4 ms·

Clicking on folders that you have put in Finders sidebar - It will not display the folder with the view settings set for that folder, but instead the last fold

by InMice 9mo ago

Clicking on folders that you have put in Finders sidebar - It will not display the folder with the view settings set for that folder, but instead the last folder you clicked in the sidebar. It seems to happen clicking from top to bottom vs bottom to top. You just cant make this sh*t up it's so bad. Example sidebar: Applications - Always shows as icons Documents - Shows as icons if you last clicked on Applications. Shows as details if last you clicked on Downloads Downloads - Always shows as details Finder is the absolute worst we could write a book about it. Once a year or so all my sidebar folders randomly vanish and I have to re-add them. Also The most annoying "it's a feature, not a bug" - That instant drop down of the title bar in full screen if the mouse cursor hits the top edge of the screen. So obnoxious with remote desktop sessions. No delay, no way to disable it, no way to change anything about it.

Kovah 9mo ago
I really wish Apple would allow us to swap out the Finder with something else, so files open in that other app instead of the Finder. This works reasonable well on Windows, where I "replaced" the Explorer with Directory Opus.
- Cockbrand 9mo ago
  This used to be possible, I remember that I replaced Finder with some other app many years ago. I strongly assume that this doesn't work any more, though.
  - deleted 9mo ago
    [deleted]
  - xp84 9mo ago
    Yeah. Path Finder was a common power user tool. I recall you used to be able to flip some bit somewhere to allow you to Quit the Finder, but I assume that's disappeared inside the encrypted and signed partition where Apple keeps all the things us stupid users shouldn't be allowed to touch. But even then, you'd want more than just that, as when you tell the OS to "Reveal" a file or open a folder, that's the association I'd want to be able to change. Honestly I'd really prefer the Windows XP File Explorer to the pile of crap the Finder has turned into.
    - andrekandre 9mo ago
      > I recall you used to be able to flip some bit somewhere to allow you to Quit the Finder you can still do this with a hidden preference using command line: defaults write com.apple.finder QuitMenuItem -bool true; killall Finder [0] https://www.defaults-write.com/adding-quit-option-to-os-x-finder/ https://www.defaults-write.com/adding-quit-option-to-os-x-fi... > But even then, you'd want more than just that, as when you tell the OS to "Reveal" a file or open a folder, that's the association I'd want to be able to change. yep, that should just be a normal setting like default browser (one thing i like about linux nowadays)
      - Cockbrand 9mo ago
        TinkerTool is a nice GUI app for this setting and a few others, see https://www.bresink.com/osx/TinkerTool.html https://www.bresink.com/osx/TinkerTool.html
        andrekandre 9mo ago
        oh wow its been a long time; i forgot about that one, i'll have to download that again
    - Cockbrand 9mo ago
      Ah yes, thank you for reminding me - of course, it was Path Finder! You could even have it respond to "Reveal". Not sure any more if it was by renaming Path Finder to /Applications/Finder, or by changing its Bundle id to com.apple.finder, or some other trick.
      - f30e3dfed1c9 8mo ago
        "of course, it was Path Finder! You could even have it respond to 'Reveal'" This still works. I have been using macs since 1985 and have always hated the Finder. In the days of classic Mac OS, my go to for file management was a desk accessory called DiskTop, which was great. Super fast and easy to operate from the keyboard. When I switched to OSX, I needed something better than the Finder, chose Path Finder, and have been using it ever since. I have my complaints about it but have not been able to find anything I like better.
Perz1val 9mo ago
Ooooh, I always though it just doesn't remember any view settings at all
- InMice 9mo ago
  I cant quite figure it out exactly either. Seemingly random, then sometimes there's partial order. I honestly have to close my eyes and take deep breaths in thru the nose out the mouth while sitting at my desk while trying to get stuff done LOL. Im just so sick of decades of these stupid bugs.
- xp84 9mo ago
  The confusing part is that it sometimes remembers things when you open a folder directly, like from an alias you open on your desktop, or typing `open ~/Documents`... But when Finder gets confused seems to be that when you shift between folders using the "browser-like" tools (back, forward, double-clicking a folder from the current folder), there's a disconnect: Should it act like a browser and use the current view, details columns, etc? or should it totally transform the view into what you had open at some point in the past? I tend to try to hammer the Finder into always using "list view" with command-J, Always open in list view → Use as Defaults, but random folders can have their own settings attached, probably, so nothing works.
lloeki 9mo ago
Finder has stopped being a spatial file manager for a long time, but still mistakenly tries to behave like one in too many places, probably because of lingering legacy code more than a particular intent. IMHO they should simply rip the spatial bits out entirely and it would immediately become a better file manager purely from the restored consistency.
- coryfklein 9mo ago
  What the heck is a spatial file manager
  - crazygringo 9mo ago
    Each folder has a remembered display state. If in large icon mode, you can drag icons around into the positions you want and they'll stay that way the next time you visit the folder. The idea is that it's not directories that are just bags of files, but files occupy spatial locations in folder windows.
    - lobsterthief 9mo ago
      Ah, this makes sense. Am I hallucinating that columns widths used to be remembered many years back? In other words, in column view, if you resized a column for a given folder, close Finder, and reopen to that folder—it would remain the same width. Finder is mostly unusable for any directory containing long filenames since it doesn’t remember this. But I swear it used to. Am I misremembering?
      - deleted 9mo ago
        [deleted]
      - LoganDark 9mo ago
        I just tested and for me they seem to be remembered for my Downloads folder. Weirdly, at first it didn't seem to be remembered, but then I pressed ⌘+J to look at the view settings, and now when I change a column width it seems to be remembered...
mlrtime 9mo ago
Switched from Windows to Macos years ago after work gave me a macbook pro. As life long ThinkPad red nipple guy, I love it. The finder is the one thing I think Windows does marginally better with Explorer.
- Melatonic 9mo ago
  Trackpoint is also pretty nice once you get used to it. No hands off keyboard ! MacBooks do seem to have by far the best trackpads however
- pjmlp 9mo ago
  If only Explorer had a better extension mechanism than dealing with inproc COM in C++. It would be about time to have better IPC mechanisms out of process.
seanwessmith 9mo ago
that's not how it works for me in MacOS Tahoe, the sidebar works as it should now.
- Linkd 9mo ago
  Just tested on Tahoe 26.1 and it's still happening as he described.
SwtCyber 9mo ago
Finder really is a museum of unresolved UX decisions layered over decades

