4 ms·

Eh, as someone who's primarily used Windows (and a bit of Linux with xfce) for my entire life I find Macs basically unusable (seriously how do I browse the file

Eh, as someone who's primarily used Windows (and a bit of Linux with xfce) for my entire life I find Macs basically unusable (seriously how do I browse the file system). I think it's more of a question of familiarity than anything else.

jimpudar 7y ago
What do you find lacking in Finder for browsing the filesystem? Also, Spotlight tends to work great for me whereas Windows search almost never finds what I want. You also have the terminal, so you're free to `cd`, `find`, `locate`, etc...
- x0x0 7y ago
  tab completion also works in Finder. You can open it with command-G
_coveredInBees 7y ago
I hear you about Finder. Windows File explorer seems a lot easier and more feature rich compared to Finder. The single most annoying thing is that there is no easy/ obvious way to grab the path to a file/folder in Finder, which seems like the most basic of features. I did figure out a keyboard shortcut at some point, but Finder feels so dated as a file manager.
- chipotle_coyote 7y ago
  If the Path bar is visible, you can right-click at any point along the path of the selected file and select "Copy Path." You can also just drag an icon from a Finder window into any window that accepts text, including Terminal, and it'll paste the fully qualified path right in. I always used to find Windows File Explorer to be the one that was less feature-rich, but I haven't used it in... we'll just say a shamefully long time. But as someone who got used to Macs an equally long time ago, I've wondered if it's because the Mac seemed to make drag-and-drop such a central way of manipulating files and Windows emphasized "select object - select operation" as its central metaphor. If you're used to one way, moving to other system feels weird and clunky.
- kalleboo 7y ago
  As a life-long Mac user, I feel the opposite. Whenever I have to use Windows, it feels like Windows Explorer is missing lots of features I take for granted, some that the Mac has had since the 90's. Stuff like spring-loaded drag and drop, directory sizes being calculated in list views, QuickLook... It also has some really braindead design choices like sorting directories separate from files, making navigating with the keyboard a pain (and last I checked, this can't even be turned off!) To me Windows Explorer feels like it hasn't been updated with modern features since XP, aside from adding the ribbon
  - orpheline 7y ago
    Interesting. I use a MBP for work, and hate that Finder intermixes directories and files. I much prefer having directories sorted separately: it makes it easier to drill down through a hierarchy of all the directories are grouped together...
    - kalleboo 7y ago
      I browse my file system a lot with the keyboard by typing the first few letters in a file name, and if directories are sorted on the top, that means getting to a file starting with the letter "F" is way more difficult when there are also directories named with "F". It also makes things messy when you have related files and folder. E.g. how Firefox saves a website as a "page name.html" and a directory with the assets "page name files". Suddenly these aren't grouped together and copying them together means scrolling back and forth. At least in the Finder on the Mac you can turn your preferred behavior on (it's in preferences/advanced). On Windows AFAIK there is no setting for it.
      - dmitriid 7y ago
        > At least in the Finder on the Mac you can turn your preferred behavior on Per directory. There’s still no way to set the desired view and sorting for the entire system. And DMGs will open with no toolbar and sidebar.
        7y ago
- saagarjha 7y ago
