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Finder is awful IMO, this thread is probably fully of Apple-y types who will disagree, but if you're actually interested: - Why does hitting the enter key not

Finder is awful IMO, this thread is probably fully of Apple-y types who will disagree, but if you're actually interested: - Why does hitting the enter key not "go into directory" or "open file"? - I can't even see a path tree to know where I am in the filesystem out of the box. - Search, by default searches the entire system not the directory I'm in - The default presentation is some weird list of random stuff from my system, recent files and temporary files and assorted irrelevant garbage. I had to fuss with options for quite some time just to get this to be intelligible. - What the hell are all these colors? Why would any sane person want to group their files by color? In the end I wiped OSX off the machine as I just couldn't put up with it's constant annoyances for no gain - more of window management than file management though. I shouldn't need 3rd party tools like Spectacle just to make things tolerable on a modern OS. Having used dozens of different desktops on Linux and Windows I didn't think a "user friendly" one would be such a pile of annoyances. Turns out that part was marketing wank too I guess. Just in case anyone reading this has noticed the problem here but hasn't quite woken up to it: I really hate that people seem to accept their marketing at face value and not analyze any further, think they're doing something wrong if they run into problems with an Apple product. It's not just you. They make garbage and promote it like it's gold and people fall for it.

reaperducer 7y ago
I know I shouldn't feed the troll, but here goes anyway... Why does hitting the enter key not "go into directory" or "open file"? Because Return renames the file. To open the file or directory you use Command-O, just like you'd use Command-P to print the file. I can't even see a path tree to know where I am in the filesystem out of the box. View > Show Path Bar. Or, Command-Option-P Search, by default searches the entire system not the directory I'm in On my machine it searches where I am. Just tried it. The default presentation is some weird list of random stuff from my system, recent files and temporary files and assorted irrelevant garbage. I had to fuss with options for quite some time just to get this to be intelligible. Sounds like you're using a Mac from 1987. What the hell are all these colors? Why would any sane person want to group their files by color? I do it all the time. If I'm going through a bunch of files that I need to deal with later, I'll tag the files for one client yellow, and another client blue, and another client green. When it's time to do something with those files I just type "green" into the search, and all of those tagged files just show up. Also, while the tags are color-coded, it's not about the colors. It's file tagging. You can tag a file "Client X" or "Taxes" or "Animals" and then search for all files tagged Taxes modified in the last three months of a particular file type. The colors are just a place to start.
- deathanatos 7y ago
  > Because Return renames the file. Pretty sure the guy you're responding to knows that. The question is why is the key mapped to "rename", when "open" is likely the far more common command? > On my machine it searches where I am. Just tried it. I also just tried it; the default is "This Mac". Here's a GIF of another user showing this behavior: https://apple.stackexchange.com/a/219410/73670 https://apple.stackexchange.com/a/219410/73670
  - pwinnski 7y ago
    Finder -> Preferences -> Advanced: "When performing a search:" you can choose from "Search the Current Folder" (my current setting) or "Search This Mac" (apparently yours) or "Use the Previous Search Scope"
    - deathanatos 7y ago
      So, I'm nearly certain that I've not touched that setting, so the default is then "This Mac", which again, is what the parent is pointing out. Without saying that the parent is right, that you've customized your setting does not invalidate the point the parent is making: that it is a bad default. (In fact, your customization might be proof towards it being a bad default.)
      - pwinnski 7y ago
        I didn't think I'd changed my default either, but I remembered I did run a shell script to set up "MacOS for developers" when I first got it, so maybe that was an included change. I think all that demonstrates is that the default is bad for you and me. My parents use Macs, and I've watched my mother work enough to know she relies on the "This Mac" behavior regularly. She is a teacher, not a developer.
  - coldtea 7y ago
    >The question is why is the key mapped to "rename", when "open" is likely the far more common command? "Far more common" for whom? Just because you have that in e.g. Windows?
pwinnski 7y ago
What isn't ignorance or preference is factually wrong, with one possible exception: > The default presentation is some weird list of random stuff from my system, recent files and temporary files and assorted irrelevant garbage. I had to fuss with options for quite some time just to get this to be intelligible. Is the idea here that you don't think new finder windows should show "Recents"? Good news! Finder -> Preferences -> General: "New Finder windows show:" is a drop-down list. I set mine to Downloads, as that suits my workflow better than Recents.
handzbagz1 7y ago
100% agree. The file properties window is worse than useless, especially if you want to do anything like editing ACLs. The multi-column menu is clunky and why is it the default setting to allow icons to overlap each other making them impossible to work out what it is. I am forced to use OS X regularly enough and I still find finder a constant annoyance to the point where I feel like I am being gaslighted when I say I don't like it.
coldtea 7y ago
>Why does hitting the enter key not "go into directory" or "open file"? Because it has it's own shortcut for it, e.g. Cmd-O. >I can't even see a path tree to know where I am in the filesystem out of the box That's some kind of complain? There's a two clicks away setting to enable said path display, plus a one click away viewing mode (NeXT-style) that shows all previous directories up to where you are. >Search, by default searches the entire system not the directory I'm in Again irrelevant. I, for one, like it that way. Besides, there's a setting to make it search only the directly you're in (and a third, to make it stick to what you've selected before, either global search or "current dir" search). >The default presentation is some weird list of random stuff from my system, recent files and temporary files and assorted irrelevant garbage. Irrelevant, and not really random. Sounds more like a complaint from somewhere coming from Windows and wondering why things aren't the same (ignoring the fact that OS X did things before Windows, and has its own users to please by keeping its own way). >What the hell are all these colors? Why would any sane person want to group their files by color? For the same reason people use colored post-it notes and bookmarks, and color code things. Immediate visual identification. And "those colors" are part of tags, which allow arbitrary, not folder based, grouping of files. In general, whatever...

