What should have been added with 10.5's finder updates

Posted:
in macOS edited January 2014
1. How about a maximize button?



I understand the principle behind the zoom button working in conjunction with expose and i gotta say, i really don't care. I've been using Tiger exclusively since it came out and I still regularly wish i could maximize and restore a window to full screen / original size. zoom, inadequate, flaky, randomly useful, rarely used. if you could track the number of clicks I placed on the zoom button, it might be 3 per month. I reach for the resize handle in a tedious process of resizing the window from only the bottom right corner and draaaaaaaag it across the screen until my window is the appropriate size. its bunk. done with it. dead to me. maximize. its what upright, thumb garnering, mostly hair free apes demand. do it!



2. How about folders sorted to the top of a folder?



Super. You can sort by type. Whatever the algorithm is that controls the sorting behavior, how about sticking a 0 in front of the sorting keyword so the thing sorts folders to the top of the open folders contents list all the time. It's like having a website where the site's navigation bar is somewhere mixed in with the contents of the page randomly as you browse the site. It's really REALLY obnoxious. What's the hold up here. We're at release 5 and we still can't sort like civilized monkeys. UNCOOL.





3. Is it too hard to add an OPTIONAL breadcrumb trail?



You don't have to have it for everyone, but you could slide it in there like a surprise cupcake on my birthday from that cute girl i work with. You know, something for us geeks that have more than 4 or 5 windows open which might just have the same folder name. Yeah I know I can hold down the all mighty apple button to click the folder name and see what the pathing info is underneath it, but when I have those 4 or 5 windows open, that's 5 to 10 clicks i could have saved myself by just looking at the path. As a second point of interest, how about the fact that sometimes I just want to see what directory chain I'm in. Maybe I'm under a symlink and I need to be under a hard link. It's the geek in me to want to see those things. If you have to add some pizzaz to a breadcrumb trail for it to be an apple innovation, how about adding a way i can copy + paste portions of that address by selecting it but also adding icons somehow indicating what kind of file, link, shortcut, application, or whatever was traversed to get where i currently am in the finder folder. now that would be really friggen cool and VERY useful in my daily programming efforts.



or, don't. you guys know everything already. that's why we still have that awesome 1 button mouse everyone raves about... OH, WAIT?!
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 57
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    With your winning style, how could they not be swayed by your suave arguments?



    Maximize: really, just let it go.

    Folder sorting: GOD I hate that crap - when I tell the UI to sort by a specific field, I expect it to damned well sort by that field, not step in and kinda-sorta-sort by it, but *really* impose a sorting on the list that I didn't ask for, don't want, and just gets in my damned way. Not that I'm bitter.

    Breadcrumbs: while not quite the same (and I also like a breadcrumbs view from time to time), column view is dandy for this, and one of the main reasons I use it as my default.
  • Reply 2 of 57
    mrpiddlymrpiddly Posts: 406member
    What size screen do you have that you want maximize? No webpage or doc fits well fullscreen on newer apple displays, this may not count for the macbook. I dont own a 30 inch display but when using one at the apple store, a web page in its right size was like fraction of the screen. Stretching it out would would look very bad.



    Also, what color would maximize be, i was thinking cyan.
  • Reply 3 of 57
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by thedillydotcom View Post


    1. How about a maximize button?



    I understand the principle behind the zoom button working in conjunction with expose and i gotta say, i really don't care. I've been using Tiger exclusively since it came out and I still regularly wish i could maximize and restore a window to full screen / original size. zoom, inadequate, flaky, randomly useful, rarely used. if you could track the number of clicks I placed on the zoom button, it might be 3 per month. I reach for the resize handle in a tedious process of resizing the window from only the bottom right corner and draaaaaaaag it across the screen until my window is the appropriate size. its bunk. done with it. dead to me. maximize. its what upright, thumb garnering, mostly hair free apes demand. do it!



    One of the very few who gets it here IMO!!!
  • Reply 4 of 57
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Kickaha View Post


    With your winning style, how could they not be swayed by your suave arguments?



