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the one thing i HATE about OSX

J

joejoejoe

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Sep 13, 2006
1,428
110
I just got my first mac, a macbook pro, a little less than a month ago and i love it.

i just have one huge problem.

whenever i'm saving a file, or choosing a destination for a file download, no matter what application i am in, i can't choose the exact folder i want the file to be saved in like i could in windows. in windows i could simply browse through folder after folder until i found the right one, but in osx i'm just better off saving to the desktop and then moving the file manually. its such a pain.

is there any way around this?
 
Unless I don't understand you right...

There are two boxes when you're saving. Notice my attachments, notice in the upper left corner area the highlighted (blue) side switches. Make sure the right one is selected.
 

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joejoejoe said:
is there any way around this?
Click to expand...

Er... I have no idea why navigating in a 'Save' dialogue box causes you problems.

On second thoughts, do they look quite small? In each box, there's a blue button with an arrow to the right of the filename. Try clicking it to expand the entire box.
 
Never had a problem with this. Come to think of it, I've never had trouble saving files in their correct folders. I guess you just have to unlearn the Windows way of doing things... :cool:

Files are always saved in the folder that's listed in the drop-down menu.

luv ya bunches! xoxoxo
 
the poster above showed a screenshot - the little button with the arrow to the right of the save name box - click it, the full dialog pulls down.


sorted.
 
bigandy said:
the poster above showed a screenshot - the little button with the arrow to the right of the save name box - click it, the full dialog pulls down.
Click to expand...

Weird...this is the second time this came up today. :eek:

Anyway, in most apps, once you make this change once, the dialog opens up expanded by default and you don't need to do it again.
 
Disclosure triangle

My guess is that the original poster has not discovered the little blue disclosure triangle to the right of the "Save As:" and accompanying text box. If this triangle is not toggled, OS X doesn't display the helpful navigation pane to which we are accustomed. The "Save As" dialog box is not very useful in the "out-of-the-box" configuration, and necessity of flipping this toggle is not at all intuitive.
 
I understand what the OP is talking about. I have found this a bit of a annoyance too. To clarify, try this (in Firefox): File>Save page as...

Now the "Save As" box pops up and gives you the location where to save. Now if you click the arrow to see all your options it will give you a list of all the drives, "Desktop," and all the options that are in the left vertical bar in Finder (docs, pictures, etc.). There is no way to, for example, look in "Documents" or "Macintosh HD" and find a specific folder.

I have noticed with use the expanded box has changed to include "Recent Places" and after a while these are the places that I save most everything.

Now, this type of "Save As" box is not in all apps. In NeoOffice when you "Save As" a mini-Finder comes up. I think this is what the OP is missing in whatever app he/she is using.

vincebio said:
dont worry , it takes windeez users a bit longer to use a higher level of technology:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

It is comments like this that gives a lot of Mac users a bad name. I stayed a way from Macs for years because the people I knew that used Macs were pompous jack asses. Please don't promote the stereotype.

If you were kiding, I apologize. Sarcasm is hard to read when read.
 
As said above, you just need to the arrow to the side of the name input box. This expands the file saving options and you can select EXACTLY where you want the file to go ;)
 
fall3n said:
As said above, you just need to the arrow to the side of the name input box. This expands the file saving options and you can select EXACTLY where you want the file to go ;)
Click to expand...

Got it. I thought you meant the arrow next to the location box.

Thanks.
 
thanks guys

b4 this i never even realized that blue arrow, i just thought there was the simple "where:" dialog box that shows you a very limited number of places to save something.

guess there's nothing i hate about osx anymore
 
If only more Windows users would give OSX as much of chance as you did, they'd all be better off for it.
 
Amazing how we all come to answer when the topic says "Hate" and "OSX" in the same sentence :D I immediately came to check what it was, glad it's been more than answered though. :)
 
If if were a PC forum and "hate" and "Windows" were in the same sentence, there would be consolation posts by other members as the tone shifts from eagerly wanting to help but resigned to melancholy. :(
 
Here's a little trick...

Once you've expanded the save window, you can either navigate to the folder that you want to save to

or

Drop the folder that you want to save into right on the save window and it will select it for you.

:)
 
ChickenSwartz said:
Now the "Save As" box pops up and gives you the location where to save. Now if you click the arrow to see all your options it will give you a list of all the drives, "Desktop," and all the options that are in the left vertical bar in Finder (docs, pictures, etc.). There is no way to, for example, look in "Documents" or "Macintosh HD" and find a specific folder.
Click to expand...
I am completely confused by your comment.

I routinely use the "Save As" dialog box with the expanded triangle clicked so that I see a simple Finder type navigation system presented. So it is very easy to navigate to a particular folder.

Buschmaster's post #2 above shows the screen shots of what I am talking about.
 
ChickenSwartz said:
It is comments like this that gives a lot of Mac users a bad name. I stayed a way from Macs for years because the people I knew that used Macs were pompous jack asses. Please don't promote the stereotype.
Click to expand...

Agreed with you, this is exactly kind of comments coming out from many Mac users that I've met before. I had used Mac ages ago while in uni, and bought an original Bondi Blue iMac when it was first released.. and stop dreaming of having Mac until recently... there is surely a learning curve when you jump from one system to the other.. it is easier to give a hand rather than giving a stupid comment as the previous poster has done.
 
sushi said:
I am completely confused by your comment.

I routinely use the "Save As" dialog box with the expanded triangle clicked so that I see a simple Finder type navigation system presented. So it is very easy to navigate to a particular folder.

Buschmaster's post #2 above shows the screen shots of what I am talking about.
Click to expand...

If you see my second post, I was confused at which arrow/triangle thing. I thought he/she was talking about the one next to the location, I now see that the one next to the file name will do the trick. The screen shots show the arrow but the different ways to change the view to navigate through the finder, not how to get it in the first place.
 
freeflydrew said:
Drop the folder that you want to save into right on the save window and it will select it for you.
Click to expand...

That's a good one. :) Another similar one is that, if you wish to open a file in an application, you can often either drag it and drop it on the app's dock icon or else drag it into the open window, which will cause the open window to refocus in the directory structure to that file. Using this in combination with Expose is great for things like web-based uploading of files (photobucket, etc).
 
Let's hope that Leopard sees the end of the disclosure triangle. I wonder how many new mac users are baffled by this and don't know where to find the answer?
 
ChickenSwartz said:
If you see my second post, I was confused at which arrow/triangle thing. I thought he/she was talking about the one next to the location, I now see that the one next to the file name will do the trick. The screen shots show the arrow but the different ways to change the view to navigate through the finder, not how to get it in the first place.
Click to expand...
Roger. I see what you are talking about now.

Glad we got that figured out! :)
 
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