by InMice 9mo ago

Kovah 9mo ago

I really wish Apple would allow us to swap out the Finder with something else, so files open in that other app instead of the Finder. This works reasonable well on Windows, where I "replaced" the Explorer with Directory Opus.

Cockbrand 9mo ago
This used to be possible, I remember that I replaced Finder with some other app many years ago. I strongly assume that this doesn't work any more, though.
- deleted 9mo ago
  [deleted]
- xp84 9mo ago
  Yeah. Path Finder was a common power user tool. I recall you used to be able to flip some bit somewhere to allow you to Quit the Finder, but I assume that's disappeared inside the encrypted and signed partition where Apple keeps all the things us stupid users shouldn't be allowed to touch. But even then, you'd want more than just that, as when you tell the OS to "Reveal" a file or open a folder, that's the association I'd want to be able to change. Honestly I'd really prefer the Windows XP File Explorer to the pile of crap the Finder has turned into.
  - andrekandre 9mo ago
    > I recall you used to be able to flip some bit somewhere to allow you to Quit the Finder you can still do this with a hidden preference using command line: defaults write com.apple.finder QuitMenuItem -bool true; killall Finder [0] https://www.defaults-write.com/adding-quit-option-to-os-x-finder/ https://www.defaults-write.com/adding-quit-option-to-os-x-fi... > But even then, you'd want more than just that, as when you tell the OS to "Reveal" a file or open a folder, that's the association I'd want to be able to change. yep, that should just be a normal setting like default browser (one thing i like about linux nowadays)
    - Cockbrand 9mo ago
      TinkerTool is a nice GUI app for this setting and a few others, see https://www.bresink.com/osx/TinkerTool.html https://www.bresink.com/osx/TinkerTool.html
      - andrekandre 9mo ago
        oh wow its been a long time; i forgot about that one, i'll have to download that again
  - Cockbrand 9mo ago
    Ah yes, thank you for reminding me - of course, it was Path Finder! You could even have it respond to "Reveal". Not sure any more if it was by renaming Path Finder to /Applications/Finder, or by changing its Bundle id to com.apple.finder, or some other trick.
    - f30e3dfed1c9 8mo ago
      "of course, it was Path Finder! You could even have it respond to 'Reveal'" This still works. I have been using macs since 1985 and have always hated the Finder. In the days of classic Mac OS, my go to for file management was a desk accessory called DiskTop, which was great. Super fast and easy to operate from the keyboard. When I switched to OSX, I needed something better than the Finder, chose Path Finder, and have been using it ever since. I have my complaints about it but have not been able to find anything I like better.

