of how much space is available on my entire drive? This is just stupid behavior.
Can you please, please, please give me more columns in List view to take advantage of all that meta data? This is, again, just plain stupid. Wouldn't it be great to be able to sort a folder of QuickTime movies based on dimension or codec?
How about giving me the ability to sort Column view the way I want to sort it?
How about giving us smart sorting in Column view where the folders are all first followed by files?
How about a way to apply key words, easily, to files? Huh? How about that?
The Mac Finder is a joke. It really is. It's missing basic features that it should have had years ago and it's incredibly disappointing to see Apple just throw a couple of eye candy features on it and calling it "brand new". No, it's not brand new. It's the same simple, limited file browser we've had for years.
This is where Windows really outshines OS X. The Vista Explorer complete with file dialogs that let you apply star ratings and meta data to files just blows away the stupid Finder. Adding a stupid Quick Look feature (um, why is loading it in Quick Look better than Preview?) and a silly Color Flow (why not just give me thumbnails that do the same thing?) feature is just really, really, really disappointing to me.
Can I please create a view and options of a Finder window and then apply those settings to all folder? This is a very basic feature missing.
Can you please tell me the size of the file I have selected at the bottom of a Finder window instead of how much space is available on my entire drive? This is just stupid behavior.
Can you please, please, please give me more columns in List view to take advantage of all that meta data? This is, again, just plain stupid. Wouldn't it be great to be able to sort a folder of QuickTime movies based on dimension or codec?
How about giving me the ability to sort Column view the way I want to sort it?
How about giving us smart sorting in Column view where the folders are all first followed by files?
How about a way to apply key words, easily, to files? Huh? How about that?
The Mac Finder is a joke. It really is. It's missing basic features that it should have had years ago and it's incredibly disappointing to see Apple just throw a couple of eye candy features on it and calling it "brand new". No, it's not brand new. It's the same simple, limited file browser we've had for years.
This is where Windows really outshines OS X. The Vista Explorer complete with file dialogs that let you apply star ratings and meta data to files just blows away the stupid Finder. Adding a stupid Quick Look feature (um, why is loading it in Quick Look better than Preview?) and a silly Color Flow (why not just give me thumbnails that do the same thing?) feature is just really, really, really disappointing to me.
Yea I was gonna reply to this but that last paragraph really spelled it out that you have no idea what you are talking about and are probably just trolling so yea. If you are a serious person who actually uses OS X and took the time to learn how to use it, you would probably understand how to do the things you are complaining about.
Command + J when in finder. Tick box 'All windows'.
Command + J when in finder. Click 'show item info' it will give you more than just file sizes under the name of each item. Also file sizes are available in column view and list view.
Smart Folders?
Have you tried holding down Command and dragging a column?
Not sure if that is possible (probably is) as Ive never tried it nor can I see any benefit from it. However I am not denying it may be useful to some.
'Get info'. Fill in spotlight comments.
I've never had a problem with it and don't see what all the fuss is about. However a more iTunes like finder is more user friendly and efficient. It is new because... well... its new (for the finder).
A rating feature would be a nice addition I agree but that doesnt make or break an OS. Quicklook loads almost instantly where as Preview is a standalone application that requires opening and closing. Quicklook is built right into the Finder.
Coverflow is very good because you can literally read documents etc without opening them. If thumbnails were used you would not get enough information from a tiny thumbnail (which are already part of Tiger).
If you actually spent time using OSX instead of whining about it you can see it can do pretty much everything you have asked of it.
I want this too. This has been mentioned a few times in this thread, and I asked about it a few years ago too. There are always several people who say "Yeah, me too!" and then someone always chimes in with "why on earth would you want THAT? That's stupid!" Well, let's step out of the RDF for a moment and acknowledge that some people want this feature. I, for one, like to be able to see at a glance what sub-folders branch off from the existing folder, without having to scroll through the entire list if there are a lot of files mixed in with the folders.
It should at least be an option (and it is not, as far as I can tell).
While I certainly support the idea of having this as an option, and I don't agree with people who think the idea of this is stupid. I do have a problem with people who characterize the lack of this feature as be something that is a fundamental flaw in the Finder. Sure, you might like to have this feature, and I'll support your desire to have it so long as it is only an option and not a feature that is forced on me if I don't want it, but the Finder is quite capable even without this, and there are a lot of people who would actually dislike using this "feature". So, it isn't a definitive feature of good file navigator.
