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Windows Explorer?

A

AppleHater

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 9, 2010
788
104
I'm a new Mac user, although I used to have PowerMac back in the early 90s. One thing that I can't get used to is Finder. While I understand the philosophy, it's simply not as flexible as Windows Explorer. When I want to move up a folder, I can't figure it out. Dragging files around different folders is quite a hassle.

Is there a program that I can use for this? I stumbled onto Macintosh Explorer by Rage. Is it any good?
 
to "move up" a folder try holding the command key and clicking the name of the current folder in the title bar of the finder window. It will expand the full directory path, you can then select and navigate to the parent folder.

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Alternatively you can add a "Path" button that will expand the exact same menu and allow you to accomplish the same thing. (and other useful buttons)

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Last edited:
AppleHater said:
I'm a new Mac user, although I used to have PowerMac back in the early 90s. One thing that I can't get used to is Finder. While I understand the philosophy, it's simply not as flexible as Windows Explorer. When I want to move up a folder, I can't figure it out. Dragging files around different folders is quite a hassle.

Is there a program that I can use for this? I stumbled onto Macintosh Explorer by Rage. Is it any good?
Click to expand...

I used mucommander for a while to try and get win explorer functionality. Mu commander is GREAT, but you might find the command uparrow key sequence easier.

----------
AppleHater said:
I'm a new Mac user, although I used to have PowerMac back in the early 90s. One thing that I can't get used to is Finder. While I understand the philosophy, it's simply not as flexible as Windows Explorer. When I want to move up a folder, I can't figure it out. Dragging files around different folders is quite a hassle.

Is there a program that I can use for this? I stumbled onto Macintosh Explorer by Rage. Is it any good?
Click to expand...


I used mucommander for a while to try and get win explorer functionality. Mu commander is GREAT, but you might find the command uparrow key sequence easier.
 
Thanks for the reply. Discovering some hidden features of Finder is good. Is there a way to copy files by dragging between folders? It's a simple thing and I can't believe it's not readily available.
 
you would be amazed by the many things that can be accomplished on a Mac simply by using the modifier keys. (shift, alt, option, command.)
 
Right-click "New Folder", Right-click "Rename". Those are some useless clicks in Explorer. I will never get why Win users love it so much. "Up" a folder is also a useless "idea". So is pressing return to open the folder. I could go on.
If you learn some of the basic key commands the Finder is fairly competent. But in keeping with Apple's elitist leanings, it's not readily apparent.
 
derbothaus said:
Right-click "New Folder", Right-click "Rename". Those are some useless clicks in Explorer. I will never get why Win users love it so much. "Up" a folder is also a useless "idea". So is pressing return to open the folder. I could go on.
If you learn some of the basic key commands the Finder is fairly competent. But in keeping with Apple's elitist leanings, it's not readily apparent.
Click to expand...

I love windows right-click options! I do find them very useful.
 
Santiago17a said:
I love windows right-click options! I do find them very useful.
Click to expand...

I don't. But I've always used Apple computers. There are growing pains with all these new things. I only branched out to Win for games. Tables have turned. Mac's for business, PC's for games:D
 
I tend to agree. The Finder is rather outdated; the fact you have to search to find ways to do common operations is a sign of that.

Kapeli software make a couple of add-on utilities that help. One, moveAddict, is a utility that allows for cutting and pasting of files, a la Windows. There may be services or other shortcuts out there for this as well.

Another one by Kapeli I find indispensable is dockView. It replicates the feature in Win 7 that allows a preview of an application's windows by just mousing over it's icon at the bottom of the desktop; in the Finder, that means you get the same view by mousing over the icon in the Dock. If you hold it, it will also show the full window. Not only is it handy in Finder, but it makes Spaces much more usuable. The only hassle is that you have to go to each space first to make the windows available in other spaces. It's one of those utilities that should have been incorporated into the OS.

Rob
 
robgendreau said:
I tend to agree. The Finder is rather outdated; the fact you have to search to find ways to do common operations is a sign of that.
Click to expand...

I have to respectfully disagree. I love the elitism of it all. Why hold everyones hand? Be what Win users expect us to be. Snobs with many hidden features.
 
Try totalfiinder. It is an addon to finder that gives added functionality such as tabs, cut and paste, multitab view, and keeping directories on top rather then by alphabetic order etc...