    Maximize: really, just let it go.



    Why should he let it go when, one he clearly wants it, and two there's more people that want in than don't. I doubt there's many on these forums, but there's a shit load, and it's because it's a good idea. I said as much in the other thread. A checkbox in Appearances in System Preferences, check to make Zoom button become maximize. When checked zoom changes to deep blue from green and you can clearly tell it's no longer a shagging zoom button. Some people just like to work in fullscreen and use Exposé to switch between apps, you like to work one way, others do not. For God's sake Apple if you are reading 'THIS' thread, there's people crying out for a Zoom button, just give it to them. OS S isn't perfect, and it's because of things like this. Who cares what are the reasons anymore, people want it, just make them happy.
  • Reply 5 of 57
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post


    Why should he let it go when, one he clearly wants it, and two there's more people that want in than don't.



    The first point is strictly his own opinion, and unless you have some hard numbers to back up the second, I call BS.



    Quote:

    I doubt there's many on these forums, but there's a shit load, and it's because it's a good idea. I said as much in the other thread.



    You can say all you want, but it doesn't make it so. It's nothing more than an affectation on MacOS X. It serves zero purpose, other than to give you, personally, a warm fuzzy feeling.



    Quote:

    A checkbox in Appearances in System Preferences, check to make Zoom button become maximize. When checked zoom changes to deep blue from green and you can clearly tell it's no longer a shagging zoom button. Some people just like to work in fullscreen and use Exposé to switch between apps, you like to work one way, others do not. For God's sake Apple if you are reading 'THIS' thread, there's people crying out for a Zoom button, just give it to them. OS S isn't perfect, and it's because of things like this. Who cares what are the reasons anymore, people want it, just make them happy.



    OMG! How could we have been so blind? Of course! Give everyone their own option for every possible combination of UI elements, no matter whether they make sense or not! Oh wait, that's been tried...



    It's taken *decades* for reasonable X11 based UIs to settle out, and the successful ones have been those that *restricted* options. Unless you want to head back to Motif... Fugly, ain't it?



    (And I'm pretty sure you meant 'people crying out for a Maximize button' on 'OS X', not a Zoom button on OS S...)
  • Reply 6 of 57
    pbpb Posts: 4,255member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post


    A checkbox in Appearances in System Preferences, check to make Zoom button become maximize. When checked zoom changes to deep blue from green and you can clearly tell it's no longer a shagging zoom button.



    This has been discussed previously here to a large extend. An option in System Preferences is not the optimal solution since (1) it will unnecessarily complicate the available UI options, as Kickaha already has pointed out, and (2) it will affect the whole system. There is a solution though that will satisfy more or less the two camps: ctrl- or alt-click the green button and you are at maximum size for that particular window.
  • Reply 7 of 57
    macvaultmacvault Posts: 323member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by thedillydotcom View Post


    1. How about a maximize button?



    I understand the principle behind the zoom button working in conjunction with expose and i gotta say, i really don't care. I've been using Tiger exclusively since it came out and I still regularly wish i could maximize and restore a window to full screen / original size. zoom, inadequate, flaky, randomly useful, rarely used. if you could track the number of clicks I placed on the zoom button, it might be 3 per month. I reach for the resize handle in a tedious process of resizing the window from only the bottom right corner and draaaaaaaag it across the screen until my window is the appropriate size. its bunk. done with it. dead to me. maximize. its what upright, thumb garnering, mostly hair free apes demand. do it!



    2. How about folders sorted to the top of a folder?



    Super. You can sort by type. Whatever the algorithm is that controls the sorting behavior, how about sticking a 0 in front of the sorting keyword so the thing sorts folders to the top of the open folders contents list all the time. It's like having a website where the site's navigation bar is somewhere mixed in with the contents of the page randomly as you browse the site. It's really REALLY obnoxious. What's the hold up here. We're at release 5 and we still can't sort like civilized monkeys. UNCOOL.





