What silly little features need improved in OSX?
A couple of little niggles really annoy me in OSX, so what bugs everyone else, and do you know of any workarounds?
Here are a few of mine to kick things off -
1) Why oh why, can I not drop files or folders onto a folder in the dock, and have it 'Spring load' open? It just doesn't make sense that this isn't implemented!
2) Why can't Safari take you to a website when you start typing the bookmark name? And while we are on the subject - what if I visited maps.google.com before. If I start typing 'google' into Safari, why can't it bring up maps.google.com as a suggested site from my history? (Not the best example address, but hopefully you get the idea).
3) Why does Mail so often hang for a period of time when bouncing mail? Why can't it just be quietly sent in the background like any other mail?
4) In Safari, why is there not an option to open "_blank" links in a new tab instead of a new window? I know I can use a key combo, but really, is there any need?!
Here are a few of mine to kick things off -
1) Why oh why, can I not drop files or folders onto a folder in the dock, and have it 'Spring load' open? It just doesn't make sense that this isn't implemented!
2) Why can't Safari take you to a website when you start typing the bookmark name? And while we are on the subject - what if I visited maps.google.com before. If I start typing 'google' into Safari, why can't it bring up maps.google.com as a suggested site from my history? (Not the best example address, but hopefully you get the idea).
3) Why does Mail so often hang for a period of time when bouncing mail? Why can't it just be quietly sent in the background like any other mail?
4) In Safari, why is there not an option to open "_blank" links in a new tab instead of a new window? I know I can use a key combo, but really, is there any need?!
Comments
1) Why oh why, can I not drop files or folders onto a folder in the dock, and have it 'Spring load' open? It just doesn't make sense that this isn't implemented!
I think that is coming in Leopard.
You should be happy with the current spring loaded folders as windows users dont have any.
One thing I'd like to see is an inspiration from iPhone. In notes on iPhone there is an icon at the bottom with an envelope. Hit it and the note you typed becomes the body of an email message. Very slick IMO. SJ if you're listening, integrate that feature into the next version of Pages.
another thing i would like to see in pages is a better note-taking ability. being a student, it is important for me to be able to lay notes out quickly in class.
You should be happy with the current spring loaded folders as windows users dont have any.
I dont get that? In windows, if you have a folder open as your destination of a drag, but its in the background or minimised, if you drag that icon(s) to the taskbar tab of destination folder and hold it there for a second, the destination folder then pops up to the front of the screen, and you can then place the icons where you want in the filelist.
( or am i rising to the bait ? )
What I'm getting at is that the Open/Save box needs an iWeb media style box within it to make it easier to find files, such as photos so I can search via Photo Album rather than by Roll Number, which can make finding photos time consuming.
I had hoped the Open/Save box would be improved along with the Finder, but looking at Think Secret's screenshots this wasn't the case. Oh well. I still hope for improvements to this for Leopard.
I dont get that? In windows, if you have a folder open as your destination of a drag, but its in the background or minimised, if you drag that icon(s) to the taskbar tab of destination folder and hold it there for a second, the destination folder then pops up to the front of the screen, and you can then place the icons where you want in the filelist.
( or am i rising to the bait ? )
Im not really sure what you are saying but this is a guess. To drag a file bettween folders you must first open both folders. Then drag the icon to the task bar icon of the second folder. After a few seconds of this, the second folder will appear infront of the other. Is that right?
If my guess at what you are describing is right, then we are thinking about two seperate things here.
Spring loaded folders are when you drag one item onto anothers folders icon. After holding it there for 2 seconds, this folder will open up. You can then continue this until you reach whatever folder you want. When you are done, all the folders that you were dragging through close. (this is probably a bad explination) I can honestly not do anything without spring loaded folders. On windows i just sit there trying to drag folders into each other but having to open up like 100 folders in the end. Then with no expose things get real messy. Windows is horrid to drag folders on.
In all OSX realeases, folders in the dock do not have this spring loaded feature. All other folders except the ones in the dock use it. This makes many people very upset. That why people want spring loaded dock folders.
There is also a feature like the one you discribed in OSX. If you have two windows open and you drag a folder from the window infront and hover it over the window in back, the back window will come to the front.
Spring loaded folders are when you drag one item onto anothers folders icon. After holding it there for 2 seconds, this folder will open up. You can then continue this until you reach whatever folder you want. When you are done, all the folders that you were dragging through close. (this is probably a bad explination) I can honestly not do anything without spring loaded folders. On windows i just sit there trying to drag folders into each other but having to open up like 100 folders in the end. Then with no expose things get real messy. Windows is horrid to drag folders on.
Ah - I see your point now ( it was a good explanatation ) You're right, i was thinking of the taskbar only action you describe. ( not currently a mac person me ) I didn't know about that spring loaded folder idea ... sounds great.
...
Actually, i just had a try in Windows. It works too ( kinda ). If your in a single explorer window with the folder tree visible on the left hand side, if you drag a file over to the directory tree and hold it over a folder, the folder will open up in the tree panel, showing all the subfolders . . . you can then navigate down through the tree till you find the folder you want, and then drop the icon into the highlighted folder.
When you let go of the drag, it doesn't collapse the tree again though, and all it does is expand out the directory tree, but its better than nothing.
1) Why in Safari, if a link opens a PDF in the same window, does the 'Go Back' keyboard shortcut not work? You need to actually click on the back button. (I believe this same problem also exists in Firefox)
2) Why does Spotlight not search certain folders? For example, it does not seem to return results from within the System Library folder. Try a search for com.apple.dock.iconcache to see what I mean. The file does exist, but won't appear in your results. Grrr.
In reply to previous comment, SafariStand should allow all "_blank" links to launch in new tabs. I haven't tried it as it is currently an alpha version.
Any other solutions to our complaints?
2. For the green button to actually maximize the screen
3. For Spotlight to be actually useful.
4. For simply applications to launch instantly (e.g., calculator, address book, etc.).
5. For the trash can to be found in the finder window.
Dave
How about empty trash in the Apple Menu. Sometimes when you are in safari and you just drag a file on the left to the trash the finder doesn't pop up and the system stays in safari. So being able to just goto the Apple Menu after a quick download is trashed would be nice. Hehe wonder if thats a bug or a feature.
- Stop making my own machine appear in the Network source under "Servers." Nobody understands what this is.
- Keep a cache of Applications and Utilities folder contents and don't reload the list from disk every time those folders are opened unless the folder has been changed.
- Make it much easier to add a script or app to the Contextual Menu. You specify what apps it should appear in, and it gets passed the current selection. Simple. Right-click and Search Wikipedia. Right-click and Post to AI. Right-click and Search iTunes Store. The possibilities!
- Make Finder column widths EXPAND TO FIT THE FILE AND FOLDER NAMES OF THE CONTENTS. Try dragging a file into a column of folders all of which start with the same characters. It is not possible to tell which folder you want, as the unique portions are replaced by ellipsis.