I think its as close to windows explorer without changing finder altogether.
 
robgendreau said:
Kapeli software make a couple of add-on utilities that help. One, moveAddict, is a utility that allows for cutting and pasting of files, a la Windows. There may be services or other shortcuts out there for this as well.
Click to expand...

This is built into Lion, just copy the file, move to your destination directory, then right click where you want to drop and press alt. You'll then get a move files option. Long overdue feature in my opinion!
 
lexar said:
Try totalfiinder. It is an addon to finder that gives added functionality such as tabs, cut and paste, multitab view, and keeping directories on top rather then by alphabetic order etc...

I think its as close to windows explorer without changing finder altogether.
Click to expand...

I've been looking for something like this to make Finder more like Explorer and this looks to be just about perfect. Definitely worth the $18.00 registration! Thanks for the heads up...
 
IMHO, Finder is much more clearly organized and usable than the cluttered and messy Explorer (btw, have you seen the Explorer in Windows 8 with the ribbon interface??). Things like "go up a folder" are hidden because in essence, they are useless. If you organize your data right, you simply do not need them. Does Explorer have the full copy-paste (between applications) and undo functionality yet? Finder and OS X had that for ages, and that are the really useful features.
 
leman said:
IMHO, Finder is much more clearly organized and usable than the cluttered and messy Explorer (btw, have you seen the Explorer in Windows 8 with the ribbon interface??). Things like "go up a folder" are hidden because in essence, they are useless. If you organize your data right, you simply do not need them. Does Explorer have the full copy-paste (between applications) and undo functionality yet? Finder and OS X had that for ages, and that are the really useful features.
Click to expand...

I actually didn't mean to say that I want the exact copy of Windows Explorer. However, Windows Explorer for Win 7 works much better for my need compared to Finder for OS X. That doesn't mean Windows Explorer is perfect by any means, either.

I DO organize my photos very strictly; I have my own system. Moving my photos around with Finder is quite a hassle when I need to check the photos and keep them in different folders based on their use or file format. Shortcut keys are fine but when you move hundreds of files at a time, you appreciate the visual confirmation you get with drag and drop.

Anyway, I think, I'm going to give PathFinder another look. It looks like it's pretty powerful (too powerful for me, prolly), although $40+ seem a bit stiff.
 
AppleHater said:
I DO organize my photos very strictly; I have my own system. Moving my photos around with Finder is quite a hassle when I need to check the photos and keep them in different folders based on their use or file format. Shortcut keys are fine but when you move hundreds of files at a time, you appreciate the visual confirmation you get with drag and drop.
Click to expand...

Or, you could do it the OS X way - spend few hours learning AppleScript and write a folder action which would automate most of these tasks for you ;) You would just drop a new photo into the folder and this would trigger the script which would move the file into an appropriate location.
 
leman said:
Or, you could do it the OS X way - spend few hours learning AppleScript and write a folder action which would automate most of these tasks for you ;) You would just drop a new photo into the folder and this would trigger the script which would move the file into an appropriate location.
Click to expand...
I couldn't agree more. Automator and Apple Script are insanely powerful. Who has the time to be mucking about with managing loads of files manually?
 
leman said:
Or, you could do it the OS X way - spend few hours learning AppleScript and write a folder action which would automate most of these tasks for you ;) You would just drop a new photo into the folder and this would trigger the script which would move the file into an appropriate location.
Click to expand...

Maybe I should consider the option. So, what's AppleScript? Is it a scripting language or a glorified batch language?
 
Some handy keyboard shortcuts for you:
Command + up arrow = goes up a folder in finder
Command + down arrow = opens folder/file
Command + shift + n = creates new folder
Command + c = copies file
Command + v = pastes file
Command + 1 = shows icon view
Command + 2 = shows list view
Command + 3 = shows column view
Command + 4 = shows cover flow view
Command + E = ejects disk image
Command + delete = sends file to trash
Command + shift + delete = empties trash

Keyboard shortcuts make Finder so much faster and easier.
 
BTW, it seems that Finder has some weird bugs with handling links (both hardlinks and softlinks). When copying linked files across volumes, it tries to create a softlink (which is kind of stupid). Even worth, if you create a hardlink to a file, it starts treating the original file as a link itself and does so even after you delete all other links to that file. Talk about messing the filesystem up :/
 
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