4 ms·

You hold down command to see the path.

by toomim 2y ago

DidYaWipe 2y ago
Where? And how is that option displayed to the user? I also just tried it in Spotlight and Finder, and it did nothing. Which I consider a relief, because undiscoverable bullshit is worse than the feature not existing.
- sofixa 2y ago
  macOS and iPadOS are full of those undiscoverable "if you do this combination of buttons/swipes while at full moon, something happens". As a Mac user not by choice (work issued) I hate how impossible to discover these are.
  - Aaargh20318 2y ago
    As a Mac/iOS/iPadOS user it seems that it’s almost mandatory to watch each Keynote / product announcement video if you want to keep up with new features. Lots of cool features that I only knew about by watching those videos that are completely undiscoverable otherwise.
  - vvillena 2y ago
    These kinds of shortcuts are part of Apple software as a whole, and apparently have been a thing since at least OSX. These behaviors were supposed to be covered in the documentation, but I don't know how true this is nowadays. Special mention to all text input fields in macOS having Emacs-style shortcuts.
    - regularfry 2y ago
      It goes back further than that. I remember being able to buy key-combo cheat cards for System 7, and I have no reason to think the shortcuts they covered wouldn't also have been present in System 6.
- TheCoreh 2y ago
  It's in the documentation for Spotlight: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/mac-help/mchlp1008/mac https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/mac-help/mchlp1008/mac I agree that discoverability could be better, but macOS has pretty consistently had hidden power user shortcuts and modifiers, to keep the basic workflow streamlined/simple for those who don't need it.
  - DidYaWipe 2y ago
    Seeing where stuff is in a search function is not a "power user" feature; it's the whole point of what you're doing. And I don't buy the "keeping things simple" excuse for secret hotkeys in other areas. Falling back on gimmicks like undisplayed hotkeys and "long presses" and "gestures" is lazy abandonment of the design task. I hate this "saving the user from complexity" lie. It's hypocritical: The "non-power" user isn't going to go looking for these options in the first place. Finder search is a great example. A "non-power" user isn't going to right-click on the column headings in the results and try to add "path" as a column. So how does it help that user to deny everyone else the ability to add it? Apple mocked IBM for needing a thick user manual back in the day. To suggest that anyone (especially anyone on this site) should have to read documentation to use perform a basic file search (in a GUI, no less) is apologism to the extreme.
lloeki 2y ago
And press command+return to open the location in Finder (and the item selected)

You hold down command to see the path.

by toomim 2y ago

You hold down command to see the path.

Where? And how is that option displayed to the user? I also just tried it in Spotlight and Finder, and it did nothing. Which I consider a relief, because undiscoverable bullshit is worse than the feature not existing.

sofixa 2y ago
macOS and iPadOS are full of those undiscoverable "if you do this combination of buttons/swipes while at full moon, something happens". As a Mac user not by choice (work issued) I hate how impossible to discover these are.
- Aaargh20318 2y ago
  As a Mac/iOS/iPadOS user it seems that it’s almost mandatory to watch each Keynote / product announcement video if you want to keep up with new features. Lots of cool features that I only knew about by watching those videos that are completely undiscoverable otherwise.
- vvillena 2y ago
  These kinds of shortcuts are part of Apple software as a whole, and apparently have been a thing since at least OSX. These behaviors were supposed to be covered in the documentation, but I don't know how true this is nowadays. Special mention to all text input fields in macOS having Emacs-style shortcuts.
  - regularfry 2y ago
    It goes back further than that. I remember being able to buy key-combo cheat cards for System 7, and I have no reason to think the shortcuts they covered wouldn't also have been present in System 6.
TheCoreh 2y ago
It's in the documentation for Spotlight: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/mac-help/mchlp1008/mac https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/mac-help/mchlp1008/mac I agree that discoverability could be better, but macOS has pretty consistently had hidden power user shortcuts and modifiers, to keep the basic workflow streamlined/simple for those who don't need it.
- DidYaWipe 2y ago
  Seeing where stuff is in a search function is not a "power user" feature; it's the whole point of what you're doing. And I don't buy the "keeping things simple" excuse for secret hotkeys in other areas. Falling back on gimmicks like undisplayed hotkeys and "long presses" and "gestures" is lazy abandonment of the design task. I hate this "saving the user from complexity" lie. It's hypocritical: The "non-power" user isn't going to go looking for these options in the first place. Finder search is a great example. A "non-power" user isn't going to right-click on the column headings in the results and try to add "path" as a column. So how does it help that user to deny everyone else the ability to add it? Apple mocked IBM for needing a thick user manual back in the day. To suggest that anyone (especially anyone on this site) should have to read documentation to use perform a basic file search (in a GUI, no less) is apologism to the extreme.

lloeki 2y ago

And press command+return to open the location in Finder (and the item selected)