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Snow Leopard - Finder - Sort folders first, then files

qwimjim said:
i did the edit of InfoPlist.strings but nothing changed, closed finder and relaunched, restarted computer, if i sort by kind folders still don't end up at the top.. any ideas anyone?
Click to expand...
If you read the thread, you'll find it can't be done in Finder.
 
GGJstudios said:
If you read the thread, you'll find it can't be done in Finder.
Click to expand...

what can't be done in finder, having folders sort above all else when sorted by kind? the method described in this thread seems to have worked for people, so i'm not sure what you mean by your statement. i have edited the file, there has been no change, there has been a change for others.. anyone know why?
 
qwimjim said:
what can't be done in finder, having folders sort above all else when sorted by kind? the method described in this thread seems to have worked for people, so i'm not sure what you mean by your statement. i have edited the file, there has been no change, there has been a change for others.. anyone know why?
Click to expand...
If you follow the instructions in post #16 exactly, yes, folders will sort at the top when sorting by Kind. The issue in the thread is having folders sort at the top when sorting by Name, not Kind, which can't be done in Finder.
 
GGJstudios said:
If you follow the instructions in post #16 exactly, yes, folders will sort at the top when sorting by Kind. The issue in the thread is having folders sort at the top when sorting by Name, not Kind, which can't be done in Finder.
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I followed the instructions, and I know the difference between sorting by kind and by name. I made the edit and nothing has changed, my folders still appear after .avi and .doc files when finder is in list mode set to sort by KIND.
 
qwimjim said:
I followed the instructions, and I know the difference between sorting by kind and by name. I made the edit and nothing has changed, my folders still appear after .avi and .doc files when finder is in list mode set to sort by KIND.
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Have you tried rebooting? And did you verify the insertion of the space before "Finder"?
 
Boy, am I late. And new. And tired. But since a suggested solution (even though it did not seem to work) was to add a space before folder names, how would that work if you wanted to sort by date (with folders on top and then files)?

Hans L
 
It can be done

You have to move "Folders" to the top of the Spotlight search results list in Spotlight's preferences. Then, arrange by kind in the Finder.
 
buldir said:
You have to move "Folders" to the top of the Spotlight search results list in Spotlight's preferences. Then, arrange by kind in the Finder.
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The Spotlight preferences have nothing to do with Finder sorting. Your suggestion doesn't address the topic of this thread.
 
buldir said:
My apologies. My suggestion works in Mountain Lion and Mavericks. Not sure about Snow Leopard. Try it.
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No, it doesn't work in Mountain Lion or Mavericks, either. You're not understanding the topic of this thread, which is having folders sort before files in Finder. It has nothing to do with Spotlight search preferences or arranging by Kind in Finder. The intent is to sort by name when viewing the contents of a folder in Finder, but have subfolders appear at the top in alphabetical order, followed by files in alphabetical order, as it does in Windows Explorer. Your suggestion will not achieve that in any version of OS X.
 
GGJstudios said:
No, it doesn't work in Mountain Lion or Mavericks, either. You're not understanding the topic of this thread, which is having folders sort before files in Finder. It has nothing to do with Spotlight search preferences or arranging by Kind in Finder. The intent is to sort by name when viewing the contents of a folder in Finder, but have subfolders appear at the top in alphabetical order, followed by files in alphabetical order, as it does in Windows Explorer. Your suggestion will not achieve that in any version of OS X.
Click to expand...

You could add a bullet point to the folder names using ALT+8 and they'll appear at the top the way you want them too. They'd be renamed obviously but unless they were system files, it's a work around. I can't understand wanting the unintuitive way Windows lists them that way whether you want folders first or not to start with but each to their own.
 
GGJstudios said:
No, it doesn't work in Mountain Lion or Mavericks, either. You're not understanding the topic of this thread, which is having folders sort before files in Finder. It has nothing to do with Spotlight search preferences or arranging by Kind in Finder. The intent is to sort by name when viewing the contents of a folder in Finder, but have subfolders appear at the top in alphabetical order, followed by files in alphabetical order, as it does in Windows Explorer. Your suggestion will not achieve that in any version of OS X.
Click to expand...
I understand the topic and the intent. What I'm suggesting, is trying something seemingly unrelated to arrive at a solution.

In Mavericks, which I already have installed as a developer, I can move the file categories around in the Spotlight Preferences and, if the Finder is set to "Arrange by Kind" then "Sort by Name" (you can do both), I can literally see groups of files and folders rearranging themselves, in real time, in the Finder.

I tested this technique further in Mountain Lion. Make your desired arrangements in Spotlight Preferences, you might have to relaunch the Finder (Option Right-click on the Finder in the dock and choose "Relaunch"). In the Finder, click on View in the menubar, choose "Arrange by Kind," then hold down Option, click on View in the menubar, choose "Sort by Name."

Before saying this won't or doesn't work, I'm asking you to test my theory. Try it and give feedback.
 
XtraFinder does this, and much more (free app)

XtraFinder does this and much more.

Still a free app. A big thanks to the author; he doesn't ask for money, I couldn't even find a Paypal donation link; however there is an email link should one decide to go that route.
 
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