Hi. Just wondering whether or not its possible to get Finder (OS X Tiger) to arrange folders first, then all other files after, like in Windows. I like folders, but its hard to to find them when they're scattered all over the place.
This was something I noticed when I first switched. It is irksome, but I'm kind of accustomed to it now. Although it would be nice if there is a hidden option or a workaround somewhere.
I absolutely hate that convention. Some programs do that by default and it drives me crazy. Why would you want to keep folders separate from files? The only reason I can think is that you might have a massive bunch of files and folders mixed together but you should never have that anyway. If I look at something in alphabetical order, I want to see every object listed in the same order, no exceptions for capital letters first either like some programs like to do.
I absolutely hate that convention. Some programs do that by default and it drives me crazy. Why would you want to keep folders separate from files? The only reason I can think is that you might have a massive bunch of files and folders mixed together but you should never have that anyway. If I look at something in alphabetical order, I want to see every object listed in the same order, no exceptions for capital letters first either like some programs like to do.
Agreed, I can't that folder arrangement in Windows either.
"massive bunch of files and folders mixed together but you should never have that anyway."
Why not?
It's just a good file system convention. It keeps things tidy. A lot of people throw files and folders onto their system and complain when the Finder or Spotlight isn't capable of sorting the mess. By keeping a well maintained structure, you don't need to rely on tools to help you organise your stuff.
If you go through your system and look for folders that contain a lot of files and folders together, try and organise them in such a way that you get files and folders separated as much as possible. In other words, keep folders that contain predominantly folders with as few files as possible and folders containing mostly files with as few folders as possible.
Eventually you end up with a filesystem that more closely resembles the tree-like structure its based on. All the files/leaves are at the ends of the branches.
Though it's not ideal, sorting by size can be a work-around, as folders will display a size of --, and will appear at the bottom or top of the list, depending on the sorting order. Just make sure the option "calculate folder sizes" is turned off.
It's just a good file system convention. It keeps things tidy. A lot of people throw files and folders onto their system and complain when the Finder or Spotlight isn't capable of sorting the mess. By keeping a well maintained structure, you don't need to rely on tools to help you organise your stuff.
If you go through your system and look for folders that contain a lot of files and folders together, try and organise them in such a way that you get files and folders separated as much as possible. In other words, keep folders that contain predominantly folders with as few files as possible and folders containing mostly files with as few folders as possible.
Eventually you end up with a filesystem that more closely resembles the tree-like structure its based on. All the files/leaves are at the ends of the branches.
Which is basically:
"The Finder sucks but let's blame it on the user".
The Finder stinks, on a lot of occasions. But people keep defending it all the time!
You don't always have the possibility to arrange stuff the way you want.
Imagine a website full of PHP scripts, arranged in dozens of files and folders, using third-party classes. You can't simply re-arrange those files!
The same goes for large multimedia projects where you need to follow a certain structure.
Comments
I absolutely hate that convention. Some programs do that by default and it drives me crazy. Why would you want to keep folders separate from files? The only reason I can think is that you might have a massive bunch of files and folders mixed together but you should never have that anyway. If I look at something in alphabetical order, I want to see every object listed in the same order, no exceptions for capital letters first either like some programs like to do.
Agreed, I can't that folder arrangement in Windows either.
Why not?
"massive bunch of files and folders mixed together but you should never have that anyway."
Why not?
It's just a good file system convention. It keeps things tidy. A lot of people throw files and folders onto their system and complain when the Finder or Spotlight isn't capable of sorting the mess. By keeping a well maintained structure, you don't need to rely on tools to help you organise your stuff.
If you go through your system and look for folders that contain a lot of files and folders together, try and organise them in such a way that you get files and folders separated as much as possible. In other words, keep folders that contain predominantly folders with as few files as possible and folders containing mostly files with as few folders as possible.
Eventually you end up with a filesystem that more closely resembles the tree-like structure its based on. All the files/leaves are at the ends of the branches.
It's just a good file system convention. It keeps things tidy. A lot of people throw files and folders onto their system and complain when the Finder or Spotlight isn't capable of sorting the mess. By keeping a well maintained structure, you don't need to rely on tools to help you organise your stuff.
If you go through your system and look for folders that contain a lot of files and folders together, try and organise them in such a way that you get files and folders separated as much as possible. In other words, keep folders that contain predominantly folders with as few files as possible and folders containing mostly files with as few folders as possible.
Eventually you end up with a filesystem that more closely resembles the tree-like structure its based on. All the files/leaves are at the ends of the branches.
Which is basically:
"The Finder sucks but let's blame it on the user".
The Finder stinks, on a lot of occasions. But people keep defending it all the time!
You don't always have the possibility to arrange stuff the way you want.
Imagine a website full of PHP scripts, arranged in dozens of files and folders, using third-party classes. You can't simply re-arrange those files!
The same goes for large multimedia projects where you need to follow a certain structure.