4 ms·

My tips: 1. Forget Finder, it is just bad for any power user scenario, and IMO worst part of Mac OS. Use Forklift or other similar app for all GUI file manageme

My tips: 1. Forget Finder, it is just bad for any power user scenario, and IMO worst part of Mac OS. Use Forklift or other similar app for all GUI file management operations. 2. Never drag and drop (this applies to any OS). Early release can cause all kinds of issues. 3. Make sure that you have fast access to Activity Monitor, since some GUI applications do not show any reasonable progress indicators when they start long lasting compilation/export operations.

Normille 6y ago
I've recently gone back to using Finder after a very brief dalliance with PathFinder [terrible processor and memory hog] and a fairly longer dalliance with ForkLift3. Although I like a lot about ForkLift3, I had to ditch it eventually because its inability to set different view settings for different windows drove me insane. Finder does allow this so, for example, I can have my ~/Downloads and ~/Pictures/Screengrabs folders set to always display in list view sorted by most recent [so the latest download or screengrab ia always at the top] whilst displaying other folders, such as /Applications in column view and alphabetically because I look for things in there by name. My favourite Finder tip: when saving a file and you want to base its name on an existing one, eg: myimage01.jpg, myimage02.jpg, myimage03.jpg... etc. Click on one of the existing files in the save dialogue and the untitled one you're about to save will adopt that name. Then you just change the last digit [or whatever] and save. Favourite not particularly OSX specific tip: When including a date in your filenames, put it at the start in YYYY-MM-DD somefilename format. that way, sorting the column of files by name, also correctly sorts them by date. Favourite not yet mentioned OSX utility: A Better Finder Rename [0] --bulk file renaming with more options and combinations than you can shake a stick at. Favourite not yet mentioned OSX app: TextMate [1] --what Sublime Text hopes to be when it grows up! [0] https://www.publicspace.net/ABetterFinderRename https://www.publicspace.net/ABetterFinderRename [1] https://macromates.com https://macromates.com
mekster 6y ago
1. This. The only thing I miss from Windows is Explorer. I just can't understand how macOS dev feels Finder would work like that for 20 years without much change. It resets the config and the window size for a folder at every random occasion, creates .DS_Store garbage all over, you cannot even cut files and just feels uneasy. I even enable "Quit Finder" menu and get it out of my app cycle list but it randomly resurrects itself... ForkLift is something that keeps my sanity.
- reaperducer 6y ago
  creates .DS_Store garbage all over Has Windows stopped polluting the world with Thumbs_db files? I hate when I see those things on a server.
  - joan_kode 6y ago
    Yes, ever since Windows Vista thumbnails are in a central per-user directory. Old thumbnails are removed automatically. Definitely an improvement over previous behavior, at this point I would say it just needs easier configurability.
- saagarjha 6y ago
  > It resets the config and the window size for a folder at every random occasion, creates .DS_Store garbage all over I suspect you might be deleting the .DS_Store files, which would have a side effect of resetting your configuration. Also, Finder doesn't do cut, you hold down ⌥ when pasting to move it rather than make a copy. And since it draws your desktop icons, it's supposed to stay running–that's why "Quit Finder" menu is hidden by default.
- bartvk 6y ago
  > I just can't understand how macOS dev feels Finder would work like that for 20 years without much change I do a lot of stuff on the commandline, I don't really need an advanced graphical file manager. If necessary, I open an additional Finder window for more complex manoeuvres. I wonder if there are people who, like me, come from Desktop Linux to macOS and kept working like that.
JadeNB 6y ago
> 1. Forget Finder, it is just bad for any power user scenario, and IMO worst part of Mac OS. Use Forklift or other similar app for all GUI file management operations. The author mentions this among several other Finder alternatives, of which they prefer Path Finder.

Normille 6y ago

I've recently gone back to using Finder after a very brief dalliance with PathFinder [terrible processor and memory hog] and a fairly longer dalliance with ForkLift3. Although I like a lot about ForkLift3, I had to ditch it eventually because its inability to set different view settings for different windows drove me insane. Finder does allow this so, for example, I can have my ~/Downloads and ~/Pictures/Screengrabs folders set to always display in list view sorted by most recent [so the latest download or screengrab ia always at the top] whilst displaying other folders, such as /Applications in column view and alphabetically because I look for things in there by name. My favourite Finder tip: when saving a file and you want to base its name on an existing one, eg: myimage01.jpg, myimage02.jpg, myimage03.jpg... etc. Click on one of the existing files in the save dialogue and the untitled one you're about to save will adopt that name. Then you just change the last digit [or whatever] and save. Favourite not particularly OSX specific tip: When including a date in your filenames, put it at the start in YYYY-MM-DD somefilename format. that way, sorting the column of files by name, also correctly sorts them by date. Favourite not yet mentioned OSX utility: A Better Finder Rename [0] --bulk file renaming with more options and combinations than you can shake a stick at. Favourite not yet mentioned OSX app: TextMate [1] --what Sublime Text hopes to be when it grows up! [0] https://www.publicspace.net/ABetterFinderRename https://www.publicspace.net/ABetterFinderRename [1] https://macromates.com https://macromates.com

mekster 6y ago

1. This. The only thing I miss from Windows is Explorer. I just can't understand how macOS dev feels Finder would work like that for 20 years without much change. It resets the config and the window size for a folder at every random occasion, creates .DS_Store garbage all over, you cannot even cut files and just feels uneasy. I even enable "Quit Finder" menu and get it out of my app cycle list but it randomly resurrects itself... ForkLift is something that keeps my sanity.

reaperducer 6y ago
creates .DS_Store garbage all over Has Windows stopped polluting the world with Thumbs_db files? I hate when I see those things on a server.
- joan_kode 6y ago
  Yes, ever since Windows Vista thumbnails are in a central per-user directory. Old thumbnails are removed automatically. Definitely an improvement over previous behavior, at this point I would say it just needs easier configurability.
saagarjha 6y ago
> It resets the config and the window size for a folder at every random occasion, creates .DS_Store garbage all over I suspect you might be deleting the .DS_Store files, which would have a side effect of resetting your configuration. Also, Finder doesn't do cut, you hold down ⌥ when pasting to move it rather than make a copy. And since it draws your desktop icons, it's supposed to stay running–that's why "Quit Finder" menu is hidden by default.
bartvk 6y ago
> I just can't understand how macOS dev feels Finder would work like that for 20 years without much change I do a lot of stuff on the commandline, I don't really need an advanced graphical file manager. If necessary, I open an additional Finder window for more complex manoeuvres. I wonder if there are people who, like me, come from Desktop Linux to macOS and kept working like that.

JadeNB 6y ago

> 1. Forget Finder, it is just bad for any power user scenario, and IMO worst part of Mac OS. Use Forklift or other similar app for all GUI file management operations. The author mentions this among several other Finder alternatives, of which they prefer Path Finder.