4 ms·

I understand but isn't it very odd to give end-user a button like that? Also, why Mac OS didn't have one?

UnoriginalGuy 11y ago
OS X indeed lacks it, and it is a pain in the butt to some: http://osxdaily.com/2013/08/30/refreshing-finder-windows-in-mac-os-x/ http://osxdaily.com/2013/08/30/refreshing-finder-windows-in-... http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/60119/how-does-the-finder-refresh-in-os-x-mountain-lion http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/60119/how-does-the-... As you can see people have to come up with quirky workarounds to force refresh a folder on OS X, rather than just clicking a context menu button helpfully provided. Others have created third party software to add it: http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/24714/refresh-finder http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/24714/refresh-finder This has 46,000 downloads. Both Windows and OS X fall out of sync for similar reasons: sometimes bugs, sometimes refreshing is slow/expensive so is done infrequently (e.g. over a network), and sometimes third party software providing "virtual" file system elements are terrible. I don't really find the concept of a refresh button odd at all. But that's only because I've seen how many virtual file system providers these systems support and how quirky some of them are. If all they supported is native files on traditional file systems attached via reliable buses, then a refresh button wouldn't be required.
- jakobegger 11y ago
  Two other things that cause Finder to show stale data: - change the icns file inside an app - enable 'calculate all sizes', then delete a file in a subdirectory There's no easy way to refresh due to the various levels of caching involved. Closing and reopening windows doesn't help. In the icns case, not even killing Finder helps. So I assume that even if Apple wasn't fundamentally opposed to a refresh button in the UI, it would be non-trivial to implement the back button.
- userbinator 11y ago
  Interesting contrast of design philosophy: Mac - "It just works. We refuse to believe that it doesn't." Windows - "It mostly works, but when it doesn't, press this button."
  - Retra 11y ago
    For a company so self-infatuated with design, they sure did a great job making Finder a frustrating and near-useless piece of software.
    - juliangregorian 11y ago
      One would be either infatuated with design or infatuated by the self, "self-infatuated with design" does not make sense.
      - Retra 11y ago
        "Infatuated with the image of the self as a designer" is what I meant. Self-infatuation with a design component.
- chc 11y ago
  Huh, none of these show the workaround I've always used: create a new folder and delete it. That's been my "pseudo-refresh" for years, because it's relatively quick to type command-shift-n, command-delete.
justin_ 11y ago
I _wish_ OSX had it. I often work inside of SMB shares and they go out of sync sometimes.
click170 11y ago
Isn't the Mac equivalent CMD+R? Not on my Mac to check at the moment but as an NFS user, I remember this working for me in the past.
- chc 11y ago
  Command-R in the Finder is "Go to the original of an alias".

OS X indeed lacks it, and it is a pain in the butt to some: http://osxdaily.com/2013/08/30/refreshing-finder-windows-in-mac-os-x/ http://osxdaily.com/2013/08/30/refreshing-finder-windows-in-... http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/60119/how-does-the-finder-refresh-in-os-x-mountain-lion http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/60119/how-does-the-... As you can see people have to come up with quirky workarounds to force refresh a folder on OS X, rather than just clicking a context menu button helpfully provided. Others have created third party software to add it: http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/24714/refresh-finder http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/24714/refresh-finder This has 46,000 downloads. Both Windows and OS X fall out of sync for similar reasons: sometimes bugs, sometimes refreshing is slow/expensive so is done infrequently (e.g. over a network), and sometimes third party software providing "virtual" file system elements are terrible. I don't really find the concept of a refresh button odd at all. But that's only because I've seen how many virtual file system providers these systems support and how quirky some of them are. If all they supported is native files on traditional file systems attached via reliable buses, then a refresh button wouldn't be required.

jakobegger 11y ago
Two other things that cause Finder to show stale data: - change the icns file inside an app - enable 'calculate all sizes', then delete a file in a subdirectory There's no easy way to refresh due to the various levels of caching involved. Closing and reopening windows doesn't help. In the icns case, not even killing Finder helps. So I assume that even if Apple wasn't fundamentally opposed to a refresh button in the UI, it would be non-trivial to implement the back button.
userbinator 11y ago
Interesting contrast of design philosophy: Mac - "It just works. We refuse to believe that it doesn't." Windows - "It mostly works, but when it doesn't, press this button."
- Retra 11y ago
  For a company so self-infatuated with design, they sure did a great job making Finder a frustrating and near-useless piece of software.
  - juliangregorian 11y ago
    One would be either infatuated with design or infatuated by the self, "self-infatuated with design" does not make sense.
    - Retra 11y ago
      "Infatuated with the image of the self as a designer" is what I meant. Self-infatuation with a design component.
chc 11y ago
Huh, none of these show the workaround I've always used: create a new folder and delete it. That's been my "pseudo-refresh" for years, because it's relatively quick to type command-shift-n, command-delete.

justin_ 11y ago

I _wish_ OSX had it. I often work inside of SMB shares and they go out of sync sometimes.

click170 11y ago

Isn't the Mac equivalent CMD+R? Not on my Mac to check at the moment but as an NFS user, I remember this working for me in the past.

chc 11y ago
Command-R in the Finder is "Go to the original of an alias".