  > The single most annoying thing is that there is no easy/ obvious way to grab the path to a file/folder in Finder, which seems like the most basic of features. Right click and hold down the option key, I believe.
- sixstringtheory 7y ago
  I’ll grant you it’s not obvious, but it’s quite easy once you know (as with most things in GUIs): just drag it. You can drag a file/folder from Finder to Terminal or a text editor and it’ll populate the full path. You can even drag a folder from a Finder window to a save prompt or web browser upload prompt and it’ll relocate you to that directory in the prompt. The rich drag and drop functionality is one of my favorite features of macOS.
- PascLeRasc 7y ago
  If you're still using macOS/Finder, try entering `defaults write com.apple.finder _FXShowPosixPathInTitle -bool true` in Terminal and restarting Finder, it'll show the full path in the title bar.
w1nst0nsm1th 7y ago
MacOS shine truly with the adoption of companion apps, like Alfred. Bettertouchtool, Popclip, Fantastical, Post-it apps, Bartender, and others (like totalfinder and totalspace) and the integration of these app in the status bar or finder or even the integration with iOS. Linux desktop experience and all its software suite are rudimentary compared to MacOS with these additions. I'm coming from there and before that Windows, and MacOS is definitivelly the OS which offer the best desktop experience.
aloer 7y ago
Finder is probably the worst part of using a Mac. But explorer isn’t that much better either I am currently forced to use windows and it’s near impossible to get anything done with it without feeling frustrated. It simply doesn’t follow my speed and line of thought on anything. I am quite shocked after using Mac for 7 years how little progress or even regression windows 10 went through. Without making this into a windows bashing thread only the explorer related things I can think of: - unzip hidden behind right click or freaking menu button. And a dialog with checkbox to “show files after extraction”. Mac: double click. New folder. Done - rename through right click or f2. Laptop means fn+f2. Mac: press enter, type, done - quicklook on Mac is the single greatest feature ever. Mainly because it works in file dialogs. Need to upload a file but don’t know which one? Just quicklook. Windows afaik has no equivalent - somewhat related, maximum length of file paths. There is no excuse for that in 2019. If unzipping fails because of this the software is just plain bad And this is just explorer which I barely use. Shocking
- zbigniewc 7y ago
  Interesting! Having used a Mac for 6 months after years of Windows, I had quite the opposite feelings: > unzip hidden behind right click or freaking menu button By default double click or Enter will cause Explorer to peak into .zip files, which is more natural to me as I might not want to unzip the whole file to see the contents. > rename through right click or f2 The fact that in Finder the Enter button does not actually enter a directory or run/open a file but let me rename it was the biggest surprise. I personally rename filesystem objects rarely, while I 'execute' them all the time, it does not make sense! > quicklook on Mac is the single greatest feature ever. Mainly because it works in file dialogs. (...) Windows afaik has no equivalent Fully agree - it is a very useful feature. Explorer also has it under 'Preview pane' name, but it's disabled by default. I think that Mac version is better, because if I remember correctly it does preview PDF files, while Explorer does not. Other typical files work fine. > somewhat related, maximum length of file paths. Fully agree.
  - trbn 7y ago
    As for QuickLook on Windows I can recommend the brilliantly named "QuickLook": https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/quicklook/9nv4bs3l1h4s https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/quicklook/9nv4bs3l1h4s