reaperducer 7y ago

I know I shouldn't feed the troll, but here goes anyway... Why does hitting the enter key not "go into directory" or "open file"? Because Return renames the file. To open the file or directory you use Command-O, just like you'd use Command-P to print the file. I can't even see a path tree to know where I am in the filesystem out of the box. View > Show Path Bar. Or, Command-Option-P Search, by default searches the entire system not the directory I'm in On my machine it searches where I am. Just tried it. The default presentation is some weird list of random stuff from my system, recent files and temporary files and assorted irrelevant garbage. I had to fuss with options for quite some time just to get this to be intelligible. Sounds like you're using a Mac from 1987. What the hell are all these colors? Why would any sane person want to group their files by color? I do it all the time. If I'm going through a bunch of files that I need to deal with later, I'll tag the files for one client yellow, and another client blue, and another client green. When it's time to do something with those files I just type "green" into the search, and all of those tagged files just show up. Also, while the tags are color-coded, it's not about the colors. It's file tagging. You can tag a file "Client X" or "Taxes" or "Animals" and then search for all files tagged Taxes modified in the last three months of a particular file type. The colors are just a place to start.

deathanatos 7y ago
> Because Return renames the file. Pretty sure the guy you're responding to knows that. The question is why is the key mapped to "rename", when "open" is likely the far more common command? > On my machine it searches where I am. Just tried it. I also just tried it; the default is "This Mac". Here's a GIF of another user showing this behavior: https://apple.stackexchange.com/a/219410/73670 https://apple.stackexchange.com/a/219410/73670
- pwinnski 7y ago
  Finder -> Preferences -> Advanced: "When performing a search:" you can choose from "Search the Current Folder" (my current setting) or "Search This Mac" (apparently yours) or "Use the Previous Search Scope"
  - deathanatos 7y ago
    So, I'm nearly certain that I've not touched that setting, so the default is then "This Mac", which again, is what the parent is pointing out. Without saying that the parent is right, that you've customized your setting does not invalidate the point the parent is making: that it is a bad default. (In fact, your customization might be proof towards it being a bad default.)
    - pwinnski 7y ago
      I didn't think I'd changed my default either, but I remembered I did run a shell script to set up "MacOS for developers" when I first got it, so maybe that was an included change. I think all that demonstrates is that the default is bad for you and me. My parents use Macs, and I've watched my mother work enough to know she relies on the "This Mac" behavior regularly. She is a teacher, not a developer.
- coldtea 7y ago
  >The question is why is the key mapped to "rename", when "open" is likely the far more common command? "Far more common" for whom? Just because you have that in e.g. Windows?

pwinnski 7y ago

What isn't ignorance or preference is factually wrong, with one possible exception: > The default presentation is some weird list of random stuff from my system, recent files and temporary files and assorted irrelevant garbage. I had to fuss with options for quite some time just to get this to be intelligible. Is the idea here that you don't think new finder windows should show "Recents"? Good news! Finder -> Preferences -> General: "New Finder windows show:" is a drop-down list. I set mine to Downloads, as that suits my workflow better than Recents.

handzbagz1 7y ago

100% agree. The file properties window is worse than useless, especially if you want to do anything like editing ACLs. The multi-column menu is clunky and why is it the default setting to allow icons to overlap each other making them impossible to work out what it is. I am forced to use OS X regularly enough and I still find finder a constant annoyance to the point where I feel like I am being gaslighted when I say I don't like it.

coldtea 7y ago

>Why does hitting the enter key not "go into directory" or "open file"? Because it has it's own shortcut for it, e.g. Cmd-O. >I can't even see a path tree to know where I am in the filesystem out of the box That's some kind of complain? There's a two clicks away setting to enable said path display, plus a one click away viewing mode (NeXT-style) that shows all previous directories up to where you are. >Search, by default searches the entire system not the directory I'm in Again irrelevant. I, for one, like it that way. Besides, there's a setting to make it search only the directly you're in (and a third, to make it stick to what you've selected before, either global search or "current dir" search). >The default presentation is some weird list of random stuff from my system, recent files and temporary files and assorted irrelevant garbage. Irrelevant, and not really random. Sounds more like a complaint from somewhere coming from Windows and wondering why things aren't the same (ignoring the fact that OS X did things before Windows, and has its own users to please by keeping its own way). >What the hell are all these colors? Why would any sane person want to group their files by color? For the same reason people use colored post-it notes and bookmarks, and color code things. Immediate visual identification. And "those colors" are part of tags, which allow arbitrary, not folder based, grouping of files. In general, whatever...