    3. Is it too hard to add an OPTIONAL breadcrumb trail?



    You don't have to have it for everyone, but you could slide it in there like a surprise cupcake on my birthday from that cute girl i work with. You know, something for us geeks that have more than 4 or 5 windows open which might just have the same folder name. Yeah I know I can hold down the all mighty apple button to click the folder name and see what the pathing info is underneath it, but when I have those 4 or 5 windows open, that's 5 to 10 clicks i could have saved myself by just looking at the path. As a second point of interest, how about the fact that sometimes I just want to see what directory chain I'm in. Maybe I'm under a symlink and I need to be under a hard link. It's the geek in me to want to see those things. If you have to add some pizzaz to a breadcrumb trail for it to be an apple innovation, how about adding a way i can copy + paste portions of that address by selecting it but also adding icons somehow indicating what kind of file, link, shortcut, application, or whatever was traversed to get where i currently am in the finder folder. now that would be really friggen cool and VERY useful in my daily programming efforts.



    or, don't. you guys know everything already. that's why we still have that awesome 1 button mouse everyone raves about... OH, WAIT?!



    Yes, this guy is right! Why Apple can't let go of their ego sometimes and properly implement these things I don't know. We finally got a [sudo]multi-button mouse after how many years? Maybe in another 20 years we'll actually get window buttons that actually do something rather than just sit there looking like a horizontal street light from Texas. I almost NEVER use those buttons - because they're useless.
  • Reply 8 of 57
    A think a would like to see in Leopard (and that I was expected) is a way to manipulate Metadata on file: creating metadata, selecting which meta data to show in list view, etc...



    Since Tiger, we've got the possibility to create metadata in the filesystem using the command line. I was hoping that this possibility would be extended to the finder.



    Also, a way to have more information displayed in column view would be cool. I'm using a Mac and a Windows machine on my desk (I prefer the Mac) but the file explorer of Windows has one benefit: it give more information about files in less time: its a mix between our list view and our column view. In the Finder, in column view, you navigate easily and see the content of the parent folder without having to click but you cannot see the size of a file or its modification date without clicking on it. If you want to see the size of each file you must click on each one.



    FrenchMac
  • Reply 9 of 57
    macvaultmacvault Posts: 323member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Kickaha View Post


    With your winning style, how could they not be swayed by your suave arguments? ...Maximize: really, just let it go.



    Ha, just let it go? Don't tell him to just let it go. The lack of a true Maximize in OS X has got to be one of the Finder's biggest drawbacks. Why Apple doesn't get this I do not know.



    Quote:

    Breadcrumbs: while not quite the same (and I also like a breadcrumbs view from time to time), column view is dandy for this, and one of the main reasons I use it as my default.



    HA! Column view in Mac OS X is a JOKE. I just about threw up watching the keynote the other day when Steve Jobs referred to it as "our famous column view". I HATE THE COLUMN VIEW IN MAC OS X. The Windows Explorer hierarchical view is so much better.
  • Reply 10 of 57
    I use the column view as my default too 'cause it's the most handy for navigating an directory tree but I still find it lacking information.



    The new Cover Flow view could be handy for exploring a directory full of image (this kind of view was lacking previously from the finder).
  • Reply 11 of 57
    pbpb Posts: 4,255member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Macvault View Post


    I HATE THE COLUMN VIEW IN MAC OS X. The Windows Explorer view is so much better.



    Good. But it does not explains why everyone else should hate it.
  • Reply 12 of 57
    macvaultmacvault Posts: 323member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by PB View Post


    Good. But it does not explains why everyone else should hate it.



    Ok, true, but that same logic would not explain why everyone else should like something Steve Jobs' way either. So, this is where Windows excells (no pun intended)... by giving zillions of choices, settings, etc. so everyone can set their views etc to their liking. Steve Jobs, on the other hand, is like... "I don't like two-button mice, so nobody should"
  • Reply 13 of 57
    jupiteronejupiterone Posts: 1,564member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by PB View Post


    This has been discussed previously here to a large extend. An option in System Preferences is not the optimal solution since (1) it will unnecessarily complicate the available UI options, as Kickaha already has pointed out, and (2) it will affect the whole system. There is a solution though that will satisfy more or less the two camps: ctrl- or alt-click the green button and you are at maximum size for that particular window.