This doesn't set the view of all folders in Tiger. Has this behavior changed in Leopard?
What this does in Tiger is set the view of all folders that are manually set to "All windows". Have you used Tiger?
Nope. I want the file size of the file I have selected in every single view versus the amount of space I have left on the hard drive in every single view.
"Show Item Info" is for Icon view, and it's not telling me the file size anyway.
Ahhhh, so instead of giving me more columns in List view, you think I should have to manually create a Spotlight search every single time? LOL
Um, huh? I'm in Column View, not List View. How do you sort by size, codec, dimensions, etc.?
Wrong. First off, that's not "Keywords", that's "Comments", which means it's useless to any application that utilizes "Keywords".
Secondly, having to manually click on each file and then type in the comments field is retarded compared to a real key word system, which I'm guessing you have never used, otherwise you wouldn't suggest typing in the Comments field.
For example, just look at what Apple does in Aperture with Keywords. Hell, look at what they do in iPhoto.
Apple is really behind in regards to a metadata-driven file system.
Yeah, imagine using iTunes and it doesn't give you the Artist column or the Album column and it requires you to use Spotlight to create a search for the track and album every single time. LOL
iTunes is a lot more powerful than the Finder, and it's a shame.
I see, so even though we have gigs of RAM and 8 cores on our computer, we can't let a small application like Preview running?
On my G5, Preview loads things instantly. This feature is very, very low on the priority list. Here's an idea, how about we just open the files in the applications? What a concept! Applications! Wow.
Coverflow is flawed for the same reason Microsoft's virtual Rolodex (Flip3D) is flawed - you are reviewing them one at a time and having to manually forward/reverse.
It's much faster to look at a folder of 30 PDFs in Icon view with a thumbnail all at once versus paging through them. That's a joke. It's stupid. It's eye candy.
Exposé is superior to Flip3D. Why? Because it shows me the windows all at once versus Flip3D forcing me to manually advance one after the other to find what I want.
Imagine using iPhoto with only Coverflow versus looking at thumbnails.
What I like about Coverflow is that it gives me a preview of stuff Tiger doesn't. But it should do that in Icon View, including QuickTime movies.
I've used OS X since the public beta. I've been a Mac user since 1987.
I love it how these Mac zealots instantly assume you are a Windows troll if you dare to criticize Apple or OS X.
Windows has Folders view precisely so you can navigate the hard drive quickly without wading through folders with hundreds of files. Column View works really well for this except that you have to scroll to get to the folders mixed in with the files.
People will make excuses and say it's not needed and then give you a workaround that requires a lot more work than the way we are suggesting, and that's not productive at all.
Well, I don't count it as a fundamental flaw other than that I think (any file system viewing tool) ought to offer more choice about how this is displayed. The trick is how to keep everyone happy by allowing enough customized behaviour without confusing the user with a prefs panel that looks like an aircraft cockpit control.
Your standard 'ls' command, for example, has a gazillion combinations of display settings -- though, notably, it too lacks an option to pre-sort and display folders. This suggests to me that Finder is just doing what every other Unix file system does, and I'd go so far as to say that Windows must be the odd one out with its pre-sort behaviour. Still, I've grown to appreciate that behaviour, and it would be nice to have it as a choice. (And yes, that would include the choice to NOT have it in Windows, which apparently is not an option either.)
To be fair, the tone of your comments certainly made it seem that you were a Windows troll. Calling the Mac Finder a joke?
While the Windows Explorer may have some features that you like, the fact that the Mac Finder doesn't have these particular features doesn't make it a joke. There are features that the Windows Explorer doesn't have, but I don't consider it to be a joke. Sure, the absence of these features bugs me, even "drives me nuts", but that still doesn't make it a joke.
Personally, I don't like the way Windows sorts folders from the other files. It doesn't mesh well with the way that I work. So, the way that the Mac Finder handles things does much better for me. Does that make me a joke?
In short, I'd say that it's one thing to criticize the Finder, and it's another to make comments about how "The Mac Finder is a joke. It really is." and "This is where Windows really ... just blows away the stupid Finder." (some liberty taken, but the point is the same). Oh, and the fact that you didn't even get the name of Cover Flow right ("Color Flow"???), it all added up to a pretty easy conclusion that you were a troll.
