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Comment by therealdrag0 | Hacker News Reader

I wish the Finder didn't suck so badly. Maybe they'll update that someday...

Have you tried any of the Finder alternatives, such as Path Finder[0]? I'm not sure if it's a result of me adapting my workflow to the environment, but I find I don't actually use the Finder very much. Between ⇧⌘G (Go to Folder) and Launch Bar[1] (the first thing I install on a new system), actual Finder browsing is pretty rare for me. Of course, different people have different workflows and needs, and I can understand people who might want an alternative.

What do you personally find lacking or inefficient? What changes would you like to see?

[0]: https://cocoatech.com/#/

[1]: https://obdev.at/products/launchbar/index.html

Some things that came to mind: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15334905

At one point I looked at alternatives, but I wasn't ready to buy one. And since most editors and IDEs have "Show in Finder" options, that I use sometimes, I'd still have to augment my workflow to get around it.

Thanks for enumerating. Having used Macs since System 5, I'm definitely more accustomed to ⌘O for Open across applications, including the Finder, but I can understand how muscle memory can be hard to rewire. And while I'm sympathetic to the frustrations of learning the idiosyncrasies of a new system, I'm sure you recognize memorizing (new) shortcuts for applications independent of platform is something is par for the course.

If these are true sticking points for you, I'd suggest taking a look at the Finder alternatives again. I wouldn't be surprised if the Show in Finder feature isn't overridden in these environments. I can't imagine that the points you've listed are likely to be changed in Finder: they're behaviors that have existed across many, many versions.

As far as standard user-friendly file managers go, I'd say it works well.

So what sucks specifically, in your opinion?

I made a list about a year ago, but some things that come to mind:

- No cut (to paste) (so I have to have two windows open or go back and forth to perform a cut?)

- In tree view, pasting pastes to root folder, not selected folder.

- I think `enter/return` to `rename` instead of `open` is absurd.

- Have to memorize shortcut to open 'go to folder' path field, instead of toggling always enabling path field.

(Grew up using Windows, started using Mac 2 years ago)

- No cut (to paste) (so I have to have two windows open or go back and forth to perform a cut?)

Paste: Cmd + Alt + V

- In tree view, pasting pastes to root folder, not selected folder.

Hold the item over the folder and drop it after the folder is selected.

- I think `enter/return` to `rename` instead of `open` is absurd.

On the other hand it's easier to avoid accidentally opening thousands of files.

> Paste: Cmd + Alt + V

Huh. I know I googled this before and I just remember people saying that `cut` was jut not part of the mac philosophy. Thanks.

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