    Ugh, beat me to it. Yes, a modifier key would be great and would not take up "precious" space on a preferences window.
  • Reply 14 of 57
    pbpb Posts: 4,255member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Macvault View Post


    Ok, true, but that same logic would not explain why everyone else should like something Steve Jobs' way either. So, this is where Windows excells (no pun intended)... by giving zillions of choices, settings, etc. so everyone can set their views etc to their liking. Steve Jobs, on the other hand, is like... "I don't like two-button mice, so nobody should"



    What I don't understand in your post is the "hate" part. Why so angry? It's just a computer.



    I have personally no issues with column view (it is actually my favorite way to navigate the file system graphically). But then I have no issues with the Windows way either. However I keep always at least one Terminal window open in Mac OS X.
  • Reply 15 of 57
    outsideroutsider Posts: 6,008member
    Why in the hell would you maximize to full screen? Any application in which it makes sense to se full screen already has a Full screen command. I think this is the biggest whine from Windows switchers that are not used to multi-tasking and drag and drop between apps. Very linear workflows. Once they grow accustomed to the Mac way of doing things and LET IT GO, things start to make sense.



    Same goes for folders sorted at the top; a Windows holdover. I want a list sorted alphabetically/by modification date/size... so why wouldn't it be? I think an Apple-like solution would be to have a sorter button like the one used in Spotlight searches. Group all items by kind (folders, documents, PDFs, images, etc.) then sort from within those groupings. The foundation is already there, it just needs to be applied to the Finder, and I think that's a solution everyone can live with.



    About number 3, I think that was included with OS 10.0 or the 10.0 beta, I'm not sure. Command clicking the title of the Finder window will show me where i've been. It is one extra step but not a bad one.
  • Reply 16 of 57
    macvaultmacvault Posts: 323member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by PB View Post


    What I don't understand in your post is the "hate" part. Why so angry? It's just a computer.



    Ok... Instead of "hate" I should say, "I am very displeased with the graphical elements of the column view." The shadowed scroll bar backgrounds, etc just make the window look half-baked.
  • Reply 17 of 57
    outsideroutsider Posts: 6,008member
    One thing i wish they would change about column view is automatic resizing of columns to fit long file/folder names. Obviously there is a limit to the size since filenames can get really long but i hate having to resize the same columns over and over again.
  • Reply 18 of 57
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Outsider View Post


    One thing i wish they would change about column view is automatic resizing of columns to fit long file/folder names. Obviously there is a limit to the size since filenames can get really long but i hate having to resize the same columns over and over again.



    couldn't agree more. I still find myself adjusting the size of the finder a lot especially in column view... it would be nice if it was more intelligent.



    Also tabs in the finder window would be amazing.... and a smart button to merge finder windows together in tabs.
  • Reply 19 of 57
    nerudaneruda Posts: 439member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post


    Why should he let it go when, one he clearly wants it...



    He should let it go because (1) it probably AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN, and (2) this has been discussed ad nasseum by you and countless times by others. Enough of it already.
  • Reply 20 of 57
    macvaultmacvault Posts: 323member
    This is one thing I HATE about the column view in Mac OS X....



    1) I go to Safari and browsed to a PDF file

    2) I went to Safari's Save As menu option

    3) It brings up a dialog

    4) I navigate deep down into my Documents folder, etc and find where I wish to save file.

    5) I click on "New Folder" in the Save As dialog

    6) A window pops up and and I type the name of the new folder.

    7) When I hit, "OK"... sure it creates the folder... but in the column view in the dialog it jumps me back several levels

    8) Now I have to start digging down again to the folder I just created.



    Now this is the kind of stuff I see now and then in Mac OS X and think how in the world can they call this the "World's Most Advanced Operating System"?!?!



    This kind of crap and lack of "intelligence" just chaps my @$$ and VEXES my SOUL

    Having said that, I still really like Mac OS X overall
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