jimpudar 7y ago

What do you find lacking in Finder for browsing the filesystem? Also, Spotlight tends to work great for me whereas Windows search almost never finds what I want. You also have the terminal, so you're free to `cd`, `find`, `locate`, etc...

x0x0 7y ago
tab completion also works in Finder. You can open it with command-G

_coveredInBees 7y ago

I hear you about Finder. Windows File explorer seems a lot easier and more feature rich compared to Finder. The single most annoying thing is that there is no easy/ obvious way to grab the path to a file/folder in Finder, which seems like the most basic of features. I did figure out a keyboard shortcut at some point, but Finder feels so dated as a file manager.

chipotle_coyote 7y ago
If the Path bar is visible, you can right-click at any point along the path of the selected file and select "Copy Path." You can also just drag an icon from a Finder window into any window that accepts text, including Terminal, and it'll paste the fully qualified path right in. I always used to find Windows File Explorer to be the one that was less feature-rich, but I haven't used it in... we'll just say a shamefully long time. But as someone who got used to Macs an equally long time ago, I've wondered if it's because the Mac seemed to make drag-and-drop such a central way of manipulating files and Windows emphasized "select object - select operation" as its central metaphor. If you're used to one way, moving to other system feels weird and clunky.
kalleboo 7y ago
As a life-long Mac user, I feel the opposite. Whenever I have to use Windows, it feels like Windows Explorer is missing lots of features I take for granted, some that the Mac has had since the 90's. Stuff like spring-loaded drag and drop, directory sizes being calculated in list views, QuickLook... It also has some really braindead design choices like sorting directories separate from files, making navigating with the keyboard a pain (and last I checked, this can't even be turned off!) To me Windows Explorer feels like it hasn't been updated with modern features since XP, aside from adding the ribbon
- orpheline 7y ago
  Interesting. I use a MBP for work, and hate that Finder intermixes directories and files. I much prefer having directories sorted separately: it makes it easier to drill down through a hierarchy of all the directories are grouped together...
  - kalleboo 7y ago
    I browse my file system a lot with the keyboard by typing the first few letters in a file name, and if directories are sorted on the top, that means getting to a file starting with the letter "F" is way more difficult when there are also directories named with "F". It also makes things messy when you have related files and folder. E.g. how Firefox saves a website as a "page name.html" and a directory with the assets "page name files". Suddenly these aren't grouped together and copying them together means scrolling back and forth. At least in the Finder on the Mac you can turn your preferred behavior on (it's in preferences/advanced). On Windows AFAIK there is no setting for it.
    - dmitriid 7y ago
      > At least in the Finder on the Mac you can turn your preferred behavior on Per directory. There’s still no way to set the desired view and sorting for the entire system. And DMGs will open with no toolbar and sidebar.
      - 7y ago
saagarjha 7y ago
> The single most annoying thing is that there is no easy/ obvious way to grab the path to a file/folder in Finder, which seems like the most basic of features. Right click and hold down the option key, I believe.
sixstringtheory 7y ago
I’ll grant you it’s not obvious, but it’s quite easy once you know (as with most things in GUIs): just drag it. You can drag a file/folder from Finder to Terminal or a text editor and it’ll populate the full path. You can even drag a folder from a Finder window to a save prompt or web browser upload prompt and it’ll relocate you to that directory in the prompt. The rich drag and drop functionality is one of my favorite features of macOS.
PascLeRasc 7y ago
If you're still using macOS/Finder, try entering `defaults write com.apple.finder _FXShowPosixPathInTitle -bool true` in Terminal and restarting Finder, it'll show the full path in the title bar.

w1nst0nsm1th 7y ago

MacOS shine truly with the adoption of companion apps, like Alfred. Bettertouchtool, Popclip, Fantastical, Post-it apps, Bartender, and others (like totalfinder and totalspace) and the integration of these app in the status bar or finder or even the integration with iOS. Linux desktop experience and all its software suite are rudimentary compared to MacOS with these additions. I'm coming from there and before that Windows, and MacOS is definitivelly the OS which offer the best desktop experience.

aloer 7y ago

Finder is probably the worst part of using a Mac. But explorer isn’t that much better either I am currently forced to use windows and it’s near impossible to get anything done with it without feeling frustrated. It simply doesn’t follow my speed and line of thought on anything. I am quite shocked after using Mac for 7 years how little progress or even regression windows 10 went through. Without making this into a windows bashing thread only the explorer related things I can think of: - unzip hidden behind right click or freaking menu button. And a dialog with checkbox to “show files after extraction”. Mac: double click. New folder. Done - rename through right click or f2. Laptop means fn+f2. Mac: press enter, type, done - quicklook on Mac is the single greatest feature ever. Mainly because it works in file dialogs. Need to upload a file but don’t know which one? Just quicklook. Windows afaik has no equivalent - somewhat related, maximum length of file paths. There is no excuse for that in 2019. If unzipping fails because of this the software is just plain bad And this is just explorer which I barely use. Shocking

zbigniewc 7y ago
Interesting! Having used a Mac for 6 months after years of Windows, I had quite the opposite feelings: > unzip hidden behind right click or freaking menu button By default double click or Enter will cause Explorer to peak into .zip files, which is more natural to me as I might not want to unzip the whole file to see the contents. > rename through right click or f2 The fact that in Finder the Enter button does not actually enter a directory or run/open a file but let me rename it was the biggest surprise. I personally rename filesystem objects rarely, while I 'execute' them all the time, it does not make sense! > quicklook on Mac is the single greatest feature ever. Mainly because it works in file dialogs. (...) Windows afaik has no equivalent Fully agree - it is a very useful feature. Explorer also has it under 'Preview pane' name, but it's disabled by default. I think that Mac version is better, because if I remember correctly it does preview PDF files, while Explorer does not. Other typical files work fine. > somewhat related, maximum length of file paths. Fully agree.
- trbn 7y ago
  As for QuickLook on Windows I can recommend the brilliantly named "QuickLook": https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/quicklook/9nv4bs3l1h4s https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/quicklook/9nv4bs3l1h4s