4 ms·

Well, if I have a directory highlighted ENTER could mean ENTER THE DIRECTORY. Or you hit enter to open the file so you can ENTER its contents. But I'm arguing l

Well, if I have a directory highlighted ENTER could mean ENTER THE DIRECTORY. Or you hit enter to open the file so you can ENTER its contents. But I'm arguing linguistics, which is stupid. What is the primary purpose of a file explorer? To find and view a file. It's called 'Finder' not 'Renamer'. Please tell me a graphical file explorer (and there is probably 100 of them since the dawn of windowed OSs) where ENTER does not open the file that is not Finder. Please tell me one example. Maybe a dedicated file-rename-utility? If you have a tree of files in an IDE on a sidebar, and you're navigating the tree with arrow keys, and you press Enter. Should it prompt to rename the file or display the source code file you selected? If you have a image viewer that is showing a grid of image thumbnails and you are navigating them by arrows. You press enter with a thumbnail highlighted. Does it open the image, or prompt you to rename it? You have selected "Open a file" from practically any GUI app and it displays a File Picker, which is basically what Finder is. As you navigate the grid/listing/whatever, and highlight a choice and hit ENTER, what do you expect to happen? If you interact with listing or grids or displays of files or objects and have one of them highlighted, and hit ENTER in 99.99% of programs (number made up on the spot by me), does it open/activate/display/expand/select the item, or rename it? Finder's behavior in this instance doesn't just go against other operating systems' file pickers/navigators, it goes against practically any navigate-items and select-by-pressing-Enter GUI paradigm in virtually every GUI program in existence. The rename operation is so rare compared to select/open/activate that it is reduced to a hotkey or function key in virtually every other app, OS, and dialog.

survirtual 5y ago
Look, when you’ve got to furiously rename thousands of files manually you’ll be glad the enter key lets you do so with 1 click!
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
helveticabold48 5y ago
You have to think in the context of what a GUI represents at the time. Your assumption was based on the command line ethos, where Enter key plays an important role. It was true on Apple II command line too, but the original Mac interface was designed to do away this keyboard centric mindset. "Use your mouse" was the philosophy behind it. The original Mac keyboard didn't even have arrow keys, it encouraged a novel way of interacting with a machine that is so different to anything before it. Also, the Enter key that represent so much importance to you, on an Apple machines it's always "Return", which is nothing more than a carriage return, strongly linked to text inputs. A Return key does not "enter" anything. Return and Enter are two completely different keys to the OS. Based on the design choice, Return key deals with text entry, rename is probably the only reasonable text entry function to a file explorer at the time (or even today). This Return vs Enter design choice has been consistently applied on all Apple machine ever since Apple II, which predates any windowed OS you care to mention.
hyakosm 5y ago
> If you have a tree of files in an IDE on a sidebar, and you're navigating the tree with arrow keys, and you press Enter. Should it prompt to rename the file or display the source code file you selected? In VSCode for Macintosh, the Enter key in the file panel is for renaming the selected file. This behavior is coherent with the Finder.

survirtual 5y ago

Look, when you’ve got to furiously rename thousands of files manually you’ll be glad the enter key lets you do so with 1 click!

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

helveticabold48 5y ago

You have to think in the context of what a GUI represents at the time. Your assumption was based on the command line ethos, where Enter key plays an important role. It was true on Apple II command line too, but the original Mac interface was designed to do away this keyboard centric mindset. "Use your mouse" was the philosophy behind it. The original Mac keyboard didn't even have arrow keys, it encouraged a novel way of interacting with a machine that is so different to anything before it. Also, the Enter key that represent so much importance to you, on an Apple machines it's always "Return", which is nothing more than a carriage return, strongly linked to text inputs. A Return key does not "enter" anything. Return and Enter are two completely different keys to the OS. Based on the design choice, Return key deals with text entry, rename is probably the only reasonable text entry function to a file explorer at the time (or even today). This Return vs Enter design choice has been consistently applied on all Apple machine ever since Apple II, which predates any windowed OS you care to mention.

hyakosm 5y ago

> If you have a tree of files in an IDE on a sidebar, and you're navigating the tree with arrow keys, and you press Enter. Should it prompt to rename the file or display the source code file you selected? In VSCode for Macintosh, the Enter key in the file panel is for renaming the selected file. This behavior is coherent with the Finder.