All of that being said, it appears now that you aren't. However, I will also say that just because you've been using Macs since 1987 doesn't mean that you can't be a Windows zealot who chooses to troll on a Mac board. Maybe you're one of the few who have to use a Mac for work, but prefer Windows?
Anyway, if you don't want to be labeled a troll, I'd suggest trying to use less trollish language when you choose to criticize Apple or the Mac OS. People may even agree with you then... even some of the Mac zealots...
To be fair, the tone of your comments certainly made it seem that you were a Windows troll. Calling the Mac Finder a joke?
While the Windows Explorer may have some features that you like, the fact that the Mac Finder doesn't have these particular features doesn't make it a joke. There are features that the Windows Explorer doesn't have, but I don't consider it to be a joke. Sure, the absence of these features bugs me, even "drives me nuts", but that still doesn't make it a joke.
Personally, I don't like the way Windows sorts folders from the other files. It doesn't mesh well with the way that I work. So, the way that the Mac Finder handles things does much better for me. Does that make me a joke?
In short, I'd say that it's one thing to criticize the Finder, and it's another to make comments about how "The Mac Finder is a joke. It really is." and "This is where Windows really ... just blows away the stupid Finder." (some liberty taken, but the point is the same). Oh, and the fact that you didn't even get the name of Cover Flow right ("Color Flow"???), it all added up to a pretty easy conclusion that you were a troll.
All of that being said, it appears now that you aren't. However, I will also say that just because you've been using Macs since 1987 doesn't mean that you can't be a Windows zealot who chooses to troll on a Mac board. Maybe you're one of the few who have to use a Mac for work, but prefer Windows?
Anyway, if you don't want to be labeled a troll, I'd suggest trying to use less trollish language when you choose to criticize Apple or the Mac OS. People may even agree with you then... even some of the Mac zealots...
I suggest that people stop taking their OS so personally and just respond to the points being made.
As a file browser, the Finder is a joke in 2007. That includes the file dialogs too. You people shouldn't take it personally and get so bent out of shape. You should just stick to the points being made and rebut them if they are wrong.
Like what??? I read this time through time that people hate the Finder (and don't get me wrong, I not defending I just don't understand) but never ever say what their problem is with it. You just said the Finder is missing features that are in Windows Explorer so, which features, what's wrong with the Finder?
What is Leopard's Finder going to do for you that you need?
Well, for starters, how about the ability to assign the same exact view to every folder? That's a feature of the 80s, really, that isn't in OS X.
How about having more columns in List View that utilizes all that "amazing" metadata? That's a feature of Windows XP from 2001.
And Apple liked Sort By Group enough to put it in Spotlight results, but why not the Finder? That's another feature of Windows XP 2001.
You want more?
I don't take my OS personally. And I DO disagree with your assertion that the Finder is a joke. I've used many different file browsers (Finder replacements, 3D file browsers, Linux file browsers, Windows file browsers, etc.), and I haven't found anything so compelling as to suggest that the Finder is, in any way, a joke. Sure, some of them have some interesting features that might even be compelling, if they were well implemented (which, in most cases, they weren't).
In fact, a simple comparison would be with the dominant file browser, Windows Explorer. Comparing WE with MF one can see that each has strengths and each has weaknesses compared with the other. However, neither is a joke. Some features exist in one that some people would like to see in the other, while other people couldn't care less. The absence of such a feature doesn't make one file browser or the other a joke, either.
Once again, I don't take my OS personally. And I'm trying hard not to take your insistence on using offensive and demeaning language personally, either.
You can! It just won't override the folder where you've specified that you want a different view. So what you're really asking for is a means of deleting all custom views. Let's just be clear on that.
Good points. Might have use in the Finder.
I'm happy to hear more, but I'd also like to suggest that the Windows Explorer isn't "all that". Again, as I've said before, both have strengths and weaknesses.
For one thing it will connect to other computers MUCH faster and without the problems of Tiger's Finder...
One thing I'm worried about - My grandad has poor eyesight, but can easily see items in the Finder sidebar. Can these be made very large if there aren't many things there?