Perz1val 9mo ago

Ooooh, I always though it just doesn't remember any view settings at all

InMice 9mo ago
I cant quite figure it out exactly either. Seemingly random, then sometimes there's partial order. I honestly have to close my eyes and take deep breaths in thru the nose out the mouth while sitting at my desk while trying to get stuff done LOL. Im just so sick of decades of these stupid bugs.
xp84 9mo ago
The confusing part is that it sometimes remembers things when you open a folder directly, like from an alias you open on your desktop, or typing `open ~/Documents`... But when Finder gets confused seems to be that when you shift between folders using the "browser-like" tools (back, forward, double-clicking a folder from the current folder), there's a disconnect: Should it act like a browser and use the current view, details columns, etc? or should it totally transform the view into what you had open at some point in the past? I tend to try to hammer the Finder into always using "list view" with command-J, Always open in list view → Use as Defaults, but random folders can have their own settings attached, probably, so nothing works.

lloeki 9mo ago

Finder has stopped being a spatial file manager for a long time, but still mistakenly tries to behave like one in too many places, probably because of lingering legacy code more than a particular intent. IMHO they should simply rip the spatial bits out entirely and it would immediately become a better file manager purely from the restored consistency.

coryfklein 9mo ago
What the heck is a spatial file manager
- crazygringo 9mo ago
  Each folder has a remembered display state. If in large icon mode, you can drag icons around into the positions you want and they'll stay that way the next time you visit the folder. The idea is that it's not directories that are just bags of files, but files occupy spatial locations in folder windows.
  - lobsterthief 9mo ago
    Ah, this makes sense. Am I hallucinating that columns widths used to be remembered many years back? In other words, in column view, if you resized a column for a given folder, close Finder, and reopen to that folder—it would remain the same width. Finder is mostly unusable for any directory containing long filenames since it doesn’t remember this. But I swear it used to. Am I misremembering?
    - deleted 9mo ago
      [deleted]
    - LoganDark 9mo ago
      I just tested and for me they seem to be remembered for my Downloads folder. Weirdly, at first it didn't seem to be remembered, but then I pressed ⌘+J to look at the view settings, and now when I change a column width it seems to be remembered...

mlrtime 9mo ago

Switched from Windows to Macos years ago after work gave me a macbook pro. As life long ThinkPad red nipple guy, I love it. The finder is the one thing I think Windows does marginally better with Explorer.

Melatonic 9mo ago
Trackpoint is also pretty nice once you get used to it. No hands off keyboard ! MacBooks do seem to have by far the best trackpads however
pjmlp 9mo ago
If only Explorer had a better extension mechanism than dealing with inproc COM in C++. It would be about time to have better IPC mechanisms out of process.

seanwessmith 9mo ago

that's not how it works for me in MacOS Tahoe, the sidebar works as it should now.

Linkd 9mo ago
Just tested on Tahoe 26.1 and it's still happening as he described.

SwtCyber 9mo ago

Finder really is a museum of unresolved UX